YHA Blue Mountains - Katoomba — Hotel in Sydney

Did not have a good experience at all. In fact, the receptionist was so rude to me that I had to cry and decided to check out at close to 10pm without alternative accommodation in sight. Ended up sleeping in my car. What happened was this: due to changes in my plans I had booked, cancelled, then rebooked. The lady at the front was unable to find my booking, refusing to give me a room even after I showed her my confirmation on Airbnb, and invoice, even though I had suffered through an excruciating 3 hour drive through Sydney rush hour and was extremely tired and hungry since it was very late already. There was no apology or attempt for a courtesy. Clearly I had a booking, she could have been courteous enough to give me a room key for the time being to take a rest, and then tried to retrieve my booking. Instead she took my details over and over and took a thousand photos because their software just kept crashing and crashing. She never apologised for the inconvenience and the fact this was taking half an hour already. While I had been compassionate in the beginning, my patience was slowly running thin, as I was extremely tired and hungry and actually had an online class to attend to at the same time, which I missed. Instead of apologising, she actually blamed me for not having booked directly through YHA but Airbnb (how on earth am I supposed to know that booking via Airbnb isn’t the right way to go? Am I God?). Then she blamed the outdated system. It was starting to feel like torture. I offered to have dinner outside and return. After one hour later, I returned. Alas, the receptionist had finally located my booking! No mention of apology for the inconvenience again. No, it only gets worse! She was taking all of my details again in that archaic days that makes you think you’re checking into the hotel or the Shining in the 1980’s - except for the creepy addition of a George Orwellian camera taking your photo over and over, making you feel like you’re going through customs or worse - like you’re being arrested. When I was unable to smile into the camera at this stage in time (it was close to 9pm at this stage) - my face was obviously betraying my fatigue - the lady ended up blaming me for my poor attitude!!!! I could say nothing and ended up sheepishly climbing up the stairs to my room to an unmade bed. (When my final question was if maybe they had a lower bed bunk, she scoffed and that it wasn’t up to her, I should take the bed that was available - making me feel as though I had just asked her to roll out the red carpet and send a gift basket to my room). Long story short, I ended up crying and decided to check out shortly after arriving, my pride has been thus hurt that I was willing to rather sleep in the car than there! I also told Airbnb about this. What shocks me is that I’m a super host on Airbnb myself, and whenever there was a problem, I would go out of my way to help out guests to make them feel comfortable or go the extra mile, earning me 5 stars as a host for three consecutive years. So for me, this behavior of the receptionist was just unprofessional and plainly rude. It saddens me as YHA’s are usually my absolute favourite hostels and since I was so excited to be staying at this historic building in the Blue Mountains, which I had researched...

Have stayed in thousands of backpacker hostels around the world, and many HI and YHA hostels, but YHA Blue Mountains, what a place! The dorm rooms were large, big lockers to put your own lock on, that take not just your daypack, but your main pack fits inside as well. Beds were really comfortable, even the upper bunk. The bathrooms were always clean, great shower pressure, plenty of places to keep your clothes and toiletries dry while in the cubicle too. I'm not into baths but if you are there is one in the disabled toilet to the right of the luggage storage room. ||But what makes this so good, is there are so many common areas, and stuff to use for free in them, so backpackers interact. Something a lot of backpacker hostels are missing these days. They even put on a movie each night. Lots of kitchen space and fridges to store food. An Aldi is almost next door, Woolworths across the road from it (flocks of Sulpher Crested Cockatoos like to hang out in front), Big W next to that. Next to Big W is a K Hub. Yeah I had no idea what that was either, it's a combo Kmart and Target product store. If you go onto the next block north of K Hub you'll find a small shopping center with Coles. So you've got options for food and any clothing you've forgotten to bring close by. ||Local bus stops are nearby in either Katoomba St or next to Woolworths, as is stop 2 on the hop on hop off Big Red Bus. Although I used that I'd recommend just using the local buses, much more frequent, they go everywhere the red bus does and are much cheaper. But if you are using the red bus, you can ask their office to extend the pass for up to three days if you tell them you are staying at the YHA. ||Unfortunately there used to be a lot more discounts available for food, activities, tours, transport with your YHA card at all destinations across Australia and even overseas. Someone in YHA has dropped the ball over the last decade or so. ||If you're coming from or going to Sydney Central YHA, it's an easy straight (no transfers) about 1hr 45 minutes city train journey between Katoomba and Central Station (Sydney Central YHA is right opposite the main concourse when you arrive on track 6, not as good as Katoomba YHA but you can't beat the location). If coming the other way from Katoomba station just use the pedestrian crossing next to Hop on Hop Off bus office, then head downhill on Katoomba Street (main street of Katoomba). When you see Aldi, it's just past that. I will definitely stay here again!||By the way if you want your 10c deposit back from any plastic/glass bottles you bought in town or anywhere in Australia for that matter, the only place where there is a machine for you to put them in and either get your money back if you've set up an account or a Woolworths voucher instead, is next to the cinema. To get there go under the tracks at Katoomba train station. cross the main road, walk past the local council building (on your left) and then the Katoomba courthouse (on your right), the road dips down and goes around a corner to the left, and the bottles for cash...

It's actually a nice hostel in a great location BUT the poor hygiene is a major letdown. Cleaners simply don't clean. There's black mould in the bathroom, the kitchen floor is always sticky and grimy, the kitchen itself is a mess, although it could be a very nice place if cleaned. Bins are emptied on request (place them outside your room to let staff know they need emptying) and vacuuming of dorms is non-existent. I stayed for 2 weeks and the cleaners did not vacuum our room at all. To top it off, many of us fell ill with COVID like symptoms. Guests commented on how quickly the coughing and sneezing was spreading. Others had to take allergy pills to cope with the dirty carpets and dust mites. My dear staff members, you have a nice place but you need to clean it!! Teach your cleaners how to do it, replace tea towels twice a day, don't ration them across the week, and deep clean the common areas daily. The rooms need to be vacuumed, the old saggy mattresses replaced, and the old pillows that trigger dust mite allergies discarded. With all the measures you employed during COVID, I'm amazed how quickly you have forgotten about the importance of hygiene. And if somebody arrives with the flu and stays in a dorm, offer them a private room instead of moving people who say they are not comfortable sharing a room with sick people to other dorms. There were several people who were moved to different rooms because of that girl who was very ill, which only served to spread the germs and infect others. ||||As to the guests, there was a good mix of people there, from young to old. Some very interesting ones, like the Jehovas Witness who wasn't shy about trying to recruit new members there. Guess they found a workaround for people not letting them in when they knock on doors. This woman made many uncomfortable with her behaviour, especially when she followed people to the bathroom. ||||Most people stayed only for a few nights, but others well past the 2 week limit stipulated in the YHA T&Cs, so check if you'd like to stay long term as there seems to be some flexibility. It was easy to meet new people and go on hiking trips together. The hostel was relatively quiet at night, although it can get noisy when large groups arrive. There is a co-working space, but it's not free to use (10 AUD per day if I recall correctly). Power points are limited in common areas and it can be hard to find a spot where you can plug in your laptop...or a quiet place to do some work. It's not a good place for digital nomads. Other hostels have better set-ups for those who travel and work. Making the co-working space free to use would be a great improvement. But the wifi was great everywhere in...