Reviews of Lords Lodge Backpackers Hostel

18 January 2012 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: The staff were amazing and so welcoming. The hostel has a great atmosphere.

Disliked: It wasn't particularly clean in some areas.

12 April 2011

Liked: -

Disliked: -

21 February 2011 Roy would recommend this property

Liked: Absolutely friendly staff, as many others have said Pat is a truly great guy willing to help you with anything. The hostel is very cozy due to its size and it being a converted house - it has a very good, homey atmosphere to it and the people are a nice group that always bother to ask how you are and whether you have any plans. Chapel Street is very closeby which is a street full of every shop youll ever need, with a Coles and Aldi for cheap groceries. All in all a good experience.

Disliked: -

21 January 2011

Liked: Nice staff, kitchen okay, location okay.

Disliked: Dirty (rubbish everywhere, spiderwebs, old furniture), old, smelly, sinks did not work properly...

12 January 2011

Liked: The staff were very friendly and helpful - could not fault them - and also the other travellers were very friendly.

Disliked: Bear in mind I did not go as a backpacker looking for mates - totally understand that if you were a backpacker not too fussed about the niceties of life and looking for somewhere to meet lots of other people I'm sure it would do a good job. However I went there as part of a couple and it was just all a bit shabby, unclean and probably for $20 more a night you could get a proper hotel.

02 January 2011

Liked: It gave me a fun story to tell the grandkids...?? Nothing.

Disliked: Where do I start... When myself and friend arrived we were put in a 6 bed dorm - we arrived in the dorm and it looked more like we had just entered a horrendously messy teenage girls bedroom. There was clutter and people's belongings on EVERY surface and all over the floor. There didnt even look like there were two beds spare - there were belongings on every bed. When the other people in the dorm came in they cleared two beds for us, but there was no room to put our backpacks. Everyone in the hostel was drinking heavily when we arrived - it was like being in a really noisy and crowded student house. There were people smoking at every window and door, people lying down in the hallways etc. No one else there seemed to be a short term backpacker - it felt more like a squat/halfway house for people with jobs who actually lived there. I felt like we had just walked into a party that we hadnt been invited to, and it was just a really awkward atmosphere - as if we were just squatting in someone's house for the night. The showers and toilets were horrendous - no evidence of being regularly cleaned. The carpets were stained, sticky and everywhere smelled musty. There were wet sofas and soggy, broken furniture on the lawn outside. The one redeeming thing about this place was that the lady who served us on the desk was very nice. In the morning we came down and explained that we had decided to stay somewhere else for the next 3 nights and she was very helpful and asked if she could ring around to find other beds for us in the city, and only charged us for the one night we'd stayed there. For that we were thankful

05 December 2010

Liked: Pat and Alicia are stellar people who will go to all sorts of lengths to help out guests and see to their needs concerning logistics, very friendly and sweet people. As far as facilities, there was a fridge and cubbies for storing food and a kitchen and a TV room with DVDs, and wifi available. Lockers and linens are provided and you can cook in the kitchen if you clean up after yourself. It's a three-blocks' walk to the metro and buses all over the place. About 30 min walk to the botanical gardens and a pleasant stroll to the shopping district. About a 40 minute walk to St. Kilda. The location wasn't that close to any tourist attractions but it wasn't too far away either.

Disliked: Backpackers, be aware. What was billed as a "charming historical mansion" is in actuality a Grade-A dump. We have stayed in a lot of hostels across the world and lived in boarding houses and co-ops as well, so our expectations are reasonable. The place was just plain filthy - the only place we've ever been where our feet were dirtier walking out of the showers than walking in. Sitting on the floor one day a mouse ran past me. The carpets are actually sticky. The house is held together with bale wire -- can't count how many leaks and drafts there are, which made for a chilly room, and no heat. The bathrooms were frightening. One of them has a large hole in the ceiling and I could hear the local critters scurrying around in the rafters and kept expecting one to drop through the ceiling into the room! Most of the people live there long-term so they get pretty spread out and messy in their rooms. They also put themselves in charge of the kitchen, and this was the only place on a rather long trip where I got sick. Also, the general attitude of residents was quite unfriendly and that's a huge drawback for a hostel. There were mostly long-term residents who know each other well - they weren't interested in meeting new people, and generally treated us as outsiders or ignored us pointedly. We tried to strike up a few conversations, but with very little luck. They should call this a boarding house and not bill it as a hostel - we were the only short-term guests. It's a really young crowd and a fairly wild party atmosphere, which was a bad match for us but it might be great for you -- if I had read a review that reflected this aspect of the hostel's character we would have found somewhere else to stay. So in case it's not your speed, be aware of that. Yes, it's cheap, and yes, you can't expect too much from a hostel, but I've had mouse-less and dirt-free accommodations for less. At that, it was much too expensive. I put off writing this bad review as long as I could because Pat and Alicia are truly sweet, friendly and helpful people --- you will get good service from them. I hate to write negative things about their place, but this was our honest experience. My traveling companion, an extremely tolerant and easygoing person, described it as a notch below Animal House, and I think that's being more than fair. We kept looking for the silver lining but after three nights we looked for another place to stay -- without much luck, so we stuck it out for the remaining two nights. The only thing we could do was to spend as little time as possible in the hostel for the remainder of our stay.

27 August 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: friendly staff

Disliked: nothing

04 August 2010

Liked: Free wifi was good and easy to get to the centre of Melbourne. Pat was very helpful but reception hours were a bit limited.

Disliked: A lot of long term residents some of which were down right bizarre. The kitchen doesn't open before 7am so if you're going on an early tour/flight it's not too helpful.

29 July 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: amazing

Disliked: nothing

02 July 2010 Shannon would recommend this property

Liked: The building has a lot of character and is more interesting than a huge, 700 bed hostel. Pat, the owner, is absolutely fabulous and a huge help with anything you need help with.

Disliked: Not all areas are heated in the winter (i.e. cold bathrooms and hallways).

19 April 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: cheap but you get what you pay for

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

09 January 2010

Liked: absolutely great staff, nice rooms and nice atmosphere... would always go back :)

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

07 January 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: nice people, pick up from train station, good connection to city, nice rooms

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

24 December 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Pat giving good advices, all in all very friendly and helpful.

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

21 December 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Great Staff and people

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

09 November 2009

Liked: Nice owner.

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

05 November 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: everything best place in melbourne

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

02 November 2009

Liked: The staff was very friendly

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

07 October 2009

Liked: I liked the free wi-fi and found the staff very friendly.We got picked up from our previous hostel free of charge and I thought this was a good start.The kitchen needs a good clean and it's very inaccessible, as it's very small and the kettle didn't work properly.

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

01 October 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: There are the nicest people in the world at this lodge. The staff is super helpfull, there is free wifi. I loved staying there

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

01 October 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Really liked this place and Pat who was running the place was unbelieveably friendly & helpful to us.

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

27 September 2009 Kris would recommend this property

Liked: outstanding character...a lifetime experience and totally addictive

Disliked: Kris left no negative feedback.

24 August 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: best staff!!

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.

05 June 2009 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: The lords lodge backpackers might not be the cleanest hostel I have stayed in, but it definitively is the most charming and cutest. Pat and Gretel are always friendly and very helpful. That hostel is a great place to meet people, the location near famous Chapel St. is nice as well. About 5 to 10 minutes away from the city center by tram. I loved staying there and extended my stay.

Disliked: Customer left no negative feedback.