Pint on Punt Backpackers

Location: Proximity to public transport , beaches, and city centers, with some reviews highlighting a 20-minute walk to coastal areas or major attractions.

Upon arrival I’ll admit I was a little skeptical, however it’s been such a nice stay! This is the cheapest hostel in Melbourne and I was expecting the worst, however it’s sad saying goodbye! The location is good, 20 mins walk away from the beachy, more communal areas one way and 20 mins tram from the major city the other. The rooms aren’t anything fancy at all, but not the worst, hang a towel up for some privacy in shared rooms and people are all very respectful and friendly. Nice pub downstairs and a 7/11 right across the road. Only thing is there’s not really a proper common room to meet the other backpackers- a very small kitchen, seating area and lounge room with 2 sofas. But we’ve managed to make friends! Don’t expect the nicest facilities in the world but they’re not the worst at all! Plenty of showers and toilets, laundry and free cereal and toast in the morning. Happy backpacker here 😀

Dirty, hair in bed, smells of cigarettes, **** and body odor and mold everywhere. Dripping sink in our room, window that needed a dirty stick to stay open. Showers that felt like being spat intermittently with hot and cold on and were shoddy construction so terminally moldy. Highway traffic outside and bad karaoke from the pub audible at night, crashing dishes and yelling in French from the cleaners in the morning. Breakfast is instant coffee and cheapest toast or cardboard cereal, puts me off food entirely. Very limited reception hours. Seems to be mostly long term men who are asocial. I could go on but I think you get the picture. The staff is great, including the managers, and I'm sure they're doing their best. But to the owner, for about $60 a night for a double room you'd think they could do a lot better. But the bedbugs. My first clue was the blood spots on the duvets. Then the little bites I thought were too small to be mosquitoes all clustered together even though it's winter. Then I overheard a conversation about the "critters" living in the hostel. Then I checked online and there's been 2 reviews in the past months about the bedbugs. After trying 2 other numbers around the Pint on Punt website that were offline, I found one that worked in the booking email. The person answering said they were unaware, and it wasn't a common problem. I was given the runaround and informed that I should have told them sooner. Update: Since calling back and speaking with a manager, she took my concern seriously and offered a refund through the booking site and admitted to a bedbug problem in the past, so thank you for that. I feel the staff are the redeeming feature about this place. I've edited my review to reflect this.