BootsnAll Travel Community

I was wondering if anyone could help me, i am wanting to book a hostel for my first few nights in Sydney. I have found two that sound pretty good one is Wake Up hostel and the other is Maze backpacker (Maze being $10 cheaper per night). I was wondering if any of you had stayed in either of these and what your opinions were. I would obviously prefer to stay in the cheaper one but if it is no good i would rather pay the money.

any other suggestions on good hostels more than welcome

Thanks guys

I loved Wake Up! but some of the comments I've heard have said that it's a bit "clinical" and can be difficult to makes friends there. I thought it was great as it's pretty new and clean - I was with a group of people when I was there so can't comment about the socialbility aspect. Never heard much about Maze I'm afraid (not far up the road from Wake Up!) - I think that they have a trip booking section in their reception which I heard was pretty good. Sorry to be a bit vague about them but I can definately recommend Wake Up! Good bar underneath the hostel too even if some nights it's a bit of a meat market!

Thanks for that, i have herd that Wake up can be a bit difficult to meet people, which is a bit of a concern for me as i don't know anyone in Sydney and will be on my own, so i would really like to stay somewhere where i can meet people.
I have also herd of a hostel called Sydney Backpacker so if anyone knows anything about this place that would be cool to hear about too.

I've stayed in WakeUp Sydney 5 or 6 times, at least... never had any problems meeting people, but I'll talk to anyone who will listen!

It's clean, got a great staff, great kitchen, great bathrooms, nice lounge area. If you know you're going to be there for a bit book the whole thing at once and you can save some money.

They are a bit uptight about the rules though, such as luggage storage post-checkout (not pre-checkin, they're fine about that) and security. Good on the one hand because you're safe and your stuff is safe, bad on the other when you have to lug your stuff a few blocks to find a storage place b/c WakeUp only has a few lockers.

I've also stayed at Footprints in Sydney. Not quite as nice, but fun. I liked the staff there and they had lots of events/outings (WakeUp does too)

Another word of advice - I booked into the Sydney Backpacker (just to clarify this is the one on Wilmot street) over Chrsitmas and NY last year. After moving into my 8 bed dorm - which turned into a SEVENTEEN bed dorm (this is no joke, they were building more bunkbeds in the room as I got there along with one single bed) I nearly cried. The facilities weren't up to scratch and the owner was a git to put it politely. I then decided that I couldn't stand to stay there and promptly booked back into Wake Up!. Couldn't get my money back either as I'd paid up front for Xmas so ended up paying for two hostel rooms over Christmas. I had to stay there over NY though as there was no chance of getting anywhere else at that point. Extravagant, you may think and at any other time of year I would have put up and shut up however NOT at Christmas. I was finding it hard to be away over the festive period anyway but this was the final straw. Worth every penny moving back to Wake Up! Just my thoughts and personal opinions on the matter....

hey spiceymel

that is terrible, i would be so pissed off if i got stuck in a room with 17 people, that's insane!
thanks so much for the word of warning, i will steer well clear of that place. It looks like Wake Up is miles ahead of the rest, although it's a bit more expensive

quote:

I think that they have a trip booking section in their reception which I heard was pretty good

Something you guys should know on Hotel and hostel tour booking agents:


Conciege's, tour booking agent's and hostel tour booker's have always and will always push the tour company that pays them the highest amount of commission. The result? You have a crappy tour pushed onto, you're non-the-wiser that you could have done a tour 100 times better, the group dynamics sucked. The burnt out, rude, over it Tour Guide sucked, the tour was rushed, the tour was nothing like what you had in mind....You wished you were never recommended the tour.

It goes like this:

You go to the brochure rack at your place of accommodation, or you find an ad in a travel magazine, you head to the desk, place the brochure/magazine on the desk and ask them what the tour is like and you'd like to book it. Here are their answers:

1. Oh you don't want to go on that tour, they're hopeless.
2. No you don't want to do that tour, it's boring.
3. You can't do that one, it's fully booked out.
4.Have a look at this tour, this tour is much better.

Some booking agents ring up the tour company and ask: 'Do you have available seats for your tour tomorrow?" And before the person on the other end can even answer the question, the booker say: " Oh, you don't? You're fully booked out? Ok, thank you". Then they hang up and the tour company might've had 10 seats available. You are again non-the-wiser.


IT IS LIKE A MAFIA, THESE BOOKER'S ONLY HAVE A SELECT FEW TOUR COMPANIES THEY WILL BOOK. THE ONES WHO PAY THEM THE HIGHEST COMMISSION......PLAIN & SIMPLE.

If you're going to book a tour, speak directly with the actual tour company or email them to have all your questions properly answered. There are brilliant tour operators out there and there are boring, unlicensed, and crappy tours which rate 1/10 out there. If a brochure looks like it has what your're looking for,chances are it has. Ring up the company. Most tour companies have a free call phone number. You can usually get a good discount on the tour ticket price because you're buying your ticket direct. You've effectively cut out the middle man/woman. The tour company can discount the amount they would usually have to pay in commission. This amount can be up to 50% of your ticket price payed in commission just because some one picked up the phone and made a phone call on your behalf).Why throw you're money away, it's best left in your pocket.

