I really hope this review helps other people to consider this “hostel” as an option. Unfortunately I didn’t check before getting there. The place was more a homeless residences than a hostel… I have been in many hostels around Australia and believe me, I have paid the same amount for a better place to stay. Also, the aircon can’t be regulated from the rooms, it was sooo cold which ended in a serious flu. Once again think twice before staying in this place.

This is not a hostel for backpackers it is a halfway house full of junkies. The whole places stinks and is filthy. We stayed for 4 nights and on the night we checked in someone had thrown up in the sink of the ladies toilets on level 2, there was still puke in the sink when we checked out. Disgusting. No one did their dishes and the showers were minging. Do not stay here.

** This place is not for backpackers!! ** The staff were nice, however this place is not equipped to call itself a backpackers. No cutlery and very minimal kitchen ware. The kitchen itself was dirty and the hobs did not light so had to borrow a lighter of a fellow traveller to light the hob which proved dangerous. On walking through the kitchen often the hobs were “turned on” though it was not lit, so either the hob wasn’t working, or worse it was just constantly leaking gas… Our room was fine, however, my friend had to move rooms twice as the first was musty and smelt of urine, and the second room had not been cleaned and there were empty beer bottles in there. There was not the friendly backpackers vibe to this place as the majority of other guests were not backpackers - this place appears to serve as a kind of half way house for those in difficult situations which is admirable, however, this meant the place often felt a bit unsafe and smelt of weed the entire time. If you are travelling and looking for a place to stay, I would suggest somewhere else

Hallo, also ich kenne das Chill Backpackers nicht so wirklich gut aber immerhin seit 2012, da war ich das erste mal hier und habe es mir angeschaut. Das Chill liegt sehr günstig gelegen an der Upper Roma Street, nur gut 10 Min. Fußweg vom Zentrum entfernt. Das Chill ist eins von 5 Hostels, das hier direkt an der Straße liegt. Das Hostel ist recht groß und für die, die es interessiert, ein Party Hostel, wo auf dem Dach fast immer Action ist. Das Personal war freundlich und hilfsbereit. Ich habe mir mal ein Zimmer 2016 Angeschaut und konnte da nur sagen... schon etwas in die Jahre gekommen. Die Einrichtung war nicht mehr so schön anzusehen. Der Teppichboden hatte seine besten Jahre auch schon hinter sich. Die meisten Zimmer sind eher klein, Heizungen gibt es nicht, was im Winter echt doof ist wenn es wirklich kalt wird. Die Reinlichkeit war ganz ok in den Gemeinschaftsräumen. Aber im Erdgeschoss, was eigentlich ein Untergeschoss ist, war es immer sehr dunkel. Alt ist das Gebäude aber noch nicht, erst gut 20 Jahre alt. Die Preise waren noch ok aber insgesamt hat es mir nicht zugesagt, deshalb war ich auch nie ein Gast hier. Das letzte mal habe ich mir das Hostel 2020 angeschaut, wobei es keine wirklichen Veränderungen gab. Für mich lag das Hostel so im Mittelfeld von allen Hostels, die ich in Brisbane kennen gelernt habe und davon gab es reichlich.

Not safe for backpackers. Hostel has a lot of strange characters walking about and they are not backpackers. We checked out after 2 hours of being here after ignoring the really bad smell and the mold in the room. we went to the toilet and seen needles in the toilet. As we checked out I told the desk and the cleaner accused me of lying? waste of money was not offered a refund. heard a lot of bad stories about the place from others since leaving.

After reading all of the bad reviews on here I thought the experience would be bad but I was pleasantly surprised. The staff is amazing and very helpful, especially one of the older men. The kitchen is quite small but if you go at the right hours there’s usually plenty of space. There’s free food to grab by the reception pretty much everyday, it’s usually pasta and bread but every other day there’s some veggies and fruit aswell. As other reviewers has said there’s some sketchy people around but that’s what you get at most backpackers. The corridor does smell bad but the bathrooms, common areas and my room was very clean.

