I will start off by saying that my experience at Habitat HQ is a bit of a haze due to the completely incapacitating levels of jet-lag I was experiencing at the time. Although to be fair that probably makes my positive review of the hostel all the more impressive. I had flown home for 2 weeks to see the fam after 8 months of travelling and was returning to Australia, enduring the 40 hour journey from hell and wandering into Habitat HQ with what has been my greasiest hair to date.
I chose to stay in St Kilda from word of mouth that is was a cool place to stay, and I wasn’t disappointed. I mean, a chilled out beach vibe, loads of cafes filled with delicious overindulgent cakes, streets full of beautiful pastel-coloured Victorian houses and then throw in a retro, super-fun theme park by the seaside… Why wouldn’t you go there?!
And Habitat HQ fits in perfectly with this vibe – super chilled and easy to be there. It’s not a party hostel but it’s definitely not a quiet hostel for the 9-5 WHV pack. Sociable but laid back – happy medium. This was perfect for a jet-lagged girl just trying to be awake. No-one in my dorm was coming and going for work, it was quiet in the dorms but still a buzz in the common areas. I didn’t have big nights out there but I had a few nights of drinking goon and playing drinking games with the new friends I’d made. And that’s really what I want from my backpacking social life to be honest.
I was pretty impressed with the décor – colourful murals on the walls and bean bags in the lounge area. The dorms were comfortable and had under-bed storage. And the bathrooms… hands down best hostel bathrooms I’ve been to. The kitchens were never the nightmare you sometimes get in hostels and it was easily accessible to the Melbourne CBD via tram.
Best thing ever, that you never find in Australia?…. FREE WIFI!! It’s just such a luxury when you’re job-hunting. And free breakfast! I just like anything free.
Dorms are from $26 a night and you can check it out over here.
It tends to get booked up so I booked a few days in advance. I suggest you do the same.
And on a side note, the retro, super-fun theme park is Luna Park and it has the world’s 8th best rollercoaster in the world, which is operated by a guy at the front driving the thing… it’s super fun. You need to go.
