YHA Airlie Beach, Whitsundays

So we stayed in a 6 bed mixed dorm which was spacious and good toilets/shower. It felt quite clean also, so with AC it made this a great stay. The staff were always pleasant and helpful whenever interacted with. Never really went into the social areas much but seemed most people didn’t either, only eating etc. great location and close walking distance to everything.

This hostel has a chill and friendly vibe. The staff at are super nice and helpful. We ended up staying in a few different rooms due to flooding cancelling activities and travel. They helped us check in early when possible. The kitchen is spacious and clean. The bathrooms are shared one between two private rooms and the communal space is great.

Location and facilities are great. The hostel is right in the centre close to the beaches, shops etc and a 5 minute walk from the greyhound bus. luggage storage opens at 6am if you arrive before reception is open. They run on limited hours so this was a good addition. The kitchen has lots of utensils and storage. Rooms are clean and beds pretty comfy. There are balconies in the dooms which is good for drying clothes and chilling, although you can hear everyone on the balconies if you are in the room so not always quiet.

We arrived at the property late at night at approximately 23:30… 5 and half hours later than scheduled due to a car crash involving a lorry earlier in the day. Upon arrival there was an email sent with a code to a safe where our key was placed for us to collect which made things more convenient on the night. The private double room with a shared bathroom was basic, however adequate as this was only sharing with one other room. Our main issue however was that the hours of reception we feel were falsely advertised. Me and my partner I was travelling with had gone to reception 3 times between 07:00 - 09:00 as per the times on the leaflet with our room key stated would be manned, however this was not the case. Due to arriving so late on a night and having an excursion booked in which we needed to pack…. I had to resort to calling reception where it went to voicemail. After being called back by a member of the team we had explained that we would very much appreciate a later check out and was willing to pay an additional for this. The response was very blunt and short and we were told verbatim “you must check out at 10am as we have the room booked for someone else at 11:30” when questioned about their policy on check in from 2pm, this was disregarded and brushed aside. Why is it okay to be able to check in 2.5 hours early, yet we couldn’t be given an extra 10 minutes? This is completely ridiculous as we had paid for a room and had not even 12 hours use out of. Due to the customer service (or lack of for a better word) we would never recommend this accommodation to anyone staying in Airlie Beach.

Really decent hostel! Absolutely ideal location within walking distance to everywhere you need; bars, restaurants, the beach, marina - everything!! Kitchen was good, perhaps a bit small during busy times and lacking in bowls and chopping boards during these times. Our dorm was great and the balconies offer an extra area to chill in. Nice courtyard to chill too. Only thing I’ll say is the reception team were a little quick to charge us for a key that we didn’t even take out when we checked in. This was due to obvious miscommunication amongst them. A bit annoying given they gave us just 30 mins between the email stating we owed a key and then charging the card. It was all sorted though so nothing too bad.

One of the best hostel I did in Australia ! Everything was clean and big. Rooms are big and you have a lot of space to put you staffs. Very good point, you have your own bathroom for the room. The kitchen is also big with many fridges. First time it's easy to find room to put your food in a hostel!

Pretty average hostel, in desperate need of a refresh. Stayed here in mid-December 2022, whilst the hostel is in a great location and close to the main street of Airlie, the good almost stops there. Far too many long-term residents, meaning the kitchens and shared areas were always busy and people were not courteous of others (even saw blatant drug use out in the courtyard one night, with staff present). Limited crockery and cooking equipment in the kitchen made it quite busy. Staff were disinterested in helping. Rooms were dark and bed was extremely uncomfortable. Aircon barely worked and it was definitely needed in the heatwave. Very little storage space so the room was an absolute mess of everyone's stuff everywhere. Individual bathrooms were a nice touch however. Place definitely in need of a spruce up, will look elsewhere next time.

I was 1 1/2 weeks in the Yha in Airlie and it was a really nice time. The outside impression may not be the best but the hostel could convince me with so much more. At Christmas, the managers (super nice team) organized a free BBQ with a lot of good humor, free beer and good music. It was a Christmas I will always remember fondly, thanks for that!!! Also, the kitchen is always clean, lots of fridge space, each room has a balcony, as well as a bathroom and the rooms are very spacious. I would always recommend this hostel!!!