Exterior
Check availability

Reviews of Sydney Backpackers - Hostel

2 out of 5
Sydney Backpackers - Hostel
7 Wilmot Street, Sydney, NSW

Reviews

6.4
Rating 10 - Excellent. 36 out of 380 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 113 out of 380 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 129 out of 380 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 62 out of 380 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 40 out of 380 reviews" "

5.6/10

Cleanliness

6.2/10

Staff & service

5.0/10

Amenities

5.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Adam

Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

4/10 Poor

Min Dat

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

Keiko

Liked: Staff & service
I stayed in Sydney backpackers hostel over 2 weeks. I have some friends. I had good experience.

2/10 Terrible

Tom

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Did not return key holding deposit
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

4/10 Poor

Greg

Disliked: Amenities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

6/10 Okay

Patrick

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nicholas

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

2/10 Terrible

Kathryn

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Sydney’s most disgusting hostel.
Disgusting hostel, one of the worst I’ve stayed in (and I’ve stayed in quite a few). Bathrooms were disgusting, with mould on the ceiling and puddles on the floor. Bunk beds were rickety and felt like they were moments away from collapsing. The stairwell reeked of urine. The dorm room was dusty, dark and smelly, with roaches. One of the toilets was missing a button, so that you had to reach into the cistern to flush it. I didn’t use the kitchen or shower. I checked out a day early because I just couldn’t stay there any longer. Just because it’s a budget hostel does not mean that travellers should be subject to such conditions. At least the staff were lovely. Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for the disgusting living conditions.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Peter, Brisbane

Best backpackers ive stayed in bestvlocation best breakfast
Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2020

10/10 Excellent

Matthew

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Tyler

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

e

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
スタッフの方はフレンドリーで良い方達でした。6人部屋はとても広く1人1つ小さめのスーツケースが入る大きさのロッカーがあり良かったです。シャワー室の鍵が壊れていたり固定式のシャワーのため少し使いづらい所はマイナス点です。立地、安さ重視の方むけだと思います。
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This place is disgusting. There was a roach in the shower. The bathroom were so dirty I had to brush my teeth and wash my face in the kitchen sink.
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities
The facilities were obviously very old, there were other patrons shouting very loudly well after midnight, the communal fridges looked very unclean and smelled like off food. Additionally, the elevator wasn't very efficient and took ages to move one floor, the other patrons wouldn't handover the use of the TV to anyone else. The bathrooms had no racks or shelves to place toiletries or clothes, and the bed was extraordinarily squeaky. As well as other roommates sleeping all day long, preventing adequate lighting and a sense of unwelcomeness.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

6/10 Okay

Jackie

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Bathrooms disgusting, regular cleaning is needed. Noisiness from outside. Uncomfortable bedding.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

4/10 Poor

Heath, Launceston

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not an enjoyable stay. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
The stay was okay. The room was clean and comfortable, only the showers and toilets could have been in better conditions.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness
The wifi didn't work. Toilets were filthy & smelt like urine. Showers were often cold.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location but that’s about it..
The staff were nice enough but the room and facilities were not that great, looked dirty and like they hadn’t been cleaned in a long while
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018

6/10 Okay

Em, Uk

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Gross
Gross, dark, stuff room full of stuff everywhere and smelly people who are basically homeless people squatting. Never heard such disgusting gobbing/retching/snoring sounds in all my life. Dirty, smelly facilities too. And nice mouldy mugs outside the bedroom door. Sleeping on a plastic pillow is also not a nice experience. This hostel is a rip off.
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2017

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Needs serious cleaning
The room was very small, which we expected. The beds were comfortable enough, but that's where the positive comments end. The bathrooms and showers were filthy and the kitchen was gross. We found small bugs crawling around in the food cabinets and there were scraps in the sink drain. There were very few dishes to choose from & several of those were dirty. The eating tables hadn't been cleaned in a while. We couldn't wait to get out of there.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

4/10 Poor

lifeonthenet7., Pertth

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
My two night stay at Sydney Backpackers
The banker I was sleeping had no rail/ladder to climb, I had to struggle climbing up the banker. Not safe for an elderly guest. I felt sorry for the two girls sleeping in same room, no privacy. Everyone was sleeping with their clothes on. There was no air condition in the room.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Please don’t stay here!
I travel a lot and mostly skip the review part if it was bad and give reviews only the good ones but this time, I have to do it. I stayed here on 11//21-11/23. Starting with bad service. The check in person got irritated when I ask him to repeat. He has an accent but if I am patient with him, he should try the same especially he is the one who giving service. He became shot for any answers given. The next day, the front desk girl was worse. Starting I said good morning when I was putting the linen in the basket at the front office and she acknowledged me. I checked out a few minutes later and she asked me if I strip and put the linen in the basket!! She was reading the magazine the whole time on conversation. The airport shuttle was late and I asked her to check for me so I don’t have to pay international call from my cell phone. She ask if I have the ticket. I replied, yes I got it from you guys yesterday and showed her the paid ticket. She still asked whether I had paid for it!! I asked whether ones can get ticket if not paid? She replied ‘yes you can!’ And continued looking down at her magazine with no other words, no explanation nor response to my asking for help. I had to call the shuttle on my cell phone paying internaltion rate. Next day, I was itchy all over and saw numerous red itchy bumps on my arms, legs, shoulders and back. Total more than 40 bite bumps!! Bad bed bugs bite! I strongly recommend not to stay here but feel free to prove it yourself.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Backpacker hotel central to CBD
Room was clean and comfortable. Shared bathrooms much less so. Long time since I used a backpacker hotel - decor was much the same as I remember 30 years ago! Not a great advertisement.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017

