Wake Up! Sydney

I would like to leave a very positive review for Hugo, who works at the hostel. He truly makes life easier, especially for French guests, as he is always available to help, answer questions, and give great advice. He is extremely professional, welcoming, and attentive to everyone’s needs. You can tell he genuinely cares about his job and does everything he can to make sure guests have the best possible stay. Thank you, Hugo, for your help, kindness, and professionalism! 👏

Me and my partner stayed in a private room with a shared bathroom for our stay in Sydney for 7 nights whilst travelling along the East Coast of Australia! This was a very lively hostel where they put events on most nights, with it also being connected to the Side Bar where they had discounts on food and drinks every night. The location of this hostel was perfect, in walking distance to so many places and also good links to public transport. Our room was decent size with a comfy bed, perfect for travelling on a budget. The kitchen area was often quite busy, but kept clean and great facilities for cooking. Would definitely recommend staying here when visiting Sydney!

I stayed here twice and liked both of my stays! The first time, I stayed in a room for myself with a shared bathroom and everything was alright! The only thing I didn‘t like was that during my showers the light kept turning off. The second time, I stayed in a room with an own bathroom. The room was large, clean and huge windows. Its bathroom was good, too! Will definitely be staying here again! :)

Horrible experience Staff entered my private room without notice, removed my kettle, and claimed it was “for safety” — yet no house rules, memos, or in‑room guidelines ever mentioned this. No cleaning was done, rubbish left behind. Disrespectful, insecure, and dismissive management. Tourists deserve transparency, not intrusion. But the location is great if tourist just needs a place to stay for one night.

Very big hostel conveniently situated right next to central station. The rooms are clean as well as the bathrooms, even though it feels like this depends on which floor you are. Speaking of which, I recommend staying on floors 3 or higher because the music from the bar below the hostel can get very loud. The kitchen was quite clean but very crowded. A big plus is the events, which take place everyday. The are really usefull to meet new people since there is no proper social area.

The service at WakeUp Sydney Centeal really was outstanding. I felt directly welcome, they allow you to store your luggage for free and while you have to check out before 10 am and cannot check in before 2, they do make the extra effort to give you another key card that allows you to use all the other amenities like the kitchen and the bathrooms. The kitchen I found to be always clean and fairly well organised considering how big the hostel is. I really liked all the events they had going on, though the noise from the nightclub (“side bar”) below can be quite substantial, especially when sleeping on the first floor, it is clearly noticable on the second floor too. The doors generally shut fairly loudly so you most likely will not get the very best sleep if you are in a door with many people but the rooms tend to be quite spacious at least so that there should not be troubles that luggage overcrowds. would come back

The hostel’s location is super convenient and practical for newcomers to Sydney. It’s close to key places for running errands, taking courses, and getting around. The kitchen hours are a bit limited, and at times it can get quite noisy. The rooms and bathrooms are comfortable and clean, but the best thing I’m taking from there is Horacio — his kindness and great vibe!

I often stay in this hostel every time i go to Sydney, central .The location is perfect, right in Sydney Central, which made it super easy to explore the city. The staff were all great, but a special thanks to Nora at the front desk for being so friendly and helpful—she made a huge difference. They really focus on cleanliness the beds are comfortable for the price. It's a fantastic choice for a comfortable and convenient stay.

Private room, third floor. Pros: Nice people, good location. Wifi is good. Lots of sponsored and structured activities. Clean. Safe. Cons: No air conditioning in the rooms, only central. No way to make the room dark or open the windows. Bed is horribly uncomfortable. Not enough power outlets. Showers suck, you have to make out with the wall to get under the spray. I did not enjoy it but it was bearable. A good place if you're looking to get laid, save money, or what to share with some very close friends. The beds were awful, and having no in-room air con puts this on the no list for me, but others may find it perfectly suitable.

I booked an all-girls 4 beds, for 4 nights. I got lucky being alone for all of those nights. That's very rare. Standard bunk beds and lockers in room. Men & Women bathrooms, along with laundry room, on each floor. A bit noisy, with doors closing loudly and the window from outside (as it really is super central Sydney), so maybe some updated noise cancelling in those areas. They do at least offer free ear plugs as requested. Attached bar for dinner and drinks / fun, and cafe for breakfast / lunch. They sell the basics if you forget - locks, adaptors, etc so that is a perk! Vending machines downstairs just in case. I never felt dirty anywhere. Friendly front desk and a few of the items listed on website and brochure they don't have currently but they do offer some cool free activities - yay city guide walking tour! Pretty fairly priced for location / accommodation. I spent about $150 USD for the 4 nights (with a breakfast voucher included - hot drink & a toastie). I would've spent that on 1 night in a hotel. You give up a little privacy and you save some money. I'd stay here again.

