CURIOCITY Backpackers Johannesburg

The hostel, surroundings and tours were so much fun. I went during a quieter period and went on some tours which were really nice. My guide Bafana took me to the lisedi village and cradle and was a good vibe on the drive out there. I would highly recommend staying at Curiocity for the full Jo Burg experience.

Best service. Last year in August, I went to Johannesburg for my bachelorette party with my friends, and we planned to do the Soweto tour. It was incredible! The guide was one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, he explained everything so clearly and with such passion that it made the whole experience even more meaningful. You could really feel the emotion and energy in the way he shared the history and culture with us.

Best experience ever! |I want to say thank you to all team members - very welcoming ✊🏻||Really recommend to have a walking tour with Kaizer! He is wonderful guide with big heart ❤️ ||If you on hunt for good place - no doubt, pick curiosity. ||Btw, also have activities for each day - so you will not be bored

Sunday live music was amazing!!!!! One of the best authentic experiences possible. Simple rooms. Noisy area in general so take ear plugs, rooms beautiful and clean. Pay attention to email and staff advice about getting to and from hostel.

This hostel is quite basic. The common areas have a cool, preserved style that matches the area. The rooms are very basic and cold. The bathrooms are also quite worn out, but the water is hot. However, the environment is still cold. I had my money stolen from my passport case which was left inside my luggage in their luggage room. This happened after a staff member strongly advised me to leave all my valuables and documents in there.

Everybody very friendly, good vibes, and a nice hostel to stay. The office could do a bit better though: I prepaid the Inner City Walking Tour when I booked the hostel on their website, and it took _four_ email communications with them to confirm the date of that tour. Basically they ignored my email request three times to sign up for a certain date (it was the only date available for me), and finally on the 4th try they confirmed me for that tour. And then they had a nice braii, which I signed up for. At the dinner nobody asked for payment so I assumed the next morning when I checked out I could pay for the braii, since I'd already asked them the cost of it, told them I wanted to join etc. However, management must have realized they missed catching me for the payment that evening, and at midnight they sent the poor girl (she felt bad) into the room to take the payment, turning on the light, disturbing the others, and waking me from a deep sleep. Kind of insulting - as though they thought I would get up early and leave and skip paying? Or whatever the intention, that is how I read the situation, anyway.

The staff were super kind. The bedroom was nice and the bed was extremely comfortable. There was only a 3 prong outlet in my room which was a bit inconvenient because I had to go to the lounge area to charge my electronics (I have an international adapter that has all the outlet types besides this one). The plumbing wasn’t working for most of my stay (toilets wouldn’t flush, no sink water). I didn’t plan to shower but couldn’t if I wanted to. It’s near some restaurants and cafes, but I did feel uneasy walking alone as a solo female traveler. All the security/police/iron gates at store entrances made me a little anxious and feel unsafe. Overall good value for the stay.

We booked the Cooper apartment on Fox Street - Jhb (31 Dec 2024 - 02 Jan 2025). What a frustrating check-in process experience.||The address on the booking confirmation email doesn't indicate the address for the apartments but for the 12 Decades (I think the hostels). When you arrive there there's absolutely NO clearly visible signage except for a small black sticker sticker by the door handle with a dark background. So if you arrive in the evening would be a headache in trying to figure out where you're suppose to go.||The security officer also was confused on where we are suppose to go, kept asking us about room numbers and confirmation email indicated no room but did say we are booked in the apartments. When the WhatsApp line is called the officer seemed to have an idea on where we are suppose to go but informed us there's no parking but we enquired about the paid parking a week before check-in and we were informed that parking is available....also though the site says they're cashless, YOU PAY CASH for the parking (those ashtray coins really saved our bacon).||The lady on the WhatsApp line had to come and speak to the security officer and we were allocated parking but we had to move because when the owner of parking space next to our parking blocked us in (due to parking bay orientation). "Checking-in" took us 30 - 45mins sitting in the car since there's no reception area for Fox Street.||The apartment was as per pictures on the website but the wear and tear on the furniture was very apparent and the balcony fold-up door latches broken and could not close properly (safety issue) but satisfactory. ||The apartment was clean, line fresh and beds extremely comfortable. All the list amenities are available. ||Summarise:||1. CLEAR and VISIBLE signage for the 12 Decades/Apartments/hostels.|2. Update the websites for the 12 Decades/Apartments/hostels so that there's a clear drop-off for e-hailing and navigating. |3. Need to train every staff member and service providers on the facility and procedure for checking-in.|4. Since the apartment is on the 1st floor, the window latches need to be fixed this could be a safety issue since you can climb on the apartment balcony from the lift area.|5. Deep clean the couches.