Great hostel. With all facilities. Super friendly professional staff. Clean! There is a reason why this hostel won so many prices! The pool area is top class, feels very luxurious. Right on the esplanade. Best hostel I ever stayed in. Suits all backpackers. Two big kitchens.
We stayed in a twin room for 4 nights. From the arrival to the departure we felt well cared for. The twin room had a good size and more important the mattress was comfy. The room spotless and we had our own clean fridge.The gave us every day fresh towels as we had only carry on luggage. The aircon worked fine and the shared bathroom was kept clean. Water was hot, even a huge number of people were using the showers. They have two big kitchen. The pool has a nice size and also this area is kept clean. Compared to many other hostels,this is the cleanest I have been to. The hostel is quiet and you get sleep during the night. The location is great- 10 min walk to the centre and a public bus station is straight behind the hostel- great for trinity beach visits. Overall, i would recommend this hostel to young and old. Great value for money. The only little thing I missed- free sugar/salt/ pepper supply for short term visitors.
Stayed at Caravella for 6 nights at the end of September into October. First off let me say the staff really make this place, they were pleasant, attentive and extremely helpful.
It's budget so don't expect the Ritz, but we had a private room it was clean and tidy, had its own fridge and a nice bathroom/shower room.
And of course the location - it's a bit away from the strip but still right on the esplanade. Literally 30 seconds walk sees you right on the sea's edge, and about ten minutes right into the hubbub of Cairns day and nightlife. So if you want to get out it's right there but with the quiet that let's you sleep well at night.
Would definitely stay there again if I was back in the Cairns area.
It was a decent place to stay - it was cheap which is why we chose it.
We stayed in a mixed dorm
Pros:
The staff were all really nice
The other backpackers there were all a nice bunch too
Our dorm had a bathroom and there were also public bathrooms for anyone to use, so you never really had to wait for the bathroom
It was a very good price as we had a voucher coupon to get a couple of dollars off
Cons:
Our room had a funny smell, I think this was because one of the guys in the dorm never left the room, and the curtain and window were always shut.
As there was no storage in the kitchens all 6 of us had to share the mini fridge. One person in our dorm left dirty dishes in the room for days and they smelt
The distance to Caravella's from the Greyhound stop wasn't far to walk but it feels pretty far when you have a heavy backpack!
Getting a room with your own bathroom right on the Esplanade for 65 dollars was not a bad deal. The room although was small with a noisy aircon and the only window was in the bathroom. It was no problem for us. After getting back from a dive trip, we got a lot bigger and nicer room. So if you're lucky...
Staff was okay. After we made a mistake regarding the openingtimes of the luggage storage, and some confusion with the onsite staff, the receptioniste had to get back around 9.30pm. She gave us a bad attitude, which made us feel very unconfortable. But was friendly when we saw hear again 2 days later.
If you use the mealtickets for the woolshed: if you upgrade your meal and have something to drink, you'll pay around 12 dollars and have a good meal. Or you can use the kitchen, but the utensils are very hostel-like... (old, broken, wet towels, no dishwasher liquid left late in the evening).
All in all, we did have a good time here.
Really clean, relaxed hostel with good facilities. The staff are lovely and the owner even came round to ask us if we were enjoying ourselves and if there was anything he could improve - the only hostel I stayed in to do this! Theres a curfew at 11pm so its perfect for people who actually want to get some sleep! Amazing swimming pool and free wifi - would definitely recommend it to anyone staying in Cairns!
