The Old Swan Barracks Perth, Perth

I just came back from a week (05May-14May 2009) at the infamous Old Swan Barracks. I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out where the management is coming from. The free breakfast of cereal, toast, and coffee does not come with milk. We had to go buy that. We were told people were stealing the milk when it was free. You also have to leave a ten dollar deposit to use the eating utensils, and you have to take them back to your room everyday after breakfast. Of course, they don't tell you any of this prior to check-in. The place has threatening signs on the walls within public view, predicting eviction and loss of deposits to people who take bread from the kitchen for purposes of making a sandwich later in the day... or for various other petty offenses. One morning there was a sign on our door telling us to vacate the room between 10am and 4pm because they were going to spray with insect killer. The sign said we were not allowed to use the room for any purpose during this time. The sign also gave us explicit instructions on how we were to store our belongings so as not to impede their insect killing operation. After I angrily informed them that we had paid to use the room, they took the sign down and instructed their people to leave us alone. They did not spray. The room across the hall from us had a sign on the door, telling the occupant they were going to clean the room that day. The sign stated that anything left sitting on the floor, at the time of cleaning, would be thrown out. It goes on and on. I made the mistake of paying for a week in advance. If not, we would have moved out. I've stayed in many budget hotels in many parts of the world, over many years. Even with my airline and travel agency background, The Old Swan Barracks attitude was a new experience for me. I was told by a staff member that the reason they displayed such a negative attitude towards their guests was because most of the guests were young, and were known to cause trouble. However, they willingly accepted the young people's money. The young people my wife and I encountered in the hotel were very nice and considerate. When it became time to depart, I was told there was no telephone for me to use to call a taxi to the airport. I had to use a public telephone located up the street, about 20 meters. Keep in mind, this is a hotel with a computerized booking/front desk system, internet access, plus the latest video viewing toys, etc... but no telephone for guests to call a taxi. Enough of this rant! This could go on and on. What an experience. I don't know the manager's business background, if any. He really belongs in some other industry. Other than the above, the hotel is clean, beautiful and located perfectly. The negative management attitude destroyed what could have been a beautiful experience for us. The place needs a huge injection of hospitality.

this hostel is close to the city and the main train station. there are activities in the bar most nights. The quiz night and bingo nights were great. It is good value and i would recommend it to all backpackers.

Stayed for 3 days during my trip to Perth 2 years back (2006), the place wasn't great but every night during my drinking session i would see Ruben & Wii cleaning up the place. They were really friendly and helpful. But this time when i was back (2008), the place is just horrendous, too bad those guys weren't around anymore. Cleaning the place and it will be fine and get more friendly and english speaking staffs.