If we were all booking agents and one tour company was paying $20.00 in commission per booking and the other was paying $50.00. Which tour would you book your customer on? $50.00 can be a lot of money when you're on a tight budget. We can't blame the booking agents for pushing the tours that pay the more cash, ofcourse they would go for the company that pays them more. But YOU have a choice. You've worked hard and saved hard for this trip to Oz, don't squander it paying high commission fees and getting a boring 1/10 tour for your efforts. A lot of booking agent's have the mindset that tourists come and go, there will always be more and they don't care if they promote a crap tour. They have no sincerity, they simply do not care, you'll be gone the next day anyway. This happens all day and every day. There are companies out there who have a sincere passion for what they do and where they take people. Search these guys out. Go with the companies that have been backpackers themselves and can relate to the people they have on their tour....YOU! A tour company should always ask themselves: ' If I was going on the tour my company offered, what would I expect, what would I like/dislike about it, how could I make it better and continually improve it, how could I make it as good as possible and give people the time of their lives? And if I advertise I will give them an ADVENTURE, then I will bloody well give them one, not some third rate boring show with burn out tour guides'.

Have a great trip, ask heaps of questions DIRECT when deciding on choosing a tour company, ask about the Driver/Guides they use, insurance, appropriate licenses etc. Will you be insured? We all just assume that we will be. Is the bus registered, does the company have permission to go where they go? Does the Driver/Guide drive 5 days straight and is falling asleep at the wheel? Did he sleep at all the night before? Does the Driver/Guide have a first aid certificate? Expect the unexpected. Great tour companies minimise risk. Crappy tour companies put you at risk.Once again, always ask questions direct with the tour company.

If a tour company is recommended in a reputable guide book,or loads or people say they're good. Chances are they are reputable.

Book direct, save your money, be more content and most of all....... Have more fun!!!!

Happy trails to you.

WONDERBUS

useful read
thanks

I have found in my travels that most of the time you pretty much get what you pay for in hostels. In a place like Sydney where the hostels are all competing with each other a hostel that charges $10 more better be $10 better per night or it will get a reputation as a rip off and not worth it so people will go elsewhere. It really just depends on what you want. I've posted a lot about Wakeup, I really liked it but it definitely is more expensive. It's one of those new style hostels that is really nice and sparkling clean and feels like a hotel (Gilligan's in Cairns is the same way if you are ever up there).
I stayed at Footprints when I first got to Sydeny because that's where the Bunac program put everyone (however they just switched to the YHA so that might clue you in.

I don't think it's a terrible hostel but it wasn't great either in terms of facilities. I felt the staff and activities were good but it was really cramped (think 6 bed dorm that really should be a 4 bed dorm), laundry was unreliable, and the building was really old. I must say though I had the best time there!, met some great international roommates that I still talk to, booked a wonderful trip to the outback, and had a lot of wild times. The living room and kitchen are totally happening there (at least when I went) and they give you a breakfast (toast and coffee) which I know Wakeup doesn't. If you are thinking about price they do have a room called 'The Church' for only $16 Australian dollars. It had like 16/17 beds which is a little too crazy for me but I talked to many people that really enjoyed staying there.

The Maze is across the street and I went there once. It's not called the maze for nothing, I felt it was a little confusing and if you were coming home drunk it could be annoying but I have never stayed there. I'd say it's along the lines of Footprints.

Wake UP! in Sydney is a nightmare, unless you mind having all of your roommates stumble in sloppy drunk in the middle of the night. I spent one night there, and I never want to go back. Everybody had stuff all over the dorm floor. I couldn't even walk to my bunk without stepping all over everything. No fun.

I stayed at Eva's in King Cross, and it was pretty good. It was very clean and they had free breakfast. The best part about it though was the roofdeck. Great views of Sydney and great for a cheap night.

Weighing back in on WakeUp - Samanthia is right, it is often like that in the bigger dorms. It never bothered me because I was usually one of those people stumbled in wasted... actually, I was usually the one who got everyone in my room to go with me, so it was all good.

But yeah, just wanted to point out that she is correct, it just depends on what your night-life-style is. If you like to go out and party, the quieter hostels can be miserable because when you come home everyone is in bed and gets crabby at you. If you like to have a chill night at th pub and then get some good sleep to enjoy the sights the next day (or work, in some cases!!) you should stay somewhere quieter. You've got to stay somewhere where you fit in.

I have actually stayed at both and it really depends on what kind of hostel experience you are looking for. At Wake Up! they are very security oriented to the point where you can only go to the floor your key card allows, but they also have a really nice TV room, big kitchen and its very clean. The Maze is dirtier, filled with a lot younger crowd, its loud and everyone mingles with everyone. So if you are low on cash and are going to party a lot, Maze is fine, but if you want a nicer atmosphere, book ahead Wake Up! You could also make reservations for Wake Up, and then spend your first night at Maze, if its ok, cancel your reservations, if not move. I think most people in Maze actually perfered Footprints across the street. Hope that helps.

If you're looking for cheap Sydney hostels or hotels: http://www.sydneybeachhostels.com (Sydney Beach Hostels)

The prices are pretty good and the hostels are walking distance to popular Sydney beaches.