Roo Around The World

After the luxury and ease of Wake Up, we were a little aprehensive about our move to the (slightly cheaper) Base Backpackers Hostel, about 15 minutes walk away on Kent Street. And as much as I’d like to say we were proved wrong…I really can’t. I mean, Base is nice enough, the people are friendly, there’s a good atmosphere but, for me, the bad mostly outweighs the good here.

Upon arrival it took quite a while of faffing about to actually get checked in…this was a tredn that would continue throughout our stay – the reception staff are all perfectly nice, they’re just not very on the ball, and it can take a while to get anything done, such as get internet time, or get something printed, or just to ask a simple question.

I was in a 10 bed mixed dorm ($27 per night) and, just to warn you, if you’re ever in room 307, it is definitely the ‘party’ room. On our first night there, we were woken at 3:30am by our roomies who then preceded to turn the light on, have loud chats and even play music until about 5am…I wasnt their biggest fan to say the least! Of course, it’s very hit and miss as to how you’ll get on with your roommates, and I’m sure there are plenty of rooms that aren’t like this. The room itself was absolutely fine, with comfy-ish beds and plenty of space for everyone’s bags. There are also pull-out locker drawers under the beds so you can keep your stuff safe.

There are girls and boys bathrooms on all floors, and of course i cant speak for the boys, but the girls bathrooms were adequate, with 4 toilets (always lacking toilet roll)and 4 showers each. The showers are big, and have a seperate changing area so your stuff doesnt get wet, but the water pressure is terrible…it takes about a year to wash your hair! The bathoom on our floor was always really messy too…apparently girls just dont know how to clean up after themselves (and I’m not sure they were even cleaned daily).

The hostel does have some redeeming qualities though. There is a large computer/chillout area, with sofas and chairs, ping pong and foosball tables (both free to use) and an excellent travel desk to help you with any bookings you might want to organise. There is also a TV room, with plenty of comfy seats and it’s a great place to just chill after a busy day in the city. Much like atv Wake Up, there is no free wifi (grrrr), but the prices for internet are fairly reasonable – $4 per hour (on the cpomputers or for wifi) or $7.95 for a day’s unlimited wifi.

Finally, the kitchen was very large and spacious, with plenty of seating, but it was very poorly equipped…I think there were about 5 forks in the whole place! And of course, at meal times (manily in the evenings) it got extremely crowded. There was also never enough fridge space, which meant that people were constantly moving things around…our stuff went missing from the fridge twice…I was not impressed! However, if you’re not feeling like cooking, you can always got to Scary Canary bar next door where they do excellent drink and meal deals…and the food’s not bad either!

It may sound like I hated Base, but it wasn’t all bad. The location is great but if I’m honest I probably wouldn’t stay there again, as there are much nicer places around the same area.

Dates stayed: 06 – 13 Jan 2012

My Rating:

Overall: 84%

Atmosphere: 86%
Cleanliness: 75%
Location: 90%
Staff: 79%
Safety: 88%
Value for Money: 84%