FromEtoA
Google
If you (as a non-French speaker) search for "Hostel Nouméa" on the net, this is the one that will come up - although there is in fact a second one in town, halfway between Centre Ville and Anse Vata. ||||Anyway, this place was built in the sixties and you can tell immediately, because it hasn't been renovated since; I assume either because the cost is prohibitive or simply because they don't really have competition.||||The dorm rooms are absolute barebone: Old bunks, power plugs, and one locker for each bed. Coming from AUS/NZ, it's pretty hard to swallow however it's really all I needed since I didn't plan on hanging around the dorm anyway. If the balcony shutter is closed, it can get quite stuffy; you get your pillow and sheets from reception upon check-in and have to return these before checking out.||||As mentioned in older reviews, the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and speaks excellent English (in fact much better then the staff of the city's official Tourist Information). Be aware that nine out of ten guests here are from France, hence if you're not fluent in French and not much of an extrovert, you can easily feel left out, especially if you only stay a short time. The non-French guests you meet here tend to be interesting people, as New Caledonia is not much visited by non-French speakers (that's not to say the French are boring - I met some great folks!).||||Back to the hostel. The kitchen operates on an erratic locker system which holds your bowl, plate, glass, and cutlery - one of each. The walk-in fridge also has a locker, your key opens both lockers assigned to you. Kitchen utensils are as barebone as the rooms, sometimes you'll have to wait for a chef's knife to be available. There's nothing like a free food shelf here (save for some leftover salt and tabasco sauce).||||There's a nice outdoor area overlooking the city, as well as a dining room, a "lounge" with ping pong table, and an "attic" with public computer. There's a laundry room as well, using the washing machine is quite expensive at almost 5 €/load. They also have a dryer however there's a massive clothes line outside, so during good weather (which is common in Nouméa), I used these.||||You can arrange yourself with all these things, even with the steep stair shortcut (don't use it at night if you can make out young locals sitting there) leading from Boulevard Bauvan to the road that terminates just behind the hostel, but the worst thing here is the WiFi. You have to buy vouchers from reception: 1 hour for 200 CFP or 5 hours for 500 CFP. Then you have to go to a login site, log in, use it and log off again in order for the timer to stop - each single time. Is hugely annoying and a lot of money! Use the free WiFi in town (ie McDonald's) whenever you can.||||Overall not a bad place to stay, but it could be so much better! Four stars only because of the nice atmosphere and because there are no comparable alternatives; it is and will probably still be the first address for backpackers and budget travellers in Nouméa/New Caledonia.