Reviews of Gilligan's Backpackers Hotel & Resort Cairns

30 December 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: free meals in bar, although small but free. Bar is awesome! went there every night for a week! always something different. Great atmosphere. Easy to meet new people. The bar is best bar in town. went to 5 other bars while there. Kitchen facilities on each floor. all good. Has a tiny gym. but has a gym. very nice a clean place. A/C in rooms. feels like a hotel not a hostel.

Disliked: disliked the security guard at the night desk. He pushed the button to let me and my girlfriend into the hostel and then chased us up the stairs right after to get us to show him our key and ID's. Then same guy did the same thing the next night to us. He then asked us for ID again 3 hrs later when we were sitting at the common room tables. Security and safety is nice but felt a little harassed.

12 December 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Drinking by the pool is awesome. Really liked having a seperate kitchen on each floor. Live music at the bar was also really great.

Disliked: Kitchens not properly stocked, bring your own knife. Literally, there are none.

09 December 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Free dinner, nice pool facility, great club, balcony

Disliked: n/a

28 November 2011 Alice would recommend this property

Liked: I liked the atmosphere, lots of travellers all in one place all for the same reason, to have a good time. The pool was great and the bar and club area are like nothing i have ever seen as a backpackers before.

Disliked: i witnessed staff being rude and inpatient on more than one occasion, rolling their eyes at customers being patronizing and generally acting like they couldn't be bothered to be hospitable. The food that you get free for dinner is a good idea, although considering how many people must be catered for the standard is not very good. My room smelt like urine and the floor was wet by the door...we weren't allowed to check in until 2 because housekeeping were doing there thing however this obviously didn't include putting some carpet cleaner down!

16 November 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: There were a lot of inclusions in the rate. Airport pick-up, luggage storage, dinners etc. The location is great and easily accessable for lots of adventures and sightseeing.

Disliked: Nothing!

13 November 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: there are events every night. great to meet people as i am travelling alone. big party place.

Disliked: noisy at night dont go if you want to get to bed early

25 October 2011

Liked: Free entry to nightclub

Disliked: Mattress protector had spew on it. Attendant said he'd replace sheet and to stay in another bed for that night then next morning sheet still had spew in it and he hadn't replaced it!! Also, you get no sleep because the music is so loud. The 8 bed dorms have NO room at all because they are so small and messy. There is no security, no enforcement of rules, they allow ALL drunken unruly people., large groups particular doing drunken football trips who are boistrerous, obnoxious, drunk and rude and they don't enforce a respectable and clean policy.. There is no order in this hostel.

09 October 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Good location!

Disliked: Party hostel so hard to have a quite night or an early night.

28 September 2011 Martin would recommend this property

Liked: Facilities (pool & nightclub) best in the city

Disliked: nothing really

28 September 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: atmosphere, cleanliness, location

Disliked: unfriendly staff, too noisy some nights

25 September 2011 olivia would recommend this property

Liked: everything

Disliked: nothing

19 September 2011

Liked: Not a lot.

Disliked: It was not traveller friendly and should be used as a place for people who want a weekend away with a sports team, not those of us who are looking to meet likeminded people who are living the "backpacking" way.

19 September 2011

Liked: Location good, was generally clean, good kitchen

Disliked: It's a great place for groups wanting to get drunk and party every night but it's difficult to meet people when travelling alone; it's so big and has an unwelcoming atmosphere. Some staff are friendly, others act like you're wasting their valuable time. The computers are rubbish and you have to spend ages trying to find one that works.

21 August 2011 Tyler would recommend this property

Liked: Mad party location

Disliked: nothing

16 August 2011

Liked: The place was good, and good services.

Disliked: The room I had to share was crowded of things on the floor and all over the room and stinked! People were partying, singing and playing cards till very late night in the room, like 12 or later...

10 July 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: new modern rooms

Disliked: really noisy at night, really bad internet conection which you also need to pay....

23 June 2011 Emmett would recommend this property

Liked: Gilligans is a really cool place, especially the nightclub. The building has a modern feel to it. The kitchens are located in very big open areas so there's loads of space for cooking. Gym is pretty basic with only four working machines and also loose weights, but still pretty cool for a hostel to have a gym. The free meals are a bonus as well. The menus do get a bit repetitive if you stay there for a while but for free you can't complain. Also, the budget 8 bed dorms were full when I was there so they gave me a free upgrade to one of the standard 8 bed dorms. The staff were sound as well.

Disliked: If you stop in one of the budget 8 bed dorms then it's excellent value, but some of the smaller dorms are a bit overpriced by Cairns standards. The budget 8 bed dorms are priced cheaper because you can hear the music from the club from them, but you can also hear the music from the standard dorms as well so I don't think it's worth paying the extra.

21 June 2011 Daniel would recommend this property

Liked: great atmosphere, and plenty always going on

Disliked: Internet and computers were a bit slow, but to be honest with everything happening there you will find it hard to make time to browse your facebook!

13 June 2011

Liked: Amazing location, free dinner, staff was helpful.

Disliked: Thumping music throughout the building until 5am. Don't go here unless you plan to party all night. No lockers in the rooms.

06 June 2011 Nicholas would recommend this property

Liked: good place to meet lots of people and the bar and club area always has a good atmopshere, good live music and is busy. the location is spot on for cairns too. the free meal in the evening helps save some money but need to upgrade to be more full

Disliked: disliked the cost of the internet - 5 dollars for an hour is outrageous especially when you can get an hour for 1 dollar just down the road.

17 May 2011

Liked: cheap and good location

Disliked: music all the time and extremely loud (beds were shaking because of the bass)

13 May 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: friendly staff night club within hostel open to public to come and eat & drink in so meet local people

Disliked: no lockers in dorms no individual lights by beds- only shared light for main room

08 May 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: I liked that it was a very sociable hostel with lots going on and free entry to residents with drinks promotions. The kitchens were well equipped, and the bathrooms were kept clean. Overall the hostel is great for people who like to party, but not ideal for an early night.

Disliked: I was booked into a 10 bed dorm room and the bass from the onsite club was shaking the room it was so loud, which is great if you're part of the party, but sadly I had to get up at 5am to get the bus so I was trying to sleep. Also I couldn't see any lockers when I was there.

05 May 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Located right in the heart of the city, it was great to not have to take a taxi anywhere. Hostel tour agent was very excellent. Room was quite clean, and if you like to party, Gilligans is the place to be.

Disliked: Staff weren't that friendly. Had to sit in the lobby for hours waiting to check-in (check-in time isn't until 2) after I got an airport shuttle to the hostel. Room smelled a bit musty/moldy. Luggage room wasn't entirely secure. Noisy hallways after about 9pm.

20 April 2011

Liked: The free food was superb

Disliked: Most staff unwilling to help guests