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Port Campbell Hostel Reviews

18 Tregea St, Port Campbell, Port Campbell, Victoria, Australia

Reviews & Ratings Explained

87%Overall Rating

From 78 ratings
  • 82%Character
  • 88%Security
  • 90%Location
  • 90%Staff
  • 81%Atmosphere
  • 94%Cleanliness

The following reviews were submitted by customers who booked in the last 6 months.

The reviews and ratings in the rating box are based on all-time feedback and are the opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up to the minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is. Read our review guidelines »

We now classify our reviewers based on how well travelled they are.

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  • Avid Traveller: 10-20 Reviews Added
  • Globetrotter : 20+ Reviews Added
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67%

When I arrived at the hostel, it was unlocked but no one was there. There wasn't information about what time the reception would be opened. I had to call the hostel mobile number to get that information. The bathrooms & toilets located in the hallway to the room - not a very private environment. There's no separate bathroom & toilet for male-female. The 10 minutes timer at the bathroom was annoying. This hostel didn't have a friendly aura - especially if you read the poster near the computers.

Owner Comment (Show)
Hey there Justina, Tony here, one of the dudes who runs the hostel. A reasonable review here, but there are a few things I'll address. Firstly, that info info you wanted about our reception hours is in the 4th paragraph about our hostel, here on hostelworld. It reads: "Our reception desk is manned to reflect the usual flow of travellers on the Great Ocean Road: from 5.00pm until around 8.00pm each night, and 8.00am-10.00am for check-out." In your case, you listed an ETA of 5.00pm, which was the time I lept out from behind my counter, "wild-man" like, to open the reception. That performance can sometimes scare people... Secondly, there ARE normal, seperate bathrooms and toilets for males and females in the hostel... they are on our ground floor and VERY clearly sign posted. (In fact, in the two nights you stayed with us I reckon you would have walked under the big blue sign directing you to those 'TOILETS' more than two dozen times.) Thirdly, that 10-minute timer you mention is ONLY a timer that automatically controls how long the lights and extraction fans servicing the showers remain on for, before they need to be turned back on again. (Which is, funnily enough, 10 minutes. There's a sign that clearly tells you that info about 25 mm (one inch) away from the light switch...) Fourthly, that poster you mention beside our computers? It's my personal, humourous "dig" at the sometimes banal nature of comments posted onto facebook (presuming that's the poster you mean). Unfortunately, I reckon you have mistaken what is nothing more than an attempt at humour as a serious statement. If you come back, I'll explain it to you over a beer or three. Or four. (Or more - after all, I run a backpacker hostel and enjoying a drink with my guests is one of those small favours we managers have had written into our contracts!!!) Finally, one thing you have not mentioned was the upgrade you received, at absolutely no extra cost to you. In your case, you got to enjoy a private room to yourself for $26.10 per night. (I challenge anyone out there to beat that value, on the Great Ocean Road.) To help put that into perspective, our local caravan park would have charged you $28.00 per night to let you pitch a tent on a site. In your case you got an entire room to yourself, along with all the trimmings the hostel provides, for almost $2 less than that! In fact, I reckon the only really questionable part of your stay would have been having to put up with me and my antics (for which I always seem to be apologising for...) ANyway, aprt from all that, I hope you enjoyed your time down around my part of the world, and got to see some amazing (and I do mean, amazing) world class sites. This is a pretty speccy part of Austraila, and you are always welcome back! Cheers, and be happy when you're travelling! Tony

77%

The hostel was very charming.

  • Avid Traveller
  • 04 May 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Belgium
  • All Female Group 25-30
  • (12 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi Lien! Great review. (And we've never had anyone call the hostel charming before. If the hostel was a human, it'd be blushing...). Hope you enjoyed your stay and onwards road-trip along the Great Ocean Road. You would've seen some very speccy sites. (On that, did you happen to see any whales??? They've just started returning to this part of the coastline to give birth, and nurse their young. They normally hand around until late October). Cheers, Bec and Tony

97%

I DO HAVE A GOOD TIME HERE...THX 4 GIVING MY VOCATION SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 28 Apr 2012
  • Anonymous
  • China
  • Female 18-24
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Thanks for your review... and it's the least we could to do whatever's reasonable to help make your stay in our hostel as good as poss! Cheers again for your comments!