The hostel was full of crack heads and homeless!! We felt sooo unsafe there, that we couldn’t stay for the night. Just wasted our money and have to book another accommodation.

The staff was nice and friendly; however, the hostel was full of homeless. Bad experience staying there, feeling unsafe all the time and disgusting amenities.

Went to check in to Chill backpackers. But seems they also own the Big Bird hostel as well. The building they wanted to put me in was run down, no ac, half the clientele make it feel like a halfway house. Yet charging as much as other hostels. Girl on front counter was nice, but not nice enough for me to stay. The business clearly is into cutting costs at the expense of losing clientele. It is a shame because Chill used to be a great backpackers.

Good location and really friendly staff. Kitchen is pretty grim compared to other hostels and very crowded at peak times. The rooftop dining area is very nice and has a great view. Is a great spot for drink 🍷 Cockroach in the room brings the rating down unfortunately- but this is pretty normal in most hostels to be fair. Good value overall - just not going to be a luxurious stay.

Best hostel ever could not recommend it any more. Have all the facilities as train stations bus stations and is a 5 min walk from the heart of Brisbane Staff are so friendly and welcoming and the vibe is amazing as well as the cleanliness that is maintained throughout the hostel. They have a rooftop with an amazing view as a PlayStation 4 and Movie Room and plus a pool table at 3 floor For sure I will be there again

This place is amazing now it's under new ownership and management. The staff are super friendly, check in was easy, rooms are nice and do the job. Amazing views of the river from the balcony, pool table is cool and a playstation too in one room and another TV for watching Netflix in the other room which is cosy. Kitchen is a big size and overall the facilities were very clean. Would recommend to anyone coming to explore Brisbane

Worst place I’ve stayed at in my life. Horrible, dodgy characters walking around, dirty room, dirty bathroom, smelly and noisy. An absolute nightmare. PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF FROM THIS HORRENDOUS EXPERIENCE. You are better off sleeping in your car.

Absolutely loved my experience staying at Chill! They have free tea and coffee, great hangout areas and wonderful warm rooms. Level Three has a movie room and an additional gaming living room with a PS4! I'll miss playing PS4 with my new found friends and having a couple of drinks on level 4 with those divine views of Brisbane City. Wonderful staff, wonderful stay and wonderful experience.

In general, i loved the roof view, and atmosphere, staff are friendly, Room was quite and comfortable, just Need to organise the kitchen, cleaning totally, there is no hot water in the kitchen, even no electrical kettle, also adding more dishes and cookingware. Remove the plastic curtains in bathrooms which are useless

I was quite scared by the negative reviews when I arrived but since I was only going to stay a week until I found a room, I decided to take a chance. The best experience of my life, I stopped looking for a room and I've been living here for 3 months. an excellent place. I love living here and meeting people all the time. cleanliness 10/10

My room is disgusting, looks like the floor hasn't been cleaned in the last year. There are dishes under my bed. The corridor smells like urine maybe due to the carpet that hasn't been changed for long time. The ladies toilets are disgusting, the shower drain is blocked and the water doesn't drain properly, there are hair everywhere and some of the toilets don't even lock properly. There is not a window in the whole floor, only air con which filters are blocked with a major amount of dust. The place is old and need a full clean and maintenance. I don't know how people can stay in places like this. I thought I gave it a go, but I'm very disappointed with their standard of cleaning and with the customers service. I worked in hospitality for over 10 years, and I never experienced anything like this. The customer service is very poor... when I told the managers what is wrong with the accommodation he didn't want to hear anything and he wouldn't refund me 4 nights I paid for. I'm very disappointed. NEVER AGAIN

Was a good experience overall during my 1 month stay here, however take my review with a grain of salt as this was my first experience backpacking in general. The place was generally clean, beds were nice and rooms were relatively spacious, and had no major outstanding issues during my stay here. Reception staff were nice and got along with them well. Place is convenient as it is close to everything you generally need, and a close walk to the CBD as well. I especially loved the table tennis table, nice rooftop views and the TV movie nights as well, alongside a good price for a cheap stay. Review goes down to 4 stars because the rooms have no windows for ventilation, warm showers were occasionally inconsistent with cold bursts sometimes and the free Wifi provided would occasionally randomly disconnect. In general would recommend!

