A couple of weeks ago, I stayed at the Townsville Rambutan Hostel for one night. I’d been really curious about it because when I was searching for a place to stay, it consistently came up as the best hostel in town. It is also a YHA hostel, which in general are nice, clean, spacious places to stay. The website was very professional looking, the photos of the entire place were very nice, and overall I had a good feeling about it. I like to do my research before staying somewhere, because I’ve had a lot of bad hostel experiences, and this one looked like a great place to stay.
Before I talk about it too much, let me say that overall, it was a great place. There were definitely some things I’d change or at least put up on the website so people can make their own opinions, but I was pleased – for the most part – with my stay.
What didn’t I like? Why did I feel like the service lacked? Read on to find out …
I arrived late, having made the long drive from Cairns that morning. Townsville was only a quick stop, as well. The hostel is right on the main harbour strip in the town and has a beautiful high facade with fancy lights and glittering letters. Very flash; I was definitely happy about my choice.
checking in
Check in was… okay. They obviously have a “flashpacker” theme going. Staff was in crisp white shirts, short black skirts, straight hair. Not very backpacker/YHA hostel, but still professional and clean. The reception itself is very nice too; very bright and with several places to sit. It felt a bit like I was in the lobby of a boutique hotel, and I liked that feeling.
The girl gave me my sheets (I still hate this part of Aussie hostels) and told that if I wanted to cook, to get a fridge key and a set of dishes from them. I wasn’t sure yet if I wanted to, but I nodded and went to grab my stuff. This is where things get a little strange.
the room
Going in, I knew that there was a rooftop pool and bar. What I did not know – what is not mentioned on the website at all – is that all the rooms are on that same level. Rooms surround the pool and bar area, so if you want to sleep before midnight (and on the weekends, much later) this isn’t the place for you. Luckily, I was there on a Monday and it was quiet before twelve.
My room was in the corner behind the bar and we had several highchairs stacked outside the door. No big deal, there was a wall that hid the bar from view so that was nice. They have also installed blackout shades over the windows so the room was quite dark. This room, in fact I think most of their rooms, had an ensuite, but I discovered later that there’s no door between the sink and the room, so anyone using the toilet late at night will wake everyone else up when they put the light on (one light switch for the shower, toilet, and sink areas). The rooms also have air-con – a huge, huge bonus here in north Queensland.
I grabbed the lower bunk and set about making my bed. As noted above, I despise this aspect of Aussie hostels. Why do I have to make my bed? I am paying for a room, sometimes upwards of $40/night (not here) and you can’t ensure that my bed has fresh sheets on it? Hmm.
*someone has noted that at least you know the sheets are clean when you put them on, but I have wondered about this in places*
As mentioned on the Rambutan website, the mattresses are new. And oh, yes they are lovely mattresses. I sunk into them gratefully after a long day on the road. But the pillow? Yikes. It’s not even worth being called a pillow. That was really disappointing; you have new mattresses but can’t shell out for new pillows too?
the bar
It was getting late, and I wasn’t feeling up to cooking, so I decided to take my computer out to the bar and get a drink, and maybe some dinner. Because the hostel has their own bar, per Australian law, you can’t have your own booze. This is something I find ridiculous, since I enjoy a glass of wine at night but don’t always want to spend money at a bar. Or, I have a bottle left from the weekend and it’ll go bad if I don’t finish it. Something to consider if you want to stay here on a weekend: you can’t bring your own drinks in.
I asked about wine and the girl behind the bar shrugged. She didn’t know what kind of wine they had, which I thought was a bit odd, but she found me a list and I ordered a Semillon Sav blend. A little while later, I decided to order food and I browsed the menu. The crab cakes sounded really good, so I ordered them. A few minutes later, the guy who took my order came back and said, “I’m sorry, apparently we’re out of crab cakes, do you want something else?”
While I was standing at the bar re-deciding what to eat, the chef handed him a plate of crab cakes – my order. What had happened was the chef asked the bartender “what table number?” and the bartender heard “we’re out of crab cakes.”
(I know, I know, I mishear things like that all the time. You say “what time is it?” and I hear “here’s a million dollars to travel with,” so I *totally* get where the bartender was coming from.)
the food
My crab cakes were… okay. Underwhelming. It had only been about four minutes from my ordering to getting them, so obviously they aren’t cooked to order. They’re very clearly precooked and then chucked in the fryer when someone orders them. As a former (and sometimes current) bartender/wait staff and a person who loves to cook, I find this practise annoying. I know you didn’t cook that food for me. And I get that this hostel is a YHA, but most YHAs don’t have bars to go along with them, so if you’ve got the flashpacker thing going on, maybe you need to step up your bar game a bit.
final thoughts on the Townsville Rambutan Hostel
In general, overall conclusion, that was the vibe I had from the Townsville Rambutan YHA: trying hard to be the best backpackers, the best flashpacker in town. And they do a good job. their marketing is on point. The hostel is very well styled. The pool looked nice, although I didn’t jump in, and there’s a ton of seating around the hostel reception (the only place internet works, even though the website clearly says it’s available “in the common areas,” which I also take to mean the pool and the lounge) to the common room and kitchen to the rooftop. Everything except my pillow was comfortable.
There are very clearly three separate styles of accommodation here, from the basic backpacker rooms to the hotel accommodation and the private villas ($450/night). And I understand that a backpackers can be as cheap as they like. But the disparity between the amazing mattress and the crappy pillow, the fact that there was no way to shield the bedroom from the light in the bathroom, and the lack of stellar service at the bar were all negative aspects to me.
Maybe my expectations were too high from the start. If you bill yourself as a top flashpacker, amazing place to stay, and have beautiful villas as well as hotel rooms, I expect your level of service to extend all the way down. Just because someone is travelling on a budget doesn’t mean that there should be a difference in the way that you’ve set your hostel/hotel up.
*There were no wild pool parties with attractive, laughing people all over the place. In fact, my roommate was a sullen German girl who didn’t even say hi to me. But, such is hostel life.
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