87%

The room is clean. However it is too basic. Would be great if there are some place to hang clothes and towel in the room. The toilet are clean but does not have place to put your shampoo and showel gel during bath

  • Novice Nomad
  • 19 Apr 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Malaysia
  • Male 31-40
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi Syn - cheers from your review! We place a huge emphasis in keeping our hostel as clean as possible, and take great pride on being rated one of the cleanest hostels in Australia. In fact, based on the reviews and ratings on hostelworld for hostel's of our size, we're normally rated as either the cleanest hostel in the country, or certainly in the top three, and we're pretty proud of that. And yeah, we accept that we're a basic hostel. However, we don't make any attempt at all to hide that fact from anyone. We even go so far as to call our Private rooms, exactly like the room you booked, wait... waiiiit..... waaaiiiitttttt for it... 'Basic Doubles', for a very good reason - 'cause they're very basic! (We even advertise them as coming with very basic amenities in the room on this site.) I'm not real sure how much clearer I can make that: they're clean, tidy, (large) and basic rooms. (Perhaps I could start to market our hostel as "COTBA"... Champion of the Basic Accommodators. Tho' I'm not real sure that would gain legs.) We're a simple, happy-go-lucky and basic little place for folks to doss for a night or two, tucked into a beaut little coastal village in the heart of the Port Campbell National Park. We're located literally a few minutes away from some of the most spectacular coastal scenery you can see in Australia, and within spitting distance of some of the most photographed natural coastal attractions you'll get a chance to see. And we love this place 'cause of all those things!

97%

9/10 If this hostel were in a major city it would be one of the top hostels. Seems very new. Ample & clean cooking facilities, clean showers, clean toilets, clean& nice rooms. There are some quirks- limited reception hours& due to the showers UPSTAIRS being close to the rooms their hot water is turned off after 10:30pm / stove elements not available after 10:30pm (but most hostels close their kitchens completely after a certain time) here you can still make a cup of tea or microwave 24/hrs

  • Novice Nomad
  • 19 Apr 2012
  • Anonymous
  • New Zealand
  • Couple 25-30
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Good day Karl... great review. Not much I wanna add to what you've said. Sure, we have some quirks, but what hostel doesn't? And nothing we do acts as any sort of major show-stopper... at least that's the face-to-face feedback we receive from heaps of our guests when we chat at reception (and I only wish I could get them to place their positive comments into a review...). Anyway, cheers again for your words - hope you enjoyed your jaunt down the Great Ocean Road! Tony, Bec and Claire @ the Port Campbell Hostel

70%

Toilets and showers in the hallway right outside our private room was loud, uncomfortable and unusual. Doona arrangements pales in comparison with other hostels along great ocean road we stayed at.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 11 Apr 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Male 25-30
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi Khanh. I'm bloody sorry to read that your experience in our hostel didn't appear to be up to scratch - simply not good enough, from our side of the fence. While I know that this is no consolation, we were booked solid the night you stayed, which I guarantee helped contribute to those noise issues you mentioned. However, I guess it's fair to note that we provide a bed for over 80 people under our one roof on our really, really busy nights (and you stayed on one of those!), so we've grown accustomed to accepting a degree of give and take about noise in a hostel of this size. As for the doona arrangements, to be honest I'm not certain I understand what you mean - you're the first customer I can recall who's ever made a comment about them. From what I've got recorded for your room when you stayed, you were supplied with a king sized doona for your bed, and two king-single doonas to suit the set of bunks in your room. That is standard bedding supply in the hostel, so if there's anything about that that's unusual, I'd be interested in hearing about it. Finally, I see you rated us as a '1' for cleanliness, which I admit is surprising. Being a clean hostel is something we work very, very hard on maintaining, and is an aspect of our business that we do not compromise on. Since opening in late 2009 we've attracted close to 300 reviews by guests who've booked through this site. Of those, close to 80% have rated our cleanliness as a '5' ('excellent), and almost 20% as '4' ('very good'). This is the only time we've been rated as a '1' so, if you're willing, drop me an email at the hostel about whatever it was that you found not up to standard, and I'll get it fixed. Cheers, Tony

77%

Great hostel with really good staff. There wasn't much of an atmosphere there as there were large families and older people staying at the same time but the facilities are great. Would stay here again.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 10 Apr 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Female 18-24
  • (2 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hey Michelle - thanks for the review! While our principle target market has always been backpackers, we're also a popular haunt for families and travelling groups who 'get' the backpacking way of life, so we do end up catering for all sorts of people. (Including, as you found out, some older travellers.) But, rather than that being a drama, I'd encourage you to embrace them (and I mean that figuratively, not literally... unless that's your style) and hear what they've got to say. I reckon you'd find that, in most instances, they're like a real-live, walking and talking 'Lonely Planet' guidebook!

