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Reviews of The Espy Hostel

2 out of 5
The Espy Hostel
83 Esplanade, Cairns, QLD

Reviews

7.8

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 20 out of 44 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 9 out of 44 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 6 out of 44 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 44 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 44 reviews" "

7.6/10

Cleanliness

7.4/10

Staff & service

6.6/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Wayne, Saint Maries

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
I shouldn't expect too much from any hostel, including the Espy. I found what appeared to be a cockroach in the room the first night In the hallway, I dispatched of a very large one. I didn't receive an email with instructions for self check-in. Fortunately, there was someone who contacted a staff person who provided us with the necessary information to get in the room. Shower was good, but the handles fell off. Hot water in the sink never really got hot. Nonetheless, we got by and enjoyed the staff and tenants
Stayed 6 nights in May 2024
Response from Jordan on 20 May 2024
Hi Wayne, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Due to living in a tropical climate, unfortunately insects and bugs are part of the deal! Our hostel is sprayed regularly to control pests however no method is 100% effective. We just had pest control in two weeks ago which is why you saw a dead one. We hope you enjoyed your stay and glad to hear you enjoyed the staff! Kind regards, Jordan - The Espy Hostel

10/10 Excellent

Hiito

Stayed 7 nights in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Laura

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Top position in the city center
The room was really big with a lot of space, the problem was humidity, there was mold in the walls and got worse during the days we stayed. The kitchen is well equipped and has also an airfryer. The best was location really near everything supermarket , port and lagoon pool.
Stayed 5 nights in Jan 2024
Response from Espy Staff on 26 Feb 2024
Hi Laura, thank you for leaving a review. We hope that you enjoyed your stay. Please note, as we are located in a tropical climate, unfortunately mould is unavoidable, this is why we have signs in the rooms to help our guests mitigate these issues (e.g. leaving the aircon on). If these directions are adhered to by guests then there should not be any issues. We wish you the best in your future travels.

10/10 Excellent

Nils Erik Kristoffer

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Drew

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was great, in the centre of town, cheap, good kitchen with everything you need and a pool!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Jessi Rose

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Super convenient, right on the Esplanade close to food, wharf, and you can book tours right at the "reception" desk. Reception folks were very helpful. There were lots of cockroaches in my room -- scampering thru day and night. I was told "it's the tropics," "it's that time of year," and "we have exterminators in every month." The manager left with my a spray bottle of Raid. Secondly, the kitchen facilities were packed. It was nearly impossible to find room in any of the fridges, and waiting in line to cook or clean at any mealtime was routine.

10/10 Excellent

Evan

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location on the boardwalk
Excellent location right on the waterfront. Self check-in did not work for me either time staying here but they have a number you can call 24 hours to check in. Rooms are pretty sparse but decently comfortable. No comforter on the bed (only a bed sheet) but it's warm enough that you don't really need it. A/C units are also pretty strong. Not loud at night.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023
Response from Monica -Manger The Espy on 25 Oct 2023
Hello Evan,Thank you for your kind review. We are so glad you enjoyed your stay with us.All the best on your next adventures.Kind regards,Monica

10/10 Excellent

Martina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 6 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Francesco

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

steven

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Location, location, location!
Great place to stay on the heart of Cairns, everything is on your doorstep. Rooms are very basic but the Espy is all about location. Other guests and staff were friendly and engaging, the shared kitchen was clean and had everything you could want for food preparation. Given the price, you can't go past this place. The code system to access the building and rooms needs attention and can be frustrating but support from management was immediate and always forthcoming as required.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

4/10 Poor

Wade

Business traveller
Disliked: Staff & service
No clear directions for the door codes to enter the accomodation, when I did get codes they were incorrect and the 24 hour number was generally unreachable when needed
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Panagiotis, MELTON

.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Ruveen

Liked: Staff & service
Covenient location. Close to everything. Nice and quiet.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Sara

Travelled with group
.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Hugh

Liked: Cleanliness
Great location and comfortably room and bed Bit dingy with no windows to outside and very noisy until at least midnight
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2023
Response from The Espy Hostel on 6 Jul 2023
Hey Hugh, thank you very much for your honest feedback! Due to clashing work schedules sometimes the hostel can be noisy but we are trying to reduce it after 10 p.m. Apologies for any disturbances!Hope you still had a nice stay :)