walked in there for about 10 mins, had put a 19 year old girl in a room full of 20-40 year old men, not a single women. was in there for 10 minutes and felt incredibly unsafe. if you’re a young girl don’t stay here it was awful, had to book another hostel

Let's set the record straight: After reading some bad reviews about the place after I had already booked it, I didn't know what to expect upon my arrival. The place had a change of management a while ago, so there are no more homeless people staying there, all areas are pretty clean and it feels like a safe space. The outdoor areas are quite nice, just look out for the pigeons, they'll steal your food if you leave it alone.

My time at Chill Backpackers was great! The hostel staff were super helpful with my first time in Brisbane! The rooms were well maintained and clean and I realised it was in a great location! Good facilities too! Highly recommend!

I am giving 5 stars to Mark, one of the managers on site. He was extremely helpful in sorting out my predicament. I was booked at hostel 2 doors up, but was turned away because I was not an international backpacker. I was staying to Brisbane to work 2 nights for Ed Sheeran concerts. Mark gave me the option of staying next door at Big Bird. He explained that it is not flash and is more of a means to help out homeless people. His altruism is amazing. Thank you Mark for all that you do.

Loved my stay at Chill Backpackers! Staff were very friendly and accomodating. Rooms were nice and the vibe was relaxed. Stayed there for a total of 6 months. Would highly recommend! Also, the reception lady named Jayde is very nice and helpful.

I have been staying here for nearly 3 months now and I love it here! Great staff! Great rooms! And the facilities here are amazing! I would highly recommend to anyone needed either a long or short term stay to book at Chill Backpackers!!! Keep the good work up guys!

Extremely good value for money. It's in an excellent location, the beds are comfortable, great facilities, really helpful staff... I have stayed in far worse for more money. Definitely one of the best options for staying in Brisbane on a budget

I’ve been staying at Chill Backpackers for around a month now and have seen nothing but constant improvements. The management and staff work hard to keep the cleanliness of common areas and make adjustments when feedback is given. It’s one of the most social hostels I’ve been to.. where everyone is quite literally “ chill “ overall a quality place stay. Got everything you’d need within walking distant.. I’d recommend!

The worst place I've ever been to is super stinky. Everything is so filthy. Just a waste of money. 638Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton. Qld. 4007.

Friendly and helpful, let me book using id other than a drivers licence which is apparently a problem for some other places. Single rooms very basic, shared bathroom, but clean enough, nice rooftop area with hammocks. Ofc cheaper to book online with a deal, bit overpriced if you just go in there, but if you need to at least they are helpful.

I loved my stay at chill. The staff were so welcoming it felt like a home away from home. The views from the upper levels were beautiful. Aswell the location couldn't be better. Everything you need is just a short walk away filled with amazing views.

If you need a place to start to your journey in Brisbane. This is the place to be. You'll meet lot of people to get informations/tips about the city. Staff is also Always down to help you and find solutions to makes your trip better. So if you look After the cheapest place and the more chill one AT the same Time; you're at the good place!

Great location and friendly staff. Clean ladies only bathroom available, no ensuite rooms. Other guests can be a concern, best to be cautious!

This is a great hostel. Really lovely staff and felt so welcome. Perfect location too. Room, kitchen and bathrooms are super clean. The only fault would be that it's pretty cold at the moment. The kitchen is open air. The Aircon isn't changeable and the blankets are pretty thin so just be prepared to wrap up warm 🧣

Hostel is clean and has everything you need, like an elevator which Is not Easy to find in a backpackers place. It Is close to the City, so you can go walking everywhere. But the main reason I give the hostel 5 Stars is because of the staff, they we're just amazing and helpful. I had an issue in my room and they changed me without hesitate. And they always recived me with a smile in their faces. Next Time in brisbane Will be in Chill for sure. Thanks for everything!!