Pretty good for hostel as it's clean but can use some improvement such as the beds are very loud and shaky bunk beds. The kitchen can't seem to handle the 7 floors of guests. Value 4/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Service 4/5 Quality 4/5 16/20

Good place to stay in Sydney. Close to central station and probably 15 to 20 minutes away from airport. There's a bar downstairs with a dj playing on some nights. Lots of different events happening. Also the attached restaurant is good for breakfast/brunch. Otherwise lively environment with a predominantly young crowd. Beds were comfy and rooms were decent. Staff were friendly and helpful. Overall good experience.

Wake up and smell the coffee! This cafe is at the bottom of a hostel in the city near Central Station - the cake is $3.50 a slice basic chocolate and carrot cake, and the coffee delicious. I enjoyed sitting outside having a coffee. It's a friendly atmosphere as there are travellers around - and it would be very convenient to get around as the station is right there. They have a lunch menu and some dinner options too, but I was just walking past so it was great for a quick rest stop.

Extremely central, like slap bang in the middle of sydney, which is very handy. The Wake up is a freak of nature Hostel, that looks more like an office block from the outside. Set out on 6 floors, and very efficent (you key card activites the lifts, so you can only go to your floor), the hostel is constantly full with backpackers from all over the world. however, the staff are pissy, unhelpful, and the whole place is very sterile. i would not recomend this place for a backpacker on their own, as its harder to meet people. however, a great redeeming quality of this place is the Side Bar..located in the basement. A great bar, with open mic nights, promitional night and pool tables

Great location being right across from central station and everything is in a very walkable distance. This was my first hostel experience and everything was very tidy and nothing short of great. It's convenient to have a cafe and restaurant/bar right within the hostel and there were great drink deals/events every night. A lot of tours will pick you up from here which adds to the convenience. If you book through hostel world you will also get premium wifi which was another perk. Next time I experience Sydney I would definitely come back! Side note: this hostel was a little pricier than other hostels around Sydney but definitely worth the price.

Stayed at Wake Up a couple of times while backpacking around Oz. Rooms: Spacious mixed room, but the rooms I stayed in, the beds were all lining the walls, which resulted in an obstacle course of bags and clothes when trying to get to your bed. The lockers were decent, though, so you could keep your things neat and safe, if you feel so inclined. Bathrooms: Clean enough and big enough. The handful of toilet stalls and shower stalls never left me waiting to use either, which is always a plus. Kitchen: It was a struggle, at times, to find enough space in the fridge for my freezer bag, but if you've ever played Tetris, you'll figure it out. The food prep areas were always busy at peak hours, and seating also difficult to come by, at times, so plan your meal times accordingly. Besides all that, the space was typically kept clean and had all you needed to prep your meals. Community: Some of the best people I met while traveling I met at Wake Up. Definitely take advantage of the free walking tour of the city, and any other free group activities. You'll be rewarded with a free drink after, and you're likely to meet some awesome people along the way. The basement bar almost always has a crowd, and the drink specials are hard to beat in a city as expensive as Sydney. Location: Conveniently across the street from Central Station, a stone's throw from Haymarket and Hyde Park. I easily walked all around town for the week or so I stayed. It's a bit further to the other backpacker destinations, like King's Cross, but where there's a will, there's a way (especially if you just catch a bus by the train station).

You can find cheaper, you can find bigger, but if you're looking for an easy place to find things to do every day/night, make friends and have a very easy stay, Wake Up is the place for you. The rooms are clean and have pretty large lockers under the bunks. As a previous reviewer mentioned, only some of the rooms have shelves for bag storage, so the room can become a bit difficult to navigate with 6 or 10 backpacks littering the ground. Bedding was provided and was good. Rooms are accessible with a key card ($20 key deposit) so DONT FORGET IT WHEN YOU GO TO THE SHOWER/BATHROOM because that's awkward and super embarrassing, especially when you are wet and in your towel. Bathrooms were clean, large, and never full no matter when I went in. Showers are spacious and have a nice shelf for your stuff--only one set of bathrooms per sex per floor, though, so it could be a bit of a walk from your room. Every night and many days, there is something to do. Monday/Friday: City tour by day Wednesday: Beach walk, Coogee to Bondi There's also a sausage sizzle, travel talk, wine and cheese night and move night, not to mention all the specials downstairs at the bar/club (Wednesday night international bikini contest is legitimately one of the craziest things I've ever seen in a hostel, which is saying something. You have to pay for wifi. There is no free breakfast, but there is a large kitchen. If it's a bus day, the kitchen will be packed during peak hours so plan accordingly.