4/10 Poor

Loz, NZ

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Really dirty and poor kitchen equipment
Bathrooms were so dirty i covered the sink with glad wrap when doing my eye contacts. Really gross to have a shower and do makeup etc in. Kitchen was also extremely dirty, and pretty much no cooking equipment. I had to eat most meals out because nothing to cook with and what is there is so dirty I wouldnt eat from it.
Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2017

4/10 Poor

Underwhelmed, Australia

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Roughing it in Sydney
Don't normally leave negative reviews but 10 years ago this was a good place to stay. Now, compared to sleeping on the street and using the public toilets it was probably marginally better. If you want shelter and a modicum of security on a tight budget this might be for you. Other than that I'd give it a wide berth/miss.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Kitchen dirty, had to call for 30 minutes to be let in after hours when pre-arranged, beds very thin
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Cheap and good location
This backpackers was cheap and provided everything I needed; affordability, good location, good bed and hot shower. It's not the HiIlton in terms of luxury but it doesn't charge Hilton prices either.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
the room smell terribly and visibly dirty. The reception said that the centralised heater was on overnight but it was freaking cold. The shared toilet was so disgusting as well as the kitchen and laundry. And I booked a single room with a double bed in photo, and I ended up with a bunk bed. I understand it is a backpacker place, but I obviously paid extra for comfort and privacy. I informed the reception that I tend to bump my head whenever I am in a bunk bed and the reason I booked a single room. She was not helpful at all and was more proud that they have upgraded me in a bigger room good for four person dorm for only myself. When the problem is not about the size of the room that I could not even enjoy.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible service and dirty!
The bathroom was so dirty. They turned off the heaters all the time so the room was cold and uncomfortable. Even we had to buy warmer (normal),blanket, but still it was vold in the room. The blanket they gave for free was almost a table cloth! When complained about the heater they said its on a timer and turns off automatically after 2 hours! When we sleep at night and reception is closed how we supposed to turn on the heater? No liquid soap in the bathrooms. Just solid soap! Who uses solid soap in a public place shared bathroom which looks 100 years old?!!!
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2017

6/10 Okay

Samuel, Canada

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
great location but the facilities need work!
Perfect location, helpful staff but the property needs work and more cleaning...not every bed has an outlet as well.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness

2/10 Terrible

Robert

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
You get what you pay for!
Cheap room in the heart of downtown Sydney, easy walk to almost everywhere I wanted to go. People at front desk were friendly and helpful. Close to train station. Down sides.. not very clean.. someone in the 16 bed dorm that I was staying in complained of bed bugs.. I seen the bites all over his body.. Luckily I did not encounter this. Rooms and bathrooms in disrepair and dirty. No kind of system to keep track of who is in which bed.. after my first nights stay I came back to the room to find that someone had taken my bed.. I had to go down to the front desk to get new bedding so that I could make up another bed.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Worst hostel i have ever stayed in.
Do not book this hostel unless you are seriously out of money and need a good location in downtown. The room stinks and there is no AC. Some not-so-friendly people stay there like home since they offer long term accommodation. Hostel is extremely dirty and cockroaches found in room. Overall, the hostel is a concentration camp.

2/10 Terrible

Clare, England

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Awful........ just don't !
The hostel was really dirty. The rooms don't get cleaned even when guest leave. The kitchen was unhygienic, I even attempted to get up early to use the kitchen before everyone had woken up thinking it would be cleaner, but no it was still filthy. The bathrooms are unsanitary and two of them didn't have lights, with urine on the floor and showers with grime and dirt build up. The washing machines don't actually clean your clothes. There was a really odd vibe too. Not very friendly. I have stayed in hostels all over Australia and South East Asia, this is by far the worst.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Not a bad hostel, but certainly on the 'simple' side.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Cheap close to shopping and train and within city
I stayed there for 3 nights and my purpose is to watch the NYE in sydney. The location is really good near to shops and train station. Comfort and cleaniness well u get wat u paid for. Not bad at all. First time to stay in a hostel and i could say its not bad at all esp wen ur n a budget or just staying there to sleep.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

nice hostel in bustling area
wifi was hit and miss but was fast when on (usually lat at night)

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Central location
Cold, hard beds, loud and some rooms look opposite another hotels car park which operates till 3am in the morning Private rooms not worth the money

2/10 Terrible

Grace, B

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Toilets worse than a public bathroom!
The shared bathroom facility's were by far the most disgusting I have ever experienced. They were literally unusable. As in we chose to go to public bathrooms instead of having to use the clogged, urine soaked, completely uncleared shared facilities that were on offer here. That said, the room was passable. But honestly, even for a budget hotel this was a joke.

2/10 Terrible

Shevon

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Better off in Jail
Have you ever wanted to go to jail? Because this is what Jail feels like. Only difference is you pay for this and jail gives you 3 free meals.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Centre of the city
Price was the reason we stayed here. In the city for a midweek concert, able to have a couple of drinks and walk back to room. Up early next morning to get to work. Very basic.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Great location but soundproofed is no good
Hostel located in the central of city. Short distance to public transport. Save your time & worth it.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dirty and scary, hotel staff very slow. I hope I'll never have to go back there.

4/10 Poor

Francis

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Location
Very convenient location in the heart of town. Good value if all you need is a place to sleep. We spent our entire second day on a Blue Mountains tour,returned late afternoon and left the next morning so ideal for our purposes. Would not stay here if you plan to be on property all the time. Lounge space and lobby limited. Community kitchen available and front desk can help with booking tours.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service