A hostel with great potential let down significantly by the inexperienced young management. The rooms are hot, with a measly fan to push hot air around the room. The beds are cheap & dirty with chewing gum stuck to the side of the frames. The 'free' washing services were either being used by staff or broken. The staff who worked for accom within the hostel were great fun & very proactive in trying to make the hostel fun for everyone involved however were restricted and held back by the toxic environment created by the couple of young 20 year olds who managed the hostel. Refurbishment of the bar downstairs meant there was drilling and banging waking you up on the early hours of the morning. The nearby fire station kept you awake at night due to the noise of sirens, which you were unable to avoid as you had to keep the windows open in order to get any fresh air into the rooms. Me and my friends were not allowed to extend our stay at the hostel due to entering a restricted area that was not sign posted as restricted & instead of being made aware of this, we were belittled by the young management, in front of the other patrons of the hostel, and told we we had to leave. The constant change of staff within the hostel shows a clear miss management which is a real shame as the hostel itself has great potential and some of the staff we met would've been great assets to the team. If the hostel wasn't run by such a small minded couple, I'm sure it would be great.

A hostel with such potential, let down by a management duo who are about as useful as an ejection lever on a helicopter. This hostel provides the bare minimum for you need for an average stay, it is very social which is about the only benefit. The many drawbacks of this hostel can be hidden by the hard working, entertaining staff, who was again, themselves are held back by the a management team who also happen to be a couple, so as you can imagine, they are full of different ideas (not!). The rooms are hot and average with cockroaches making camp in most of the rooms, the communal areas are nothing short of sub-par and although the kitchen has good facilities, it is always crowded which makes it a safety hazard when cooking. The main benefit is the location however to summarise, this is a noisy, insect infected hostel with overall okay facilities and good staff who once again are held back by a management team who are happy to kick guests out for disobeying a rule that doesn’t exist on any signs or website T & C’s and claim to ‘help you out’ by speaking to their boss ‘for you’ who was too busy anyway to come and have civilised and productive chat. This is overall not a terrible place to say if you can avoid the management!

Great facilities, great location and great staff! Everything was always clean and the beds were comfortable. Loads of cool spots in walking distance. Staff are friendly and super helpful. Loved their rooftop area, especially on movie night, you get to see the city in a whole new light with the added bonus of a free drink and some popcorn. Cannot recommend this place enough!

Loved my stay at the Downing! Perfect location, the kitchen is so nice, rooms have brand new comfy mattresses, and there’s different social activities every eve so you can easily get to know everyone. The managers are lovely and really inclusive, would defo stay again!

Good value, great location and seemed perfect for party people. Comfy beds, solid lockers and a decent kitchen. There are very few showers and toilets to go around. Quite loud due to street traffic and party atmosphere. Spent 6 nights here quite comfortably. Would recommend.

The best hostel in Sydney, close to everything in the city centre. Good family vibe, cleaned at least 3 times a day, good kitchen opened 24h with all you need to cook. I can't talk about the downing hostel without mentioning the events, at least 5 a week and the best is : most of them are for free. From free food or free pancakes on Sunday morning to discounts on pub crawls or free entry at music bingo with discount on drinks and hot dogs. Last thing I want to talk about is the staff, it's the best ever, always trying to help you, to make you feel comfortable like at home. Especially a french guy named Arnoud, he helped me a lot and changed my inner self forever, thanks to him my trips will never be the same anymore as he made me open up myself so much I could feel the essence of life and what nirvana must be like. My only regret is not being able to find enough confidence to ask him out and propose him to marry me, now I have a spare ring I don't know what to do with, if someone is interested... I really recommend this hostel, you can go there eyes closed (well you should probably open your eyes if you don't want to hit a wall or fall in the stairs)

Old school pub. Beers $7. ATM, Pokies, 2 TAB machines. Bistro was closed at 4pm on a Friday when I was there. Toilets 2 flights of stairs down.

