Red Cliffs Backpackers

I thought I had been to the worst of the worst till I arrived here, I’ve been to homeless shelters and homeless villages but this tops it all, the level of dirt is crazy you can see moldy food everywhere, vomit on the walls, bed bugs, cockroaches and etc. That isn’t even the worst part, the owner is a scum, he will promise you work and when you arrive you can spend months waiting for work while you still paying high rent to live in a dumpster. I also heard that if you check the government website it tells you to stay clear of here, should have done my research more to be honest. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU STAY CLEAR OF THIS PLACE

AVOID AT ALL COST
Check the government website about this hostel if you think I’m lying there is a warning for backpackers to stay far away from here.
The owner stole my money, he will ask for your credit card info I recommend you don’t give him if you do need to give him, give him a virtual credit card that you can cancel anytime, he went in and stole a lot of money out of my account after leaving his place within two weeks because he had lied to me about having work when he didn’t, also don’t give your license info, he ran a bunch of red lights and put it under my name after I left leaving me with more then thousands of fines. If you want to avoid your amazing trip being ruined by a racist old gezer stay away from here, go to Carin’s where you will find many working hostels for your 88 days. He also tried to report me to the police but didn’t work in his favour as their is to much evidence showing I wasn’t in the wrong, I did report him to the embassy and they recently told me the victorian government has a special portfolio for him they are currently investigating him for other shady businesses.

I recently had the unfortunate experience of staying at Red Cliffs Backpackers, and I must say it was one of the worst accommodations I've ever encountered. I wish I could give 0 stars at all, so they are lucky they are getting the 1. From the moment I arrived, I could sense something was terribly wrong.

The first sign of trouble was the musty odor that permeated the entire place. It was apparent that the hostel hadn't seen a thorough cleaning in ages. But that was just the beginning of my ordeal. As I settled into my bed for the night, I soon realized that the room was infested with bed bugs. The bed was crawling with these vile creatures, and despite my best efforts to get rid of them, I woke up with itchy bites all over my body the next morning.

Feeling distressed and uncomfortable, I decided to approach the owner to voice my concerns and seek some resolution. Unfortunately, the owner's attitude was nothing short of appalling. Instead of showing empathy or concern for my well-being, they brushed off my complaints with indifference and even went so far as to suggest that the issue was my fault and that I must have brought the bed bugs with me. This was not only offensive but also a blatant attempt to shirk responsibility.

Moreover, the owner's behavior towards other guests was no better. Witnessing them berate and belittle fellow travelers who dared to question the hostel's conditions was truly disheartening. It is evident that customer service is not a priority for this establishment, as the owner seemed more interested in making money than ensuring the comfort and safety of their guests.

Aside from the bed bug infestation and the terrible attitude of the owner, the overall state of the hostel was deplorable. The common areas were grimy and neglected, and the bathroom facilities were in a dire need of refurbishment and sanitation.

In conclusion, I strongly advise against staying at Red Cliffs Backpackers. The bed bug infestation, combined with the owner's dreadful attitude, makes for an utterly unpleasant and distressing experience. There are plenty of other hostels in the area that prioritize their guests' well-being and maintain a clean and welcoming environment. Spare yourself the agony and look elsewhere for accommodation during your travels.

Michael will do his best to help you to find a job (like borrow you a car or rent one for a very cheap price). Thank You Michael.

Brilliant hostel, had a great time staying here, Michaels a great guy and helped me out a lot with work. Highly recommend this hostel if you’re looking for work for a couple months.

The accomodation is very nice and comfy and the public space is always clean. Very nice people here. The owner, Micheal, is very gentle guy and I learned many useful stuffs from him as he likes to teach:)

I can’t believe this hostel is still there! I stayed at this backpackers in 1999. It was a working hostel and we picked fruit the majority of the time we were there. It was pretty good back then, sure the guys name was Bruce? Lol blast from the past

I was confused when I read many bad comments about the accommodation and owner. But I have to say negative comments were totally wrong. I have been living here now and every things is very good, especially the Owner - Michael who is a good man, he tries to help us everything he can do, he gave us the car for working, he also teaches me how to drive the car properly in Australia. So I highly recommend for anyone who wants to come and live here.

Great place. Cheap rent and good infrastructure at the hostel. The owner is a gem. He provided a car so I could go to work and he provides work if you've got none. Don't listen to the sour grapes on this site.red cliffs backpackers is great. The people complaining would complain about anything.

