Secret Garden Backpackers

Stayed a total of 2.5 months and stayed in three different rooms. Rooms: The rooms were clean and somewhat tidy, depending on the people living in the room. Daily cleaning, no problems getting new bed linens. Even during heat waves without AC I never felt it was too hot or too cold. Common areas: Cleaning is made several times a day, you always see the hostel employees cleaning and I felt it was a very clean hostel. Great TV room and even better is the Secret Garden, which makes this hostel worth the pay! Eating breakfast, reading a book or hangout, the garden makes hostel living bearable. Kitchen: Free tea and coffe, microwaves, toaster etc. Only bad part are the stoves, where a handfull of the stoves work. Otherwise very well maintained and clean kitchen. Showers: they installed some new showers with actual good pressure, so use the ones in the staircases and not by the garden. Clean and fresh showers. Employees: The employees are nice and formal. And you can always ask them for advice or activities to do in Sydney. Very professional. What I felt was good with this hostel compsred to other hostels, are that they do have some requirements of hygiene and cleanliness, and they are not afraid to enforce it by telling you in a professional way to tidy up your space etc. I would recommend this hostel and it is one of the best ones ive been to of many.

I only stayed for one night, however i was upgraded to a single room which was a bonus. the bed was very comfortable, and the room was nice and conveniently had its own sink. The staff were very nice and helpful, they let me leave my bag for the rest of the day after checkout and recommended places to go in Sydney.

Day 1: there is a knock on the door of the toilet that I was currently using in order to clean the place while I am still far from having finished my business Day2: I am pulled out of my bed while I was sleeping there early in the morning to show me the camera footage accusing me of not having washed my cup of coffee - we are three friends who have booked -20$ of fine times three which makes $60 Day 3: my belongings are transferred to lost property because they were on the lockers instead of inside (do I need to specify the full contents of these lockers?) Day 4: a member of the staff (a young Italian) showed me photos from his phone, showing him when he had sex with women to show me places to sleep in the hostel (photos obviously taken without the consent of this girl). The good points: -a very pleasant garden which closes its doors when you start to have a little too much fun there -Events offered by the team such as a boat evening which obviously costs money even for those who have paid for the hostel -Meals offered in the evening but be careful to only take a quantity that will not fill your stomach, also be careful to be there within the allotted time of 24 seconds or you will have nothing left To all of you backpackers, I wish you a good stay in this hostel called the secret garden. She will always have a non-air-conditioned bed to offer you under the lovely bright Sydney sun.

The biggest issue of this hostel are long term residents. They are very unfriendly, use only Spanish or Italian, do not respect the rules of the hostel and if you say hi they don’t respond back. Even though the hostel is being cleaned every morning it still smells badly, mainly the rooms as you cannot ventilate them properly. Only positive is location as by bus you are next to Sydney Opera House in 15 min. In general quite disappointment.

We stayed here for 5 nights. We had a great time. We stayed in the double room, I saw from some reviews on another site that it had some issues with damp and mould. They've sorted out the issues and put in a dehumidifier now. (See pictures). It was comfortable and very clean. We were jetlagged, so we didn't join in with any of the activities, but there were things going on for guests every night, which sounded like great fun. They cleaned at least twice a day. We had a good time mingling with people when we could. The staff were super friendly. The kitchen is really big, it's so great if you have a few people cooking at the same time. I recommend booking on hostelworld, they offer better prices than booking directly with the hostel. The hostel also has a no refund/cancellation policy, but if you book with hostelworld, you can pay a little bit extra to get a refundable booking up 24 hours before your check-in day. It doesn't say anywhere, but their reception is open for 8am-8pm. You can check in after 8pm, but you have to call a number on the door. There is no doorbell. I only found this out when they sent me an email after I booked the room. Thanks for a great stay SGB!

Rooms kept clean, there is a small cooking area that is never busy, no freezer, ok fridge, shelves for non perishables. Great tv room. bbq on fridays, plug by bed. no shelves for phone or water. Great