Backpackers Imperial Hotel

Great location. Sadly that is where the good news ends. I didn't feel safe at this property. Also in the five nights I was there the bathrooms did not appear to have been cleaned once. I wasn't expecting great things, and I fully accept that you get what you pay for, but this place did not meet even my very low expectations.

Long and the short of it is you get what you paid for. There is a reason this place is rated as low as it is and it shows when you stay there. You will find that the only warm place in the building is the lounge on the second floor next to the kitchen. The laundry room is only open from 9am to 2:30pm with the added bonus of it being $16 total(8 for a wash, 8 for a dry) over priced to everywhere I have been and the other hostels in the area.

Be careful booking this place in peak times. I booked for 31 December about 6 weeks prior, got confirmation at the time; and now 10 days before my booking was cancelled due to them overbooking. No hope of getting any other accommodation now. No apology or alternative arrangement provided.

TLDR: stay at the pickled frog or one of the caravan parks. I had the worst stay experience on my life here. Rude staff who didn’t bother to explain anything or return phone calls or emails, double booked rooms so when I checked in at 1 am all the beds in the room I’d booked were taken. The staff member was clearly very drunk when I called the after hours help number. I was assigned a bed in a more crowded dorm then I paid for without a key. So I was unable to use the toilet or shower without loosing access to my room. I was refused a refund or any apology’s.

They double booked our room, because of a mistake on their website. Due to this a man (one of the staff?) came into our female-only dorm in the middle of the night and physically shook my sister awake and told her to leave. They took no responsibility for the mistake and didn’t apologize at all. Our email receipt and the booking on their official website said we had booked for 2 adults. Manager told us we either pay the entire amount again or they cancel the entire booking (due to the holidays there is literally no where else to go). Horribly handled by the manager, who should not be working in the service field. Note: We just checked now and the website is still advertising the false prices.

it is great place to stay if you want to have fun around Hobart. Shared bathroom (no hot water in 3rd floor) and kitchen (open late and close early).You also have a choice whether shared room or not, they have available private bedroom but I think you need to book for it early.

I’m giving this five size because it’s what you get for the price. I like the location still. I didn’t like that the kitchen closes too early in the night and then you left hungry. I don’t even see what’s the point that’s why they closed it. Some people do eat at night you know. Other than that, I would call a hostel not a hotel.

I’m a seasoned hostel stayer & I have never stayed in worse digs than Backpackers Imperial. I’m normally very glass-half-full & bigger picture but it was too difficult to ignore the many drawbacks of this place. It’s the cheapest hostel in Hobart & it is glaringly obvious why: - hallway & common rooms are dingy, unloved & rundown (see photos) - nothing a lick of paint or elbow grease couldn’t fix - WiFi in the room was on the blink constantly - Reception hours are 9:00-15:00 - this is also where you get towels & hairdryers from, so good luck if you need to have a shower outside of these hours - Kitchen locked from 7:00-22:00 - I had 2 early starts pre-7:00 so could not access the refrigerated breakfast items I had purchased. I never saw kitchen timings like this in any other hostel I’ve been in in Aus - Laundry is only from 9:00-14:00!!!! This I couldn’t believe because what tourist or casual worker is hanging around the hostel between those hours just to do laundry? Hot take but I generally like to see local attractions when on vacation. Had to find a local launderette in the city to do washing - Bathrooms weren’t well-ventilated - post-shower the loo rolls in the cubicles were limp & damp with water vapour from the showers - My labelled cereal box got removed from the pantry simply because I didn’t have it in a separate plastic box, despite it being the only item of food I had out. The staff member I dealt with seemed to find the matter quite amusing and didn’t offer any explanation of why it was removed in the first place - No atmosphere whatsoever - you’d honestly see more life in a graveyard, respectfully