Chill Backpackers

Lowest cost backpackers in the area. Very close to the city and public transport. Very friendly staff.

I stayed at this hostel for a week and, unfortunately, that was more than enough time to realise that there are several things that seriously need to be improved: 1. Beds without curtains: there aren’t even simple curtains around the beds to provide a minimum level of privacy. Considering how inexpensive a solution like this would be, I honestly find it difficult to understand why they haven’t been installed. 2. Rooms without windows: some of the rooms don’t have windows, and you can definitely notice it. The air becomes heavy and the smell of sweat and stale air can be really difficult to tolerate. On top of that, there isn’t a proper place to leave your shoes outside the room, which makes the problem even worse. 3. No lockers and poor handling of theft: there are no personal lockers where guests can safely store their belongings. On my first day, a bag containing around $70 worth of groceries that I had just bought was stolen. When I reported it to reception, I was simply told to check more carefully. Nobody checked the CCTV or showed any real interest in trying to understand what had happened. For a hostel, I found this response particularly disappointing. 4. Cleanliness: the common areas don’t seem to be properly cleaned. The dining tables are often sticky, as are the tables on the rooftop. The door between the kitchen and dining area is also in a very unpleasant condition and, personally, I avoided touching it directly. 5. Cleaning times and the way cleaning is handled: this is probably the aspect that annoyed me the most. On two occasions, while I was taking a shower, staff repeatedly knocked on the door and asked me to leave because they needed to clean. One time it was around 9:00 AM and the other was between 7:30 and 8:30 PM, which are exactly the times when people would normally be using the bathrooms. The same issue happens with the kitchen. Cleaning is normally carried out between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, when many people are preparing or eating lunch. On another occasion, we were asked to leave the kitchen at around 12:00 PM because they needed to clean, and we were not allowed back in until after 1:00 PM. So I honestly wonder when guests are actually supposed to be able to use the kitchen normally. I think the cleaning schedule should be reconsidered and, above all, the way these situations are communicated to guests should be improved. I want to make it clear that I’m not referring to all the staff: there are also employees who are kind and helpful. However, these issues have been frequent and significant enough to make my overall experience a negative one. I booked a second week only because a friend of mine is staying here. Once that stay is over, however, I definitely won’t be coming back to this hostel

Good!!!

Good location. Low price.