This is my home away from home. The staff are awesome & accommodating. The location is fantastic, for tourists and locals alike. I recommend Chill to anyone

Nice location, lovely roof balcony lots of amenities, it’s a hostel at the end of the day so you get hostel rooms but it’s perfect for a quick trip and great atmosphere

Nehmt lieber ein anderes Hostel in der Straße! Super kleine Zimmer und Gemeinschaftsräume. Obwohl in der Küchen 2mal pro Tag geputzt wird ist es nie Sauber. Direkt nebenan sind bessere Hostels die kaum mehr kosten.

Paid 3 nights advance, opened the door, OMG.THE ROOM WAS THE SIZE OF A KENNEL, NO VENTILATION, *JUST* A BUNK BED. Immediately went downstairs 30 seconds later to ask for a refund, reception staff smirkingly said NO REFUND and referred to notice side of desk. I explained to reception we got the wrong hotel. A few minutes later we went to the correct hotel YHA which was a couple of doors up and had to pay once again for accomodation but couldnt be happier. I sent an email to MANAGER, no reply. Next day I called Reception back, it was the same Lady, I explained, we had a baby with us, which she knew, and I have sleep anea and we both have ashma, hence why we could not stay there. I was also going in for surgery the following morning and need somewhere hygienic. She said she spoke to her boss and he wont refund. This is NOT how you treat people or run a business. OBVIOUSLY $$$ is more IMPORTANT TO THEM than honest feedback! Or satisfying their customers!!!!! so sad.

Gritty but clean. The staff are fantastic, and I loved the light in the stairwells. Real community vibe. The women's only bathroom on the second floor is superb. Bring earplugs and your own crockery 👌 (Or lease the latter from reception)

I just want my money back in the form of a full refund. You cannot state you have unconditional refunds as that doesn't even exist in Australia. Your Spanish accent lady charging me 287 dollars, 1 day before me leaving the hostel and ripping me off like that is wrong. Enjoy the negative reviews in the next year from me or just give me my money back please.

Felt unwelcome on their first greet at arrival to the second i left. The staff were not nice.

Unfortunately only a three from me Rooms and bathrooms were nice staff were very nice and friendly and helpful but unfortunately the kitchen was a big let down staff need to make sure that people who use the kitchen clear up after themselves the amount of dirty dishes that were left in the sink unbelievable!lack of cups so sometimes you couldn't make yourself a cuppa,blunt knifes and some of the frying pans were past there best should be replaced with knew ones.

I think it's a pretty good place 🤠

Staff is super friendly (the guys from reception and the housekeepers as well). Rooms are alright and the location is perfect! Close to the center and you can enjoy the view from the rooftop.

My boyfriend and I stayed in Chill for 6 weeks while we looked for work in Brisbane. We really enjoyed our private room for obvious reasons but that being said the bed was very uncomfortable and the walls were so thin that you could hear the most quiet conversations. The hostel it’s self was quite clean and there were a lot of common areas to hang out in. The staff were absolutely lovely and helpful. A few of the staff seemed to have a bit of an attitude and we could hear them complaining about guests and other things on the daily... The vibe of the hostel was quite blah and there wasn’t a lot going on... we found ourselves extremely bored and looking to move else ware. All in all, it was a bed to sleep in and a kitchen to cook in and that’s about it :).

Great Location, comfortable beds, clean amenities. The girls only toilet and shower room has a hair dryer and straighter 😁 the upstairs deck always has some tunes on, a pool table, lots of seating and a bit of banter throughout the week.

Great and affordable , excellent service and house food

Very good place to stay. Exceptional staff very friendly and helpful. Everything was very clean and very good location

Chill met the basic expectations of a bed with communal kitchen and bathroom. There was a nice lookout of the city from level 4. There were several questional guests at check in and in the hallway which made the one night stay uncomfortable and so I would not recommend this hostel.