Stayed at Wake Up for six nights while in Sydney. It was an adequate place to stay and definitely in a great location, within walking distance to Darling Harbour and a lot of great restaurants! (Try It's Time For Thai - they have amazing pad Thai!). The downsides were it was very noisy, not always the cleanest and the prices they charge are outrageous for wifi and laundry ($8 per load of laundry!) Overall, it was an alright place to stay in a good location ;however, I don't think I would stay here again.

"It is what it is." Wake Up! provides you with a clean place to stay, while you get yourself sorted. It's pretty much luck of the draw whether you find yourself with decent people, and I have to admit that this will be pretty much the be-all-and-end-all of your time here. That said, it is well-maintained, and the staff are friendly. The kitchen needs to be a lot bigger though, and they need to prevent people from nicking food.

We booked through a travel agency and were presented Wake up Sydney as one of the best values in town. I have to say it's hard for me to believe there is no better option for a young couple on a budget. So yes, this hostel is very well located, next to the station, to shops and not too far from the free bus that will take you around the center. Yes, our double room with en-suite was clean and the bed was comfortable enough. Yes, when we were there, everyone at the front desk was smiling and helpful (we did, however ask for a blanket we never got, but they apologized for it). Yes, the food at the side bar was a good value. That's for the positive sides. As far as the negative sides go, it's your choice now: if you don't mind being waken up in the middle of the night (and by that I mean every night for a few hours, even while wearing earplugs) by drunk college kids, or in the middle of your afternoon nap by loud speakerphones, if you don't care that both the bedroom furniture and the bathroom features are functional yet on the very far end of the minimalist side, then you're good to go. If after all this you're not grossed out in the morning by the leftover kebabs/fries on the hallway's floor, and also if you don't need cheap wireless internet access, then you can go ahead and book a room now.

Amazing hostel with exceptional service! This is the first time I've stayed in a hostel, and I'm so glad I chose this place! Check-in, room changing, and checking out is easy, and there's even a room where you can store your luggage in before/after check in/out. The staff are super nice, friendly, and accommodating. There is cafe on the same level as the lobby and there is even a bar downstairs. The rooms are pretty standard, nothing too fancy, and there's outlets right next to the bed so you can charge your phone right next to you while you're in bed. The bathrooms are clean and decent, with 4 shower stalls, 4 toilet stalls, and 4 sinks for the whole floor. You can rent towels as well, and get the money bac when you return said towels. There's even tours and other deals with the cafe and bar every day! The location is great too, and it's right across from Central Station. Everything in CBD is in walking distance as well! I can't recommend this place enough! If I am ever in Sydney again, I am definitely staying in this hostel again!

This is a great hostel for if you're just entering or leaving the country as you can quite easily gather your thoughts here. However they have a quick turn around of people so this makes making friends very hard, so don't go here if you're backpacking on your own. The bar attached to this hostel (Side Bar) is quite good, well worth a visit if you want to meet people coming in or leave Australia!

***YOUR STUFF IS NOT SAFE HERE!*** ***STAFF MEMBER STOLE MY LAPTOP!!! DISHONEST MANAGEMENT. *** My experience at WakeUp! started off OK and then quickly went sour. We had to switch rooms mid-way through our stay. Our new room wasn't ready before we needed to leave for the day so the staff told us we could put our luggage in the LOCKED area to the side of the front desk/reception. This area was locked and only accessible by staff with a key. We came back later that night to find that both of my bags and several other guest bags had been ripped open and rummaged through. My laptop was stolen. The management did not want to own up to being responsible. After much prodding, one of the managers confirmed to me that they had video footage and it was a member of their cafe staff who was caught on video taking the laptop. Weeks later I'm still trying to get them to own up to taking responsibility. They're insisting it wasn't their staff, but this does not add up. The area is ONLY accessible using a key that the staff has. The theft was either by a staff member or a staff member was negligent and left the door open (either accidentally or on purpose.) Otherwise, the place was OK. The room was fine for a backpackers, but the bathrooms and toilets were always disgusting and filthy on both of the floors we stayed on, every day for 5 days. The place was really loud as well, so hard to sleep, but it is a backpackers so that's understandable. GROSS and DISHONEST MANAGEMENT. I do not recommend this place.

Centrally located. Clean, well lit, fun, bar/restaurant/café/club right next door. Affordable. Hughly recommend for anybody looking to stay in Sydney either traveling alone or in a group. Young international vibe.