83%

I enjoyed staying at Port Campbell Hostel! It was clean and very nice. The staff were very friendly and helpful. My only complaint is that the showers and kitchen were open for limited hours.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 28 Mar 2012
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Female 18-24
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
G'day Maggie - a big cheers for your review! Everything in our kitchen remains available 24/7 EXCEPT access to the hot-plates/hobs and ovens. Power to them is turned off off at 10.30pm, and back on again in the morning around 8.00am, if we're asked to do that. (Why does the power turn off at 10.30pm? Unfortunately, we suffered too many near-misses when drunk guests (always seems to be alcohol involved...) would leave stuff cooking on the hot-plates when they came home from the pub late at night. Think... smoke... fire... "burning down the house". (To quote a line from an old Talking Heads song from the 80s). All in all - not a good look for a hostel. In reality, there's really only a short period when you can't cook up a fry up... from 10.30pm until normally 8.00am in the morning. Leaves heaps of time to get cookin' done. As for the limited times for showering - they're on every day from 5.00pm-10.30pm, and again from 6.00am-10.00am. (And, during the day for guest's who've stayed more than one night). They turn off at 10.30pm to avoid the issues and complaints we used to get (ALL the time. And I am serious when I say that. We got complaints all... all... all... ALL the time) when groups who'd come back from the pub would grab a shower at 1.30am... or 2.00am... or 3.00am.. (etc, etc, etc) and talk / yell / giggle / scream (etc, etc... and why is it that people who take a shower in the wee small hours feel the need to talk as LOUDLY as they possibly can??? Maybe they reckon people in the next post code want to join in the conversation? Who knows. Anyway, back to the point...) really, REALLY loudly while they did that. Which kept everyone upstairs awake. (Remember, our funky showers sit directly off our upstairs corridor, right alongside the bulk of our bedrooms. So, any noise made when someone takes a shower can directly impact people snoozing in their beds). While we cop a few 'raised eyebrow' comments about the showers limited times (like yours, I acknowledge and accept), the number of issues the "limited shower hours" raises with guests is really, really tiny when I compare them to the HUGE number of complaints we used to receive when our showers remained open all night. Anyway, enough from me... simply thanks again for taking the time to review the hostel. We appreciated having you here, and really hope you enjoyed your trip on the Great Ocean Road. Regards - Bec, Tony and our 2 year old curly haired girl who'd run around the place, Claire

70%

Location was great. Bathrooms were a bit odd...

  • Novice Nomad
  • 21 Mar 2012
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Couple 25-30
  • (6 reviews)


80%

Thank you....we had a good time!!! Omar

  • Novice Nomad
  • 19 Mar 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Italy
  • Couple 31-40
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Grazie, Omar. I vostri amici e vi sono tornati i benvenuti al mio ostello, in qualsiasi momento!!! Ciao, Tony

97%

The books shelter with french magazines : a plus ! Love it !!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 17 Mar 2012
  • Anonymous
  • France
  • Female 18-24
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Merci - you have given us a great idea... we will start scouring local 2nd hand-book stores for magazines from France, Germany, Spain, Asia, Holland - plonk 'em into our book exchange for guests to enjoy. Encore une fois, je vous remercie beaucoup Tony

100%

Literally the nicest hostel I've every stayed at and I've stayed at a lot!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 03 Mar 2012
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Female 18-24
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Nenha, yr review made me grin so much my jaw bone cracked and some teeth popped out!

93%

Though the hostel intends to be green by recycling water. Yet one flush of water is too much for washing hand, and as the basin is too small, the water will splash out, wetting the ground and toilet bowl. Also there is no place to brush teeth and wash face.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 03 Mar 2012
  • Anonymous
  • China
  • Couple 25-30
  • (4 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Great review, but for a one significant error about "...no place to brush teeth and wash face". Put simply (and, I'm not being nasty here, so please don't take this the wrong way) that statement is 100% wrong. We've got a triangular shaped "Powder Room", with 5 hand-basins and a huge, funky set of mirrors in it. That room is open all the time, and located directly off the main upstairs corridor. (At the opposite end of the corridor from where your room was. You stayed in room 14. Our Powder Room is adjacent to rooms 3 and 4, and across from room 10). Also, we have two HUGE single-gender bathrooms downstairs. They are both directly accessible from our communal lounge/TV room. (You would have had to have walked past their access door, and walked directly UNDER the overhead sign that specifically directs people to their location... I'd guess about a dozen times during your stay!). I'm surprised you didn't bump into those amenities at some point - they are really, really clearly signed, very readily available and used by pretty much every guest who stays.

90%

Good hostel to sleep over during the Great Ocean Road journey. Close to the Twelve Apostole and other wonderful creatures of the nature. Good location and reasonable price.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 27 Feb 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Hungary
  • Couple 25-30
  • (7 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Great review - we appreciate your comments. About the price... we are doing all we can to smash the "Australia's so expensive" theme we hear so often. Case in point - we offer those cold cans of Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, Sprite (etc) at $1.00/can which, we feel, is the cheapest in Victoria. (If you can find it cheaper, let us know...). Same with the prices of our food stuffs in our kiosk - we buy it cheap (from really, really cheap outlets), & pass the savings directly onto our you. Our net prices have dropped in the last week: ANYONE booking on Hostelworld.com now gets 30 minutes of FREE 'net time, and our Wifi prices are as cheap as we can make it, without giving it away. And, we recently started to place 'Lucky Dip' beds onto the market, which sell for around $20.00/bed. There is NOWHERE you can get a bed cheaper than that on the Great Ocean Road, of that we are certain. So, those are all things we are doing to help travellers make your hoilday dollar go that little bit further. Cheers, Tony

