monikaf930
I'm pretty sure this is my first bad review on trip advisor. I love posting good ones but this is the first place I've felt so negatively about.||||Stayed here for almost 2 months . When I first got here with a friend it seemed super dodgy. When we arrived we were looked at like we had a third head, and then were required to hand over our passports. Now I’m happy to have gotten out of there. To be honest, I had an amazing time. I met some amazing people and it really felt like family. But this had absolutely nothing to do with the lodge or the owner. Some people luck out and get placed on farms and get a good pay check and their 88 days done no problem. Others get thrown around to wherever they seem needed. Working only 3 days a week is enough to pay rent and buy food, and maybe save a small bit, but if you’re looking to get your full 88 days you’ll be there for ages. ||I wouldn’t say stay far far away from this hostel, as there ARE people that do get good jobs. But you have to understand that all you are to this place is a dollar sign, and helping you isn’t the priority. There had barely been enough work for everyone as it was, yet they kept bringing in more people and filling all the beds. It’s ridiculous. As far as friendliness goes… prepare to get yelled at when OTHER people don't do dishes, or cause any sort of minor problem. Instead of "wasting time" and having someone check the cameras and deal with the individuals, you're more likely to get an earful even if you're not part of the problem. Because it's easier to just yell at a group of the nearest people than to fix the actual issue. And then go on a rant about how its necessary to be a bum hole because it’s the only way people will obey you. I’m sure you can read from the tone on the replies of the other reviews on trip advisor what kind of vibes are given off. His wife is so kind and lovely and it does feel like she genuinely cares about the backpackers, which makes the whole situation feel confusing to say the least. She threw a party at the lodge, and started off as a great night, but ended up with the owner trying to fight a backpacker and having to be physically held back and calmed down. The most unprofessional place I’ve ever stayed at. He treats you like you’re a guest in his house, and that we should be grateful to even step foot in the lodge, not like you’re paying minim 200 a week for a bunk bed in a tiny room, and a 15 minute ride on a dodgy dirty bus to a farm. I do recommend avoiding this place unless it’s summer and there are heaps of jobs floating around. Im a hard worker and was never fired from a farm, I was just (maybe unluckily) placed at the end of all the seasons (I was offered a job by one of the farms I worked at for October, so if he comments on this saying I was lazy or fired thats definitely false.) It’s not their fault when it’s in a slow season, but it’s their fault for not being open and up front about this. After being strung along and only working a few days a week, asking several times to switch farms to get proper working hours, I finally asked for an honest opinion on if I’m ever going to get actual work. To which I was told “It’s hard for girls. Guys it’s easy, but girls don’t often make that much money. You could try Bundaburg if you want full time work.” . Like really? You’re a working hostel, and you’re suggesting I try a different working hostel to actually get work? while still letting heaps of new people (more girls) walk through the front door and hand over their weekly rent, bond, and passports, while also not getting proper work? It’s a joke. Being there has made me question Australia as a country and I’ve gained a bitterness towards the program and how backpackers are forced to get involved with this terrible system, JUST because they want to stay an extra year. I’ve had to keep telling myself “this isn’t the real Australia.” Because until I arrived in Atherton all the Australians I’d met had been absolutel gems. Go here if you’re desperate for cash, as you’ll probably get at least a few days a week. But don’t depend on the lodge and don’t think of yourself as anything other than more cash in someone else's pocket. I left ATL and am now doing wwoofing type work, because if I’m going to be making no money I figured I may as well be working for good and fair aussies and not hating life.||All that being said, I did have a fantastic time here because of the wonderful group of people that made it feel like home. The atmosphere was fantastic at the lodge as far as backpackers go, I think it had a lot to do with feeling like we’re all stuck in a [crappy] situation together.||Good luck travellers!||||ps. Owner REALLY doesn’t like English people. So I’d recommend saving yourself the verbal abuse and skipping this altogether if you’re from England.