My least favorite hostel of all my Australian hostel adventures. It was clean yes, it was fine but it's geared towards the "mom and dad finally let me leave the house, let's party all night long crowed." Considering I paid a more to stay here than most of my hostels I expected to at least be able to get a bit of sleep. It's a huge hostel with many floors, which might be part of the problem.But I will say that they had a lot activities planed for guest and plenty of cheap food and drink options (including a kanga burger for the tourists). Will say that is was very close to the train station if you are coming from the airport it's convenient.

I'm not giving this place 5 stars because they had the fanciest or cleanest of the clean rooms (not saying it's a dump either). Because honestly when you sign up for an 8 bed mixed dorm, the hostel cannot control the fact that you're staying with, although friendly, very messy Scottish boys haha. But The staff was incredibly helpful. I had a 30hr layover in Sydney on my way to NZ and they not only let me check in early so I could get changed and get to sight seeing right away with the little time I had but also rented me a towel for free (I didn't have an AUD since I was planning on using card only since it was a layover stay). Another girl also let me store my bag for free since I had 1 hr wait between checkout and leaving for my flight. I'm not saying they are not a rule abiding staff, but they really understood the fact that I was an American girl who hand't really thought out her layover well and took that into consideration when helping me. And for that I am truly grateful! They have events set up every night, a bar and cafe on site, as well laptop plug in area. Place was pretty trendy with bright inviting decor as well. If I ever go back to Sydney I would stay there again as it's also close to central station and cheaper than the YHA. I do wish they had cheaper wifi though. However I noticed in Aus and NZ wifi is never cheap or free unless you're at a Maca's!

Great location. Just a 20 minute walk to Darling Harbour. Friendly staff. Plenty to do! Lockers in rooms. Bar downstairs is good, but expect a lengthy line up, especially after dark. Would definitely stay again

Wake Up Sydney is the ultimate hostel in Sydney for those who wish to be central to everything. The only drawback is the "wake up wake up wake up" announcement over the loud speaker at 10-11am in the morning. When nursing a hangover the size of Australia, this can get a little annoying, especially if you are booked into Wake Up for a week or two. Otherwise the premises are really clean and the location is really close to Central Train Station and other public transport. The hostel is quite modern and even includes access to a washing machine. Overall, it's a great place to meet people. Internet access and computers are made available for your convenience.

I stayed in five hostels in the last three weeks, and out of them all Wake Up! was definitely my favorite. Very clean and professional, the kitchen is big and nice and has lots of dishes/pots/pans, the attached bar and cafe were both great (some of the best coffee I've ever had) and they offered us great coupons to both (not sure if they offer to everyone, they said it was for booking through HostelWorld). The under the bed lockers were really handy and roomy, and in good condition. My favorite part is that the socializing area was all on one floor, so I never heard anybody partying when we had early flights to catch. No other hostel I've stayed at was so quiet at night (unless you were in the partying area, of course, haha). And of course the staff was very kind and helpful! Oh and the location is AMAZING. You can't get any closer to the train station which of course gets you wherever you want to be in Sydney. I will never stay anywhere else when I come back to Sydney, hands down.

Clean & Adequate amenities. Friendly staff. Definitely a hostel on the higher end. Only draw back is price for a true budget backpacker, but great for a quick holiday in Sydney.

This was a fun, easy, central location in downtown Sydney. Very convenient location, friendly staff! The bar downstairs is convenient and so fun! i would absolutely stay here again.

I dont really care about Wake Up. I just want to buried under Side Bar dancefloor.

This is the best hostel to go to, I urge any travelers to book at least one night here. I evaluate this with several standards. First of all, I have found Wake Up to be pretty clean despite the residents throwing their stuff everywhere. If (like me) you happen to be slow to leave the room in the morning, housekeeping is efficient, very friendly, helpful, and knows what they're doing. I have talked to quite a few of them and they are always seem to be able to offer advice, information, or just friendly chitchat to start the day well. Second, sleeping conditions are pretty good. Beds are comfy, the room is a little warm (by my Canadian standards) but other than that, a room with eight people has surprised me by being fairly spacious and a great way to meet new people. Oh, and every bed has its own power outlet, which is one of the most convenient things to find in a hostel, as some of them had the power all of the way across the room. Wake Up does not have free wifi, be warned, unless you book it through a specific website, (name slips my mind) which is advised to save around $15 a week. The actual price compared to what you get is appropriate. The staff working at the lobby are simply spectacular and they obviously care about the welfare of their customers (looking at you Ryan!). My friend and I have had a lot of problems with booking places and we were given a few very helpful options by Ryan, the guy working there. After talking it out, we booked out stay and got a bunch of excellent advice and deals. Best customer service I have ever gotten, especially seeing as he held our rooms open for us while we decided overnight! All in all, I will certainly stay here again, given the chance.