Newcastle Beach Yha

Recent Reviews: 146

• User:The-Vi-Zen

  Trip type: Family

  Perfect location, facilities, worth every penny

  19 Sept 2025

  We stayed at YHA Newcastle as a family and absolutely loved it. The staff were super friendly and made us feel welcome straight away, giving us tips on where to eat and what to do with the kids. The family room was clean, comfy, and just right after a big day of exploring – the kids were thrilled with their bunk beds too!The location is spot on – walking distance to the beach, the foreshore, and plenty of great cafés. We cooked a couple of meals in the big shared kitchen, which had everything we needed, and the lounge areas had a relaxed, safe vibe where travellers of all ages were hanging out. It never felt too busy or overwhelming, which was great with kids.Overall, it’s an affordable and easy base for families in Newcastle. We’ll definitely stay here again – it’s got the perfect mix of comfort, location, and that friendly YHA atmosphere. Damian P, at Yha Newcastle Beach, responded to this review Dear Vi Zen,Thank you for the great review. We love having families stay as they bring great energy to the property. It was a pleasure to have your family stay and we hope you can visit again very soon.Kind Regards,Damian

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• User:Ieva F

  Trip type: Solo travel

  Character, location, convenience.

  25 Apr 2025

  What a charming place! It’s certainly old but that means it’s got loads of character. It was clean and well maintained. The locations is perfect - steps away from the beach, there are several great cafes around the corner. Supermarket is just up the street. The hostel facilities are great too - a spacious fully equipped kitchen with four cooking areas and 4 sinks! Washers, dryers, free bikes and surfboards. Even free pool table and ping pong. It’s a gem for a traveler on a budget. They even advertise job vacancies on the notice board if you want to pick up some work in Newcastle. Damian Parkhouse, General Manager at Yha Newcastle Beach, responded to this review Dear Ieva,Thank you for the great review. We are glad that you enjoyed your stay and hope to see you again very soon.Sincerely,Damian

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• User:roberteca

  Trip type: Solo travel

  Uninhabitable

  29 Jan 2025

  My night quickly went down hill. The check in desk upon arrival was closed even though it Sayed till 9 I had to call the hostel to see what was happening and then someone appred. From there I was handed “fresh bedding” what if call far from clean as it was covered in stains and where the bedding had clearly been used so much or for such a long time and clearly not cleaned it was stained a brown colour and the pillow case in a worse state! I'm so glad I brought my own pillow case but after using it in this room I might in fact burn my own now! Honestly the hostel is a state, extreme dated and not fit for purpose! Anyway I was given my key, that was tbh surplus to requirement as the room door was propped open, as the room lacked aircon. That brings me onto the room its self a big part of being a solo traveler is knowing your safe at night and in your room so the door being propted open is far from ideal along with all the other doors in the place From then the room has a very dated stained carpet that I don't dare walk on bear foot a fan attached to the wall that looks like it dates back from the early 2000s and clearly has not been cleaned in the last millennium. Not much more can be said for the rest of the room the walls are filthy, there is a small rail trim around the wall of the room that has its own carpet of dust too! The light currently looked like a grave yard of flys to make matters worse every time I look at something I see another cobweb in the room. Towards the back of the room there is a door that leads out to a deck/ balcony where you can go out onto this area also has other rooms that back onto it test again flags up security to me and also due to the lack of aircon it has to be open just so you don't die in the room of heat exhaustion! I was going to cook my own dinner but the kitchen down stairs is far from in a better state! Anyway the night approaches and I decide ill have a cool shower before heading to bed well the shower was about the only clean thing in the sheared bathrooms and once again the bathrooms are in much need of replacing and are definitely requirements for a deep clean and remodel! Back In my room I pull back the Dovet I had to make up earlier and find an ear wig has decided to come a bed down for the night so that was a extra delight! Moments later one of my fellow hostel gosers catches a spider in the room! Honestly I will not ever recommend this hostel to anyone and in fact I will be leaving a day early and only be doing the one night! Here as this is completely not for me and really is questionable if it is suitable for human inhabitance and weather it even meets public safety! This hostel has ruined my 3 day trip to Newcastle! I was planning to make this a chance to visit somewhere different on the east coast and have a relax before heading up to cairns but the environment of this hostel is far from relaxing and more like a bush tucker trial and one I wish not to complete. Additionally upon finding these problems I went on to the reviews of the place! My fault I should have done this before booking, upon reading the place has had cleaning and cleanliness and bug and pest and security problems lfor years and the comments are allways the same! “We are sorry about the the cleaning we have now rectified this, we haven't noticed any doors propped open, we have replaced or rectified that issue” but judging from what I saw from my current stay on the 28th January you have not rectified these problems and nor look too be rectifying them or want too! Well safe to say I left before my stay was up and if I hadn't arrived in the evening I probably would have left and found somewhere else the same day! If your a solo traveller or any traveller or if your just a human who has basic rights and needs I wouldn't stay in actually fact id go as far to say the place is barely suitable for rats! Damian Parkhouse, General Manager at Yha Newcastle Beach, responded to this review Dear Guest,Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. While I wish you had a better experience, it is feedback like this that we learn from and use to improve. We work hard to deliver an exceptional guest experience, and it's apparent in this case that we fell short. If you give us a chance to earn back your trust, I can assure you that we will do our best to give you the great hotel experience that so many of our guests have grown so fond of.I assure you that we do address all concerns and do our best to improve.Sincerely,Damian

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• User:Exploration372821

  Trip type: Solo travel

  Charming old-school YHA that needs pest management

  01 Dec 2024

  This is an older style building, which includes older beds and amenities. Still, the mattresses were OK and the pillows quite comfortable. No airconditioning, although this was not a problem when the temps stay under 30 C. The location is fabulous and so were most staff members. This YHA does a lot of things right: Activities for guests (BBQ, cheese & wine night), surf board hire (free, I think, but I haven't used any), etc. It could be such a lovely place if it were cleaned properly. Sorry guys, but I can't give you more than 2 stars. The cockroaches other reviewers have mentioned are still there, but they now have many ants as friends. Go to Bunnings and buy a few traps. Hire a cleaner instead of employing volunteers - their heart may be in the right place, but they don't even know how to vacuum. For those who don't mind the mess, you will meet many great people here and have a blast. Damian Parkhouse, General Manager at Yha Newcastle Beach, responded to this review Dear Guest,Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. While I wish you had a better experience, it is feedback like this that we learn from and use to improve. We work hard to deliver an exceptional guest experience, and it's apparent in this case that we fell short. If you give us a chance to earn back your trust, I can assure you that we will do our best to give you the great experience that so many of our guests have grown so fond of. We have our scheduled pest management contractors due on Monday to eliminate unwanted insects. Glad you enjoyed the free activities and access to the free surfboards and bikes.Sincerely,Damian

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• User:Sarah V

  Trip type: Solo travel

  Unsafe

  05 Oct 2024

  How on earth do management decide to allow a male into a female dorm? Absolutely disgusting. I paid for a female dorm. It’s a YOU PROBLEM that there are no more beds for males. This is actually a safety issue like men going into women’s toilets. Because of this you get a 1 and even that’s a stretch. Also the music outside is too loud. Damian Parkhouse, General Manager at Yha Newcastle Beach, responded to this review Dear Skysurfer, I would like to apologise that you had a male placed in your room. This is definitely against our policy. I have spoken with staff and they apologise for the mix up. We would love to have you stay again and offer a free night in return. Just book directly with me.Regards,Damian

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