Youth Shack Backpackers Darwin

Lovely place to stay as a long or short term resident, however there was one particular member of staff who really tarnished my experience. As a young person I’m more than willing to forgive and forget, but one member of bar staff was very rude. I believe his name is Robbie, might as well call him Robbie Rotten. His attitude was absolutely disgraceful. He made me feel so uncomfortable and was very aggressive and disrespectful towards a lot of my friends and me. This kind of treatment is not expected and lucky enough he wasn’t around enough to completely ruin my stay there.

The place is located really well, with everything you could need at a short walk (bar, cafe, supermarket, busses...). It has a nice swimming pool with a bar and a big kitchen/common area with music until 10pm. During the weekdays it's pretty chill. During the weekend the spot turns into a mess. I went to have a shower in the morning and I found a bloke lying on the toilet, I kicked him a little and started snoring, so everything was fine. Everything's was pretty dirty and noisy. WiFi was not working really well.

Amazing time at Youth Shack.. Entertainment each night if the week, with the friendliest staff.. particularly made to feel welcome by the bar man / Dj Lloyd .. location perfect, kitchen and pool area clean.. me and my friends will back next time in Darwin

Place is noisy & filthy, staff are unfriendly. Didn’t have a nice welcome feel at all. The Canadian/American guy at the front desk has to be one of the rudest and most unfriendliest person I’ve ever met, should not be working in a face to face role ! Looks like he was more interested in chatting up girls than offering any sort of friendly service. We were shocked at the way we overheard him speak to some people. Extremely arrogant and set the tone for our whole stay unfortunately . We stayed for 3 nights & we never once got a hello or a smile from anyone on the desk. Say goodbye to any sort of quality sleep. It’s like trying to sleep In a nightclub. Music goes on till at least 2am. Only positive is the location. Looks like from over reviews, we aren’t alone in our opinion so go somewhere else !

I've been staying at Youthshack for the past week and had an incredible time! The staff have been super friendly and helpful, with heaps of recommendations for food and things to do. The hostel itself is great! Room was lovely, great facilities and one of the best kitchens I've seen in a hostel in Australia. Went to the Karaoke last night and Peter (the Irish lad behind the bar) was an absolute hoot! Had a great time and the rest of the bar staff joined us at The Lost Arc after they clocked off. Was great banter all round! Big shout out to Debs as well, great chats at reception and you can see she really cares about the place. There was vibe, it was schmick, the only hostel I've seen that hasn't appeared to drop the ball during COVID. Unreal! Overall, if you're coming to Darwin STAY HERE!

I stayed here on and off for 6 months. If you want party it has it, if you wanna chill it has it. The best kitchen and cleanest hostel you will ever see anywhere. Honestly you couldn’t choose somewhere better. The staff look after you like family and there’s a night on pretty much every night to keep you entertained. The TV room is like a small cinema and the roof deck is kitted out for your sunbathing needs. The pools always clean. Honestly could rave about this hostel all day. You can NOT go wrong here!