Sumptuously     · Excellent hotel, very comfortable room, good beds on which you can sleep. It was a one-night driveway — an ideal place to relax after a long journey, but it was decided that we would choose the same hotel for walking around the city, as it is ideally located, everything is close by - metro, parking, market, shops. very friendly staff

I loved my stay here! All the facilities in the kitchen we’re absolutely perfect and had everything I needed! The beds were super comfy and the location is amazing right in the CBD of Sydney so very easy to get around from the hostel! Would 100% recommend:)

Great spot if you want a chilled stay in Sydney, they also do social events everyday which we're great fun. Staff were unreal and has a lovely rooftop! highly recommend

Great hostel! The location is perfect, you’re very central making everything easily accessible. The staff were all super friendly and they put on a different activity every night so it’s easy to socialise and meet other backpackers. Dorms are also simple and clean, but very comfy. Definitely recommend staying here if you’re coming to Sydney! ☺️🇦🇺

The hostel staff are fantastic, comfy beds and great events, especially the beer pong tournament!

The Downing is a great hostel in a great location, right next to all public transport and in the heart of the CBD! The staff are all super friendly and as is it a smaller hostel you can get to know and mingle with all the other guests so well during their weekly events which they have on almost everyday! The hostel is one of the cleanest i've stayed in and overall has a great vibe ill deffo be back!

Great cocktails and great atmosphere. Perfect location, right in town. Dropped in here for a drink with my family after Anzac Day March. The staff were very friendly. Perfect place for a quiet drink.

Very very poor customer service rude staff

Gŕeat place for a drink if you like sports.

Attended to provide emergency assistance , staff were very helpful

I stayed in the hostel for a long time and I loved it. Very friendly and helpful staff, clean and good equipped kitchen (probably the best one I've ever seen in a hostel) and I had the best room mates I could ever imagine and I am still friends with them. Now that I have moved out I come back every now and then to enjoy the great steaks and burgers in the pub downstairs.

Nice enough pub. Not the best Guinness at not the best price, but if you’re near museum, worth popping into.

Ordered a schnitty, fries and salad for $18, omg! 🤤 Was absolutely delicious! Lunch sorted for the next 2 weeks 👌😁

I stayed here for 2 nights on the weekend. Staff are amazing. Super friendly and helped me with any queries I had. They also told me some cool spots to visit & cheap places for food/drinks. The hostel itself is basic but all that you need really. Within walking distance of everything and train station near by. I Highly recommend to anyone looking to stay 👍🏻👌🏻

Best hostel in Sydney hands down. Location is perfect, central and right next to restaurants and pubs. The staff are super friendly and the events really help solo travellers mingle. It's the people that make this hostel great and though it has temporarily closed down because of COVID I hope it opens it's doors again soon!

It's not that busy and pub remains empty most of the time.

Worst hostel I've ever been to, where do I even start. I don't know how people can give this hostel 5*, even 1 is to much. I honestly think, they bought all the good reviews. Starting with the pros: Awesome location and friendly staff. The cons: Every prison cell is better than the room I had. The room is just way to tiny, there is no space to even open your bags. The windows had literally zero temperature isolation, it was freezing in the room and they didn't provide even a small heater. They provide the amazing number of TWO (!) power sockets in a room of 4, which is just insufficient. The WiFi is bad, it's noisy as **** the kitchen has not enough fridge space and is just a mess since nobody cleans up after himself, bathroom is third world alike. Out of three showers, one door lock doesn't work, and in the second shower the sink is broken (see picture). It was pretty cheap tho, so if you're on an absolute budget and you don't mind if your human rights are abused, go for it. If you don't want to make the experience of a third world hostel in the middle of Sydney, go to somewhere else. This should be illegal.

Great location and friendly staff! I enjoyed my stay there and will recommend it. Everyone is welcoming and trying to help you with everything. It is a great hostel when you just arrive for the first time in Australia!!

Mostly all good things to say about this hostel. It was clean, tidy and the kitchen is well-equipped: it even had an oven! The guests are of course not something that's down to the hostel, so when someone stole the food from my fridge I didn't put it down to the running of the place at all. In fact the staff, especially Grace, were a great help in trying to find my food and have generally been very friendly!

