Mission Beach Retreat

Good location, right on the beach. Well-equipped kitchen. Plugs by bed. Board games and chill space, plus book swap. Nice hot shower, and bathroom was always clean.

Bed above me had a broken metal slat. Room right next outdoor area where people smoke and sing late into the night. Kitchen dirty by end of night but cleaned again in the morning. Shower has curtain rather than door. Not many bathrooms available but didn't have to wait long.

Hice el check in muy tarde y fue muy fácil poder ingresar y encontrar mi habitación y mi llave, muchas gracias, muy limpio y ordenado

Algunos chicos fumaban weed cerca a las habitaciones, Pero entiendo que eso se escapa de las manos del personal porque era a altas horas de la noche.

The beach location is the best thing about the retreat and John's $5 shuttle bus waiting, when I got off the Greyhound bus. The bed I slept in was clean and comfortable and the air con worked well to cool down the room in order to sleep. The hostel itself is less ‘boutique’ and more ‘rustic and ‘outback’ so don’t expect too much. The bathroom was a bit ‘tired’ but fine for a couple of nights. I was lucky to be allocated an 8-bed mixed dorm by myself since it was low season, which was a huge bonus after having driven a van 2000km+ solo. (However, there were no lockers in the rooms to put your valuables or bags/suitcases in.) I met some lovely locals on the beach and enjoyed my dip in the stinger-netted-off-area on Mission Beach. Leny’s fruit shop has fresh produce and the Mini Market some essentials, at a price though. The fish and chips next door were fresh and cooked perfectly and the staff very friendly. The Pub across the road is a good place to escape to, although I only bought a drink and sat on the deck out front to write. The second night, when the long-term guests were out working the rest of the short-term travellers could use the couch, TV room and the table. It was more comfortable socialising together rather than in our rooms and we had a great time playing cards and chatting about our past and future adventures.

Being next to the TV room was a disadvantage. On my first night, long-term guests were still cooking after 11pm and eating in the TV room so my room smelt like a kitchen. The noise of the TV and laughing went on way past midnight, which was not conducive to resting. At around 11.15pm I’d had enough and asked them to turn the volume down and be more considerate. Thankfully this didn’t occur on the second night after outlining to reception that the 10pm closed kitchen sign was not being observed. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of 'long-termers', the vibe of the hostel has been negatively affected. These guests treat the hostel like home, leaving their clothes and stuff all around the place and playing their music all morning in the living area. To escape the noise of the morning music I took my laptop down to the picnic tables in park next to the beach to work and write, which was better than staying in the common area. The fridge and freezer had little space for newcomers and the kitchen sponges were smelly and needed to be changed more regularly for hygiene purposes. The staff working did little to promote a place of social equality and inclusiveness; the reception staff lay around, on the couch hanging out with the ‘long-termers’ like a 'high school click' when not at the reception desk, and thus was quite unapproachable, especially to less confident younger individuals. As a solo traveller this hostel was quite isolating and seemingly unfriendly. The long-term guests and staff on duty did little to integrate with short-term travellers. All the other 2-3 night guests I spoke to totally agreed! ‘Budget and basic’ would be my rating after spending more than a year travelling and staying in hostels all over the world. It has the potential for more if a more mature, inclusive approach was taken by staff (who worked when I was there) and a few facilities were updated.

El alojamiento en sí es bonito y cuenta con piscina. Las instalaciones están bien y el lugar es agradable.

El principal problema es que el hotel que reservamos está cerrado y te redirigen a otro alojamiento situado a unos 10 minutos en coche del pueblo, algo que no se informa claramente al reservar. Nosotros habíamos elegido este hotel precisamente por estar en el centro y terminamos en las afueras, en una zona donde no hay nada alrededor. Además, no hay personal en el alojamiento: llegas y tienes que gestionar todo por tu cuenta. Tampoco tiene un ambiente turístico, ya que principalmente hay trabajadores y personas que viven allí. Si hubiéramos sabido todo esto de antemano, no habríamos hecho la reserva.