87%

Port Campbell is not a huge town, in fact its quite tiny, with one or two streets defining the towns' borders. However, it is very close to 12 Apostles and this hostel is situated conveniently for those out of towners who want to crash for the evening. It was purpose built to be a hostel. We stayed in a double-bed private room with a shared bathroom. The room was sparsely decorated with a king-size bed which was actually two twins put together. The bathrooms were immaculately cleaned.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 08 Feb 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Canada
  • Male 25-30
  • (5 reviews)


67%

very clean and very friendly staff, but due to some strange rules there is not at all an atmosphere in the hostel and it feels a bit sterile:(.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 06 Feb 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Germany
  • Female 31-40
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi Nancy - we always seem to get to receive a belting (figuratively speaking, of course!) in on-line reviews about the somewhat atmosphere in the hostel. Even after managing the hostel for two years, we are still working on finding the exact balance between delivering an environment that allows socialisation inside the hostel (which almost always involves alcohol, which can lead to dramas sometimes) and the rights of most of our guests to a bit of peace and quiet when they want to get some zzzzz's. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes not, and we always find that it is the guests who stay on any given night who either contribute to an 'atmosphere', or not. (Case in point: when the recent Australian Open mens tennis final was played a couple of Sunday nights ago, we had something like 40 people inside the common room watching the match, and you could have heard a pin drop! Every one of those guests was engrossed in the match, and were enjoying their experience. But as for atmosphere? It was like a public library in here... strange, but there you go).

100%

Great place to crash for the night, could have had two nights here to really see more of this beautiful area. Staff were real characters, thanks for taking the time to stop and chat about the area. Loved the little shop, kitchen's great, huge dining and lounge area - so nice and cool with the air con's working beautifully - a must have at this time of the year down here in in this Aussie summer. Great hostel to remember when travelling the GOR again.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 31 Jan 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Female 31-40
  • (1 review)


100%

My brother and me stayed ofr one night - loved the place! Decent buzz and brill' craic with other guests. HUGE open plan common area, allows you to socialize or just find your own space and chill - you decide. Brilliant and very well equipped Kitchen: well suited to the crowds using it on the night we stayed. Hostel has a cute little in-house conveniance shop/kiosk selling really, really well valued goods. Nice surprise: cheap coke and chocolate!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 29 Jan 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Female 31-40
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi! Finally, someone has commented on our little in-house kiosk. A comment we always hear from our guests is: "Everything in Australia is ssoooo expensive". Well, we are trying to do something about that, and our little kiosk is one small step towards addressing that perception. Where else can you expect to find cans of cold Coke, Pepsi, Fanta (etc) for $1.00 along the Great Ocean Road? (And keep an eye out for our specials - e.g. right now we have bars of Toblerone for sale at 50 cents each! And large bags of Cheesels (mmmm... cheesie, tasty snacks!) for $1.00. In both cases, those products are cheaper than what you can buy them for from an Aussie supermarket! Bargain with a big, big capital 'B'.

93%

Excellent hostel. Excellent location. Bloody great value. The place is as clean as any hostel i have ever stayed in, and it offered every amenity I needed (tho' I apologise (again) for burning out your iron. Silly of me to try to iron my jeans). Port Campbell is located right in the middle of some classic coastal natural attractions, like the 12 Apostles and London Bridge, and the hostel is located smack bang in the middle of the town. Beautiful little bay, as well.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 29 Jan 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Male 31-40
  • (1 review)


100%

This hostel is by the far the cleanest and best constructed I've seen on my trip. Everything looks brand new and works perfectly. Was great to see all the eco initiatives they have. The staff are eager to help and very friendly. The guests were cool and the atmosphere was fun. Port Campbell is a lovely little town, really lucked out choosing this as a pit stop on my Great Ocean Road drive.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 27 Jan 2012
  • Anonymous
  • Canada
  • Male 18-24
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
G'day Mr. Jacobs. Not only is yours is one of our best reviews yet, your words have helped cement our opinion of Canadians... you are the Irish of continental America! (A good thing). Canadians seem to travel very well, have a great sense of humour (tho' I reckon you spell it "humor") and always seem to make the most of their time in a location. In fact, and with reference to the Irish who we affentionately call Paddies, I'm going to start calling Canadians "Caddies". (Nothing to do with golf). Travel well. Cheers, Bec, Tony and Claire (tho' not sure you would've met Claire - she's our 2 y.o. who shows her smile around the hostel from around 9.00am onwards most days).

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