Backpackers' Inn On The Beach

...complaints. Byron is a beautiful place to stay, and you could do a lot worse than the Backpackers' Inn.

http://www.backpackersinnbyronbay.com.au/

BACKPACKERS INN ON THE BEACH
29 Shirley St
Byron Bay, NSW
Australia

P +61 (02) 6685 8231  ... more

Booking accommodation for the Christmas period is always tough. Ditto booking accommodation on a strict budget, booking accommodation when there are a few of you, and booking accommodation in a specific location with specific features. These were all issues when we booked our accommodation for our Christmas stay in Byron Bay, and even though we booked what we thought was well in advance (early October), our choices were limited. For this reason we went with the first hostel that could fit us in - the Backpackers Inn on the Beach - and booked for the 4 of us to stay 4 nights.

When we booked we were told they couldn't guarantee we'd all be in the same room, which seemed a bit strange since there were 4 of us, and many of their rooms sleep 4, but when we arrived they happily gave us a room to ourselves. Dorms and private rooms are available, and all shared rooms are single sex, unless you book the whole room for your party. The hostel is laid out like an American motel with exterior corridors, and an open plan design. Rooms are on the ground floor and the first floor, and our was upstairs which I always prefer. The room was reasonably large and had one double bed and a set of bunk beds which was fine for us but could have been uncomfortable if you were sharing with strangers. In addition to the beds there were individual safes (free of charge, but BYO on the padlock), and 4 open storage areas suitable for hanging up clothes (BYO hangers) and holding books and toiletries. There were two (2!) mirrors in the bedroom which is more than many hotels I've stayed in, and a ceiling fan to keep you cool. Because we were not at ground level we felt comfortable keeping the windows open, allowing fresh air to breeze through the room.

Bathrooms are communal, and single-sex. These were small but there were a few on each level, so queues were not a big problem. Each had a toilet and large shower stall, but though these were clean, they were a little worn in places - for example the locks on the toilets didn't work well.

The kitchen was large but fridge and freezer space, though plentiful, was packed with other people's stuff - I think in part because Byron is the type of place many people stay for a while, and so settle in properly, buying provisions and cooking in rather than eating out. We managed to find room for our food, but it got a little squashed in the process. The kitchen was on the 1st floor and overlooked the chill out area - complete with sofas, pool table and similar. There was room to eat in the kitchen, but most people tended to take their food outside to the picnic tables beside the pool. We spent Christmas afternoon sitting on the grass enjoying a leisurely picnic lunch. Christmas day, as it turned out, was the only time there were issues with the kitchen. The hostel put on a lunch for residents, for which tickets cost about £12. We decided to skip this since it was mainly BBQ meat and watered down Sangria (in our group of 4 we had 1.5 vegetarians, a Halal-eater who tends to go vege abroad and a tee-totaler), but the kitchen was closed on the day to allow the staff to prepare the food, so we had to fight for the right to go in and take stuff out of the fridge.

As the name would suggest, this hostel is on the beach, but the brief walk is not easy because it crosses a disused train track and involves a hill that takes some effort. The sand is boiling but flip-flops don't stay on when hiking sand dunes, so you end up doing a crazy running / hopping motion to get to and from the beach. It's worth it, though, because the sand is bright and soft, the water clear and blue, and the whole area lacking the general annoying animal life you find in many areas of Oz (mosquitoes, stingers etc). The hostel pool is also one of the better ones I came across - though small, it was clean enough, and you could see all the way to the bottom. There were a few inflatables floating about, but I don't think these are necessarily a permanent fixture.

The hostel is well located in a quiet area of time, about 5 minutes walk from the start of the main street where you'll find supermarkets, take aways and restaurants. The local cinema and all the town's nightlife are within walking / stumbling distance, as is the local communal pool, though this is not a patch on the lagoons in Brisbane or Cairns, and is little more than a glorified lap pool.

Other hostel facilities:
- a laundry that was heavily used meaning you always had to wait for a washer
- vending machines that ate my money with the same hunger I had for the chocolate bar they were refusing to give me
- board games for hire from reception
- a TV room on the ground floor

Overall we had a pleasant stay. The hostel was no noisier than many others, and their liberal views on the famed merchandise of nearby Nimbin, though evident from the people smoking seated on the stairs and on the corridors at all hours (BYO pot), did little more than give the place 'character'. Two niggles detract from a full 5 star rating:

1. The staff were adequate but nothing more. Many appeared to be backackers on working holidays which seemed to give rise to an attitude of 'I'll come to work and do my job in order to get my beer money, but it's not a career for me so I'm not going to go that extra mile'. There seemed to be a lack of 'professionals' compared to some other hostels, and this lead to a slightly flawed level of service - sometimes answers to questions were short, or unhelpful for example.

2. Being in a popular tourist spot, the hostel is not the cheapest I stayed in - in fact what I paid here would have got me my own private room in most others. At around £13 it was by no means expensive, but I think it's a useful comparison to make.

Despite these minor things, we did enjoy our stay and had few complaints. Byron is a beautiful place to stay, and you could do a lot worse than the Backpackers' Inn.

http://www.backpackersinnbyronbay.com.au/

BACKPACKERS INN ON THE BEACH
29 Shirley St
Byron Bay, NSW
Australia

P +61 (02) 6685 8231 

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