Stayed in a 4-bed room. Good value for your money if you don't mind living in a hostel. They have a decent kitchen and plenty of toilets/showers. They have one washer and one dryer which are free to use, but the dryer was broken during my stay so I went to a laundromat 8 mins away. Friendly people and staff and very close to all of Sydney.

Happy and friendly staff make sure that your visit is enjoyable and making you want to come back again and again.

Approaching 40 but got carded by the bartender 😂 He also remembered my order so 👍👍

The absolute worst. One ceiling fan spinning as slow as paint dries, no air circulation in rooms, listening to every single noise coming from the street. Disgusting mould filled bathrooms with nowhere but the toilet or sink to place your change of clothes and toiletries. I booked for two nights but in the middle of the first night booked another hostel because this is unbearable. I can’t sleep. Absolute waste of money. Avoid at all costs.

me and my girlfriend stayed here whilst visiting the city. Everybody in the hostel was extremely welcoming and the staff was so helpful. Our bed was awesome and so comfy, the room was well ventilated and clean. We would stay again for sure!

Best hostel I’ve stayed in so far! The staff are fabulous so welcoming and friendly! Have to give a special shoutout to Jenna and Martina absolute angels! Great atmosphere, comfy beds, clean kitchen and great rooftop area!

I had an amazing time at this basic hostel. Located right in the middle of the city, free wifi, basic facilities and great staff. I will come back after my travels.

Good hostel rooms, clean kitchen and bathrooms. Loud at night, because its city centre. There's only one washing maschine, but it's for free.

Stopped by for a quick lunch, and I gotta say, this was a really great sandwich! The chips were seasoned well, the sausage was well cooked, and the spices and flavour from the meat blended really well with the sauces and vegetables inside giving a really unique taste that I haven't really enjoyed anywhere else! I'm glad I opted in for the sandwich over a burger!

Huge portions of food, nice cocktails

Nice food, old style pub atmosphere. Good for a quick lunch catch-up.

History in a hotel ?

Friendly staff, top service, awesome food

Thanks Chatra for the best service.

The chef walked out the kitchen to suggest a vegetarian option of a meal, kudos!

(Translated by Google) The music was small and it was good to talk to each other, and the size of the zerg was good. (Original) 음악소리가 작아 서로 대화하기 좋았으며 저그의 크기도 커서 좋았습니다

(Translated by Google) Clean (Original) Sauber

If you want to pay over $10 for a schooner of standard tap beer in a suits pub then you have found your heaven

Great location. Friendly staff. Beer always cold. 10/10

Very rude customer service l went there to ask for job . I just did my RSA and a guy spoke to me he was very rude .

Have been here many time, one of those small pub in the CBD that really knows how to cook their meat. The Chicken Schinitzel was so well cooked thst you don't need the gravy to finish the meal. Steak here is excellent too. Their $14.00 daily special is probably the best budget menu in the city...

Nice little bar in the city. Good menus.

Nice cheap pub grub

Nice little pub with huge screens to watch sport. Drinks and burgers are cheap ($6 beers, wines) and $12 burgers during Happy Hour (5pm - 7pm).. it does get packed out on a Friday but getting a seat isn't a hassle. Worth checking out for an after work drink and meal

Reasonable cheap meals. Seedy people inside. Felt a little unsafe. Friendly staff.

Good service and selection of drinks.

Location is good. Everything available nearby...but I had a bad experience as the rooms were not airy, no air conditioning. It was difficult for me to spend the night over there...

Lunch is good, depending on the chef.

Great food

It's one of the good venue with the good food and beer, they got the weekly specials from Monday to Friday and if you happen to pop in around Monday they do 14$ Rump Steak which one is really popular among the customers and the bangers and mash they serve over there is really speechless, really really yummy. The people and the staff who work there they are really nice and look after their customers.

Love it!

Great lunch special

Busy city pub, cheap food and gambling

Great pub and restaurant. Beers are reasonably priced and reasonable selection (apart from no Carlton). Staff are very friendly and food is lovely.

Nice staff

Not bad

Great paying games room

Best burger

Nice little pub.

good cheep pub grub

Love this place. It's a local social gathering place for cheap drinks and chill.

The sport was on, the atmosphere was good, and my night was enjoyed there

Best place to hang out