10/10 Excellent

Katielynn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect Hidden Gem
As much as i want to keep this hostel a hidden gem, they deserve all the business possible. A simple yet welcoming environment, this place completely changed my prospective on hostels. It's not a party place and everyone respects one another, a very relaxed place. Location is centeral to everything in town on the waterfront, but the sounds of outside arent heard. I cannot recommend this place enough and cannot wait to return.
Stayed 8 nights in Feb 2023

2/10 Terrible

Suzanne

Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2023

4/10 Poor

Vaia

Disliked: Staff & service
We paid for a room to be on the Esplanade. It was a Hostel, not a Hotel so the expectation wasn’t high. The room and amenities were clean and tidy. The cleanliness m
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023
Response from monica on 16 Feb 2023
Hello, Thank you for your feedback. Yes it is clearly stated we are a hostel but are glad you found amenities clean and tidy. Something we pride ourselves on.Enjoy your future travels.Kind regards,The Espy Team.

4/10 Poor

Felix

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Most people would probably call it a ‚cheap spot in the city center‘, but tbh it‘s really just a cheap spot because of the very cheap beds and matresses they provide. Yep, the matresses are dogs***. The whole place is more or less a hole. If you don‘t keep the AC, which is probably 50 years old, on for the whole night, you‘d probably sufficate. The AC is extremely loud (I had better sleeps in airplanes). Apart from that the rooms are tiny and the facilities are in really really bad condition, especially the toilets and showers. The permanent or longer-staying tenants are all a little bit sketchy and strange and one of them leaves tons of hairs in the bathroom everyday. The only (!!!) good thing this place provides is being close to the city.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2023
Response from The Team at The Waterfront Havan Hostel on 30 Jan 2023
Hi Felix, Thank you for your feedback on your stay. Apologies that you were dissatisfied with our facilities. We will take your feedback onboard and do our best to improve where we can. If there was a specific incident with another guest that made you uncomfortable in anyway we would like to know in more detail about it so that we may rectify the issue. Please contact us directly by email admin@cairnswaterfronthaven.com We are a budget accommodation in a prime location.

10/10 Excellent

Clifmond

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I was so impressed at the quality for a low budget place. The guests were very respectful, friendly. The kitchen facilities were good. I would stay again. I did notice someone was sleeping kitchen when I woke up at 5am. Not sure if he was guest in the hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2023
Response from CP on 28 Jan 2023
Hi Clifmond, Thank-you for your great review. We pride ourselves on providing a clean, quiet place to stay. However, since we are a backpackers full of young people having fun, sometimes they don't make it to their bed. If there are any 'incidents' that are dangerous, we do have cameras. Safe travels & look forward to seeing you next time.

10/10 Excellent

tomoko

10/10 Excellent

tomoko

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
You can enjoy a free life. The staff cleans it every day, and you can make friends with other users.
Response from Chrissy on 26 Jan 2023
Thank-you Tomoko, Glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We pride ourselves on providing a clean, quiet hostel. Safe travels and we look forward to your next visit.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The room and facilities were nice. Check in was the only issue because coming from out of the country I don’t receive SMS messaging in order to receive the code to access my room. Therefore I was standing outside for a while trying to call but no one answered a couple of times. Other people visiting helped me to call the emergency number in which the employee then came to give me my code. There should be a better system knowing that there are many international travelers who don’t have a SIM card to work in Australia as other visitors said they had issues as well.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2022
Response from the haven on 13 Dec 2022
Hello,Thank you for your review. As we are a self check in hostel all your details are sent via your email provided upon booking. We are sorry you were unable to locate this on your arrival but glad you enjoyed your stay otherwise.Kind regards,The Cairns waterfront haven team.

10/10 Excellent

Jason

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A hostel with everything I needed, a great location and a friendly staff.
Stayed 7 nights in Oct 2022
Response from Monica on 9 Nov 2022
Thank you for your review and we are glad you had a great stay.Kind regards,Monica

2/10 Terrible

Van

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2022
Response from monica on 9 Nov 2022
We are sorry to see you didn't enjoy your stay. Some feedback as to why would be very much appreciated.Kind regards,Monica

6/10 Okay

Jordan

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
This is hostel and not a hotel. It was a nicer hostel, but I wish I had known that it was a hostel before booking. The bedrooms are nice with minimal furniture - no TV. The bathroom was not nice and bare bones. When thinking this is a motel/hotel - it is not good. For a hostel, it would be one of the nicer hostels.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Elliot on 5 Oct 2022
Thank you for your feedback regarding your stay with us, we have taken these reviews into consideration and have purchased new furniture and TVs in our private rooms for our guests. On our website we state that this is a hostel and not a hotel, we will try to ensure this is made clearer for our future bookings. Kind regards,Water Front Haven,Elliot.

