The Islington Barracks

It's really named to the Islington Barracks Hotel and had a refurbishment. We had the Tuesday lunch special - Parmigiana with a pint for $26. It was a great parmi and good value. A good selection of craft and old school beers on tap with a nice beer garden and pool table and separate area for live music which I'll have to check out. It's a good sign for the Newcastle after dark scene.

New refurbishment looks great and they put live music on 👌

How disgusting! The room was dirty, all the beds had hair on the pillows, and it smelled like urine. The bathroom hasn't been cleaned in at least six months. The towel they gave us had mold! I'm very disappointed. Do yourself a favor and don't come here

06/04/2024|I greatly appreciated the seamless & contactless check in & after the 1st access, entry was simple. It was surprisingly far from the CBD & Broadmeadow station, although I discovered simpler options as I moved around. It is an old hotel (over 100 years I think)- & that was reflected in the condition. My room was quite large & despite the warning of loud music at night, it was never an issue for me- (mid week?). I did ask for, & received, a room (Room 8)- away from the entertainment area below, which I greatly appreciated- although the bar area did seem particularly quiet during my stay. I had 2 major concerns- 1 was maintenance- a large hole in the roof & ceiling in the bathroom walkway which meant adverse weather would most definitely have impacted this area. Align that with stove hot plates that were burning full on (knobs were faulty), an apparently, long standing leak with a bathroom tap that was fast running -not just dripping- these must be causing enormous wasted cost??- and is an environmental catastrophe! Kitchen was absolutely disgusting when I arrived- Cleaning staff were there & after my comment, it was improved. "Breakfast" although supposedly included & noted in a room notice, was a non event-with no bread, butter or condiments that I could find & unappetizing cereal, of very questionable providence. The only thing edible was the tea or coffee. Room was a good size, bed was ok, a lounge chair in the room, although a great addition, was disgusting & I would not dare sit in it. Wifi was fairly reliable & the price generally reflected the overall condition. The room also (surprisingly) had some coffee pods, tea bags, chocolates & crisps, which were a nice touch & welcomed. I was prepared to say that it was a reasonable stay & worth considering at this price point- until I cleared the bed sheets prior to my departure & found questionable red stains on the sheets, (blood or lipstick?), pillow cases which, if not reused several times, desperately needed bleaching , along with hair (not mine!), between the sheets -clearly indicating the sheets had not been changed - at least once, if not several times!. Sadly, that shifts my recommendation to avoid if possible- something I have rarely if ever said before. A little effort & care & this would be a pleasant stay

Very disappointed in bar staff. She wasn’t welcoming at all. Quite rude actually. Also disappointing that there was no options for a meal. Ran out of wine not long after we got there. After reading the reviews the next morning I noticed others feel the same way. If you want people to come back then maybe a few changes need to be made. I’m quite shocked actually that the reviews are clearly ignored.

Our experience was totally ok for a hostel in comparison to the reviews I just read and the price is appropriate. Our Room was big, tidy & comfortable. the woman’s bathroom was very tidy, the men’s bathroom was ok. The club downstairs was also pretty cool even though there were just a few people there. Only improvement we see is the kitchen: the equipment is absolutely sufficient, but it could have been cleaner and some things were broken. Also the advertised Cereals and breakfast boxes were empty.

The hotel was located in a good spot in Newcastle close to the city. Only reason for the low rating was due to the check in door not accepting the password and being locked outside at 6:30am for 2 hours in the freezing cold with no one picking up the phone. The rooms were ok, blankets are thin. Right on top of a pub/dance floor so can be a bit loud but that is expected.

miserable. we got the double room. we arrived and found the codes confusing. overall creepy and very run down. there was hair all over the room and duct tape used to hold some of the furniture together. we couldn’t stay the night because it was so disgusting. only good thing about it was that it was situated close to hamilton station.