Worst backpackers I have been to. Extremely smelly. Everything dirty. The lady at reception was outstanding tho, amazing service. I can't recommend tho the venue. Go and find something else

I experienced a feeling of discrimination and racial villification by this business, on 26 Mar 23. I was denied dormitory accomodation due to being a travelling Australian that did not have an international passport or a suitcase worth of luggage, extremely disappointing business. Definitely not like this across Australia, only seen this on Roma St in my 21 years of travelling.....

This place is really good value for the price that you pay. The bathrooms are kept as best as they can be , the rooms were ok bit small but that is what u expect in a hostel , the lvl 3 and the roof terrace had really good views . this hostel is in a great spot close the everythin u could want . The staff and manager were so nice to me when i did not understand some things they helped me a lot . 10/10 I would love to come back

Stayed here for the state of origin, great value and only a short walk with the stadium! Nice clean room and facilities. Staff were very friendly also. Will book again

Not bad If I don’t meet a messy roommate,It could be more stars.

is one of the cheapest in town, so expect people drunk at night, not-so-good neighbors or roomates, some bathrooms is possible to see who's inside, some showers is missing the handle, some showers missing the curtains or light, when is cold the water dont get warm properly... there's a complete kitchen and fridges, the rooftop got a beautiful view and staff itself is kind providing extra pillows and blankets if necessary. Although some rooms is shorter than a prison cell and many of them dont got windows to ventilate air, you can have some rest if get a room with friends or lucky enough to get good roomates, otherwise prepare to be furious with bad smell/noises at night.

This is a homeless shelter. Do NOT stay here. Absolutely terrifying experience as a solo female traveler. The receptionist did what he could but it is what it is

My stay at Chill Backpackers was really nice. I had really friendly roommates, and the staff were always kind and giving out free food to us. It was a good vibe too, and clean always...

Yuck! 9/10 would not recommend this place. Worst backpackers experience I have had. The smell was awful the kitchen and bathroom were disgusting, Not a safe area we were scared to leave our cars outside at night. It doesn’t look anything like the photos at all. You Might aswell stay at the homeless shelter next door if you are going to stay at this backpackers. Hope this helps

I never do bad comments....but i have to share... this was the WORST experience ever!!!🥲 Its more like a homelesss place so a lot of guys live there and then the room are allll very discusting with a lot of stuff everywhere and trash and dirty dishes in the room. The smell and everything is very bad.

I'm not really picky regarding hostels. I just need a bed basically and the mattress of my bed is honestly bad, can feel the layer of steel getting into my back. The few encounters I had with the staff were okay. Kitchen seems a bit tiny. Showers and toilets are okay. Location and view from the rooftop is cool. Overall too expensive for what you get but it is like this with almost every hostels that aren't fully booked out at the moment. 😕

kitchen in poor condition Everything very messy, there is no crockery or cutlery They charge 20 dollars for a cup for cereal and cutlery 50 cents for the paper cup for coffee Bathrooms in poor condition, Shower curtains with a lot of fungus Lack of cleanliness in general

- Staff are super friendly and nice. - The hostel is located in a very good location - Has nice views of Brisbane from the top - Atmosphere is close to non-existent - really good hostel in Brisbane , I highly recommend staying here

Disgusting place overall, kitchen was very dirty, got my food stolen, rooms were nice but no lockers to keep your valuables, nice to crash one night but i would move on. Also you have to rent dishes and plates...

I stayed there for two nights. While picking up the key card for my room, I told the girl at the reception that I'll be leaving early, so how could I return the key-card and get my refund? "It will be put back in your card," said the girl at the reception. After returning the keys, I waited for three days before calling in to find out that they didn't refund the money back on the card, but I could email the manager. Here I am, two days after sending the email, still waiting for the refund. Losing the deposit is not the issue. It is being lied to, compounded by unfriendly staff. On a side note, my room was exceedingly tiny, with three more roommates to share the space with.

Non Refundable.. Stayed for a week and was not worth the price.. shared toilets and showers which were not clean or tidy.. No noise to be made as walls are so thin.. so have to whisper, Absolutely stinks of cannabis Beds where thin and not clean.. pillow on top bunk smelt of sweaty armpits.. Not worth the hassle