4/10 Poor

david

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The pictures on Expedia made us believe that we were staying at an apartment Turn out it was a hostile we were extremely disappointed but the management was excellent and promised a full refund after we found and moved to an apartment
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2022

6/10 Okay

Lauren

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities
THE GOOD: Room was clean, comfortable and located on the Esplanade. Great location! The BAD: I did not receive a pin code to access premises and room. When I arrived at the premises there was no staff. I had to find a blanket. Kitchen area very untidy, rubbish bins needed to be disposed of. Kitchen rules needs to be made clear and apparent to all guests.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Mon on 22 Aug 2022
Hello Lauren,Thank you for your feedback. We are in the process of improving these issues as we speak and appreciate you bringing them to our attention.Kind regards,Management at Cairns water front Haven.

10/10 Excellent

amanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Central location, easy walk to absolutely everything,clean facilities and lovely staff.
Stayed 8 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Management on 26 Jul 2022
Hi Amanda Thank you for your lovely feedback. Take care and safe travels Cairns waterfront haven

4/10 Poor

Anne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location. Friendly, polite manager. Room very basic-no coffee/tea making, fridge or tv. Insufficient sealing off of door into adjacent room meant noisy and light pollution and felt intrusive. Very overpriced for so called deluxe king room
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Cairns Waterfronthaven management on 15 Jul 2022
Hey Anne, I am very sorry to hear that. However we have a fully equipped kitchen where we offer free coffee, tea and sugar. You have access to this kitchen 24/7. Best regards

10/10 Excellent

Carolina

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Todo perfecto.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022
Response from Cairns Waterfronthaven Management on 15 Jul 2022
Hi Carolina, Thank you for staying with us. We hope you enjoyed your time :)

10/10 Excellent

jasmine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

8/10 Good

Marie, Parkwood

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Haven lives up to its name, very quiet but in the centre of all the action. It had everything I needed for a quick stay, including air con, a pool & a huge kitchen! Other visitors were friendly and it’s a little quirky too - very good value 👍
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Haven family on 10 Jun 2022
Hi Marie, thank you so much for your feedback. We're so happy to hear you enjoyed your stay and you found the place to be a Haven for you! Take care and hopefully see you again! Best wishes, the Haven family

10/10 Excellent

Griffin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Exactly as advertised. Great location at a great price.
Stayed 1 night in May 2022
Response from Cairns Waterfront Haven on 27 Jun 2022
Thank you for staying with us, Griffin. We hope you enjoyed your time with us.

10/10 Excellent

Harinath

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location, good vibes.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from The Haven family on 10 Jun 2022
So happy to hear you enjoyed your stay with us Hari! it was good chatting with you. See you soon :) The Haven family

6/10 Okay

Richard

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
It’s a hostel - so not super clean or modern, as could be expected. But the Bed and Mattress were horrible, sure wouldn’t hurt to change Mattresses from time to time!
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Jan Peter Caspar

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

Aki

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

4/10 Poor

ONISHI

6/10 Okay

YAMATO

Travelled with family and small children
Disliked: Staff & service
飛行機が遅れ深夜の到着となりましたが、フロントに書き置きがあり、無事チェックインできました。ただ、入り口のナンバーロックについては解除方法を事前にお知らせいただけなかったので、たまたま中にいたゲストが開けてくれましたが、もしいなければ、、、と考えると不安でした。 スタッフの方とは滞在中一度もお会いしませんでした。働く時間帯を変えた、というような貼り紙がありましたが、、、長期滞在のゲストが現場で動いているイメージなのでしょうか。 部屋は広かったですが、ホステルというイメージです。 トイレやシャワーは共同で、正直清潔感はちょっと微妙でした。 場所は非常に便利なところにあります。 まわりはウォーターフロントのお店が多く、食べるところには苦労しません。 海沿いなので、環境も良いです。 ただ、コスパという点では、他の宿泊施設と比較すると、ちょっと微妙かな、という感想でした。
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022
Response from Management on 14 Aug 2022
Hi Yamato Thank you for your feedback. Every guest will receive a message on their phone via the booking website with the check in info incl the door codes. Yes it is a hostel with shared facilities as well as private ensuite rooms, depending on the room category you book. We hope you had a great stay Best regards Cairns waterfront haven