Elephant Backpacker

Very cheap accommodation, and you get what you pay for. The staff are very friendly and helpful though.

Good 24hr concierge Nice old heritage building Old computer systems Breakfast is one toast or a small bowl of cereal

Frankly speaking, building is old but there is everything in there, such as free wifi, lift, hot water, etc. Above all, receptionists who are aussie guys are really nice. they are friendly, make breakfast for guests, I like them

Contrary to the website they dont have a airport shuttle service. They had no bed for me when i arrived, after a lot of waiting a bed was located in a mens dorm there was no clean linen. I had to come back later for linen. The key to the room had to be reset constantly. My biggest complaint is tea being unavailable at breakfast or served stone cold.
The location is fantastic and showers are hot and have good pressure.
The building is grand and beautiful but needs serious maintenance. Wifi is patchy.

First of all, it's important to state that I've lived at mutiple hostels in different cities, both in Australia and the US. So I know what it means to live in a hostel and what to expect.

However, compared to Elephant Backpacker all of these prior hostel experiences seemed like luxurious 6-star hotel stays. To make people understand, here are some of the secenarios we experienced during our (2-nights!!!) stay.

1. First of all, we had a bit of rearranging in our travel plans and tried to call them a week in advance to let them know two of us came a day later than the other group. However, they have no phone. They did reply to our mail, but didn't address the issue in the mail. Result: we had to pay for a night we didn't stay there.

2. When we arrived, the guys in the reception didn't have a clue about anything, not even which room we were staying upon checking in. All of the workers are other travelers and therefore none of them "have the responsibility to do anything". It's a viscous circle, and impossible to get any form of action on your complaints.

3. When we finally got into our room (no lock on the door), we were met by a sweet Asian lady who were half eaten by bed bugs during her night in one of the beds. But no need worry, because the staff told us they were gonna spray the room in a week (!!!). By then we would've already left.

4. When we came back later to get some sleep (however, some of us were considering to sleep in our car), random people were sleeping in our beds using our sheets and pillows. Sharing is caring! This was a well-known issue at the hostel, where people almost every night due to the lack of security helped themselves to a free bed.

5. The next morning we went for the free breakfast. We stood there for 15 minutes watching a guy doing the dishes without soap and using his fingers as a cloth. We decided to leave the queue when one of the guests got handed over a plate with two pieces of toast and a dead cockroach. Meat included in the free breakfast? What a bargain!

6. At this point it shouldn't be necessary to describe what the toilets and baths looked like. But to be honest they were worse then that. Used tampons, shavers, blood and piss. When we (finally) left the hostel, we ran into Ben. Ben is a sweet homeless guy living in the car park across the street. He just sneaked in for a shower at the hostel that night, so at least someone liked the facilities. Needless to say, Ben was a better host than the staff at the hostel, when he showed us the cardboard boxes he slept in at the car park. Furthermore, this type of accommodation will also be considered by us in the future when visiting Sydney if Elephant Backlacker is the only other option.

Unclean. Unfriendly staff. Very old. Disgusting toilets. Cannot recommend.

The most disgusting hostel I've ever been! Bedbugs, everything dirty and one 3 showers for 2 stores (about 40 rooms). Nothing is working there. We booked two nights and they said, that they have only one for us and after one hour we've got the room finally for two nights. It was the biggest mistake to choose this hostel
Don't do the same!

The worst Hostel, rude people working there and dirty Kitchen, bathroom and all the common areas. This ate photos of the inside of the microwave and the "window" of the kitchen

It is too much to give 1 point to this poor backpacker. They didn't even give me a diposit saying 'manager is not here'. That's why they didn't give me a diposit.
After that I called a manager. He said that I cannot get deposit after 48hours.
And enjoy bedbugs, dirty bathroom, dirty restroom, dirty room, dirty kitchen, rude staffs. I can recommend you to go to this backpacker if you want to enjoy these things.

Worst backpacker ever.
We called before booking a room for 4 people in the same room, they said that it'll be possible but when we checked-in, they split our group in 2. The 2 guys at the front desk were so mean and not helpful at all.
We spend about 35/40 minutes to the check-in.

The entire location is really tidy. There are broken toilets, doors of the showers too (broken or missed). A lot of noise during the night.
The bedrooms were disgusting, with broken stores (we can't close it), no fan, and a lot of dust on the lockers.

So if you can find a better option, do it ! Won't be back on this place ever.

Literally nothing good to say. Rude staff. Everything was in disrepair... go somewhere else

The hostel stunk as soon as you walked in. When we first walked into our room we found a man sleeping in one of the beds. When we asked reception why he was there and they said they didn't know. They didn't even offer to change the sheets he had been sleeping in.
The room had not been cleaned and was filthy.
The bathrooms were dirty and there was no soap in the toilets.

There was a ceiling fan and no fly screen on the windows, it was too hot if you closed the window or you had flies and bugs infesting your room.

Do not stay here. Grossly overpriced for the pathetic excuse of a hostel.

I've gotta say, this is one of the grottier hostels I've stayed in. Faucets fell off, showers didn't have doors, everything was kinda damp and did not smell great.

Check in was unnecessarily bureaucratic, and I was basically told my booking was void and I'd have to go somewhere else because I didn't have a passport on me, until I talked them in to accepting a scan of it.

Avoid, if at all possible.