Absolute dive of a hostel. Beware of the owner, he has delusions of grandeur and is highly inappropriate towards young girls. He is ex military so is very strict on rules so you will be fined for even leaving a dirty plate out by accident. If you want to do farm work avoid Mildura and especially Red Cliffs Backpackers. You've been warned!

Waste of time, do not go! Hostel owner will try charge you $10 an item if you leave it on the side dirty. Rooms and toilets rarely got cleaned. It’s called a ‘working hostel’ however he never found us work, we had to find it ourselves. If he found work it would be boys because ‘boys are better than girls’. If it wasn’t the people that I met I wouldn’t of stayed.

Michael please answer the phone, you owe me money and you have blocked all the numbers from where I called you, also you insulted me when I was speaking to you in good manners. Here are the pictures that I took when leaving, everything was on perfect condition and the box was clean and complete.

Absoultley the worst hostel I've ever seen. Extremely dirty, kitchen had huge roaches in it. Cup full of mould and bags of garbage under the bed. Disgusting stained matress.
Owner claimed that the police gave him permission to use physical violence to remove people from the property.
On the first night I was there, someone tried to burn down the hostel by lighting a duvet on fire next to the wall. Owner claimed it was a disgruntled guest.
Many more problems, too many to list.
Avoid at all costs.

Firm but fair owner. Received work within a few days, which turned to hourly pay within a couple of weeks. As long as you tidy up after yourself and don’t cause grief, you’ll enjoy your stay. Main downside is being ~30 mins away from Mildura by bus, would be good if cars were available not only for work purposes.

Fantastic spot! Very social bunch of people there.the owner was able to easily arrange work for people in the hostel with transportation provided, been here a week and I love the place, the rooms are nice and comfy and very affordable, and the kitchen is clean with everything you need!

Red cliff back packers is the worst place I’ve ever stayed.
The place is disgusting and not well kept. The owner/manager never cleans or gets cleaners in because he’s too cheap. The only time the place is properly cleaned is when people clean for accommodation, but most of the time it’s disgusting. The owner/manager himself can be very inappropriate and can make you very uncomfortable. On numerous occasions he talked about sexual situations including how sex was with his wife and asked about my sexual relations which was so wrong but at the time he was threatening to evict people so I didn’t want to say anything so I just brushed it off. He can get very aggressive and his vulgar behaviour has hurt a lot of people. He’s psychotic and I didn’t even have the worst experience compared to some! The rooms are disgusting. We lived with a mouse in our room which he tried to blame on us! Even though he stuck 5 people in the lounge room (including me) because he had no rooms left but is too greedy to not except money. And the entire time me and all my friends stayed there the room was never once even cleaned! My best friend even had to sleep on the sofa for the night because he overbooked. The owner is a power money hungry man and the only reason I loved that hostel was because of the amazing residents there. We also didn’t have any shelves or storage space for 2 1/2 months so most our clothes were in baskets or folded on blankets on the floor.
And there was also a camera that was in our all girls room he switched off but never took down. So we just had to trust he left it switched off.
When something happened like milk would leak out the fridge he would find someone to blame and wait for one of us to clean it up. So in the 48 degree heat walking in from farm work the smell of gone off warm milk hit you right in the face.
I could go on and on but the last thing I’d say is he can’t even get people jobs. More that 20 people in that hostel didn’t have jobs and I met lots of farmers and contractors that didn’t want to use him because of lack in communication and not being stable with the hostel or workers. He may say he’s getting jobs for people now but he left so many people to find their own jobs and he left so many of us to struggle.
If I could give it no stars I would.

I would not recommend red cliffs backpackers for the following reasons. <br/>• If you dont have a job secured before getting to the hostel.good luck.half the people for the past 7 weeks had to find their own job due to the owner not doing his job. He only recently got 14 jobs in a packing shed. Thankfully I had my own job before I got here which finished after 8 weeks, after I had one job found by the manager which was terrible piece rate job where the farmer shouted and harassed me. The only saving grace was my old job wanted me to come back and so I completed my 88 days off my own back. <br/>•The owner will find the smallest things to fine you for, if he doesn't like you he will find every way to make your stay miserable. <br/>•If your'e a female be careful, the owner likes to talk about very inappropriate things. <br/>• My room has had bedbugs for the past month and a bit, and the owner has hardly made a conscious effort of getting rid of them. Sprayed the floor and that was about it, spent more time trying to find someone to blame rather than fight to problem. On the day we left he sprayed the mattress with his home made cocktail and then proceeded to put them back in the room to let people sleep on it. I found actual bed bugs on my clothes, this particular piece of clothing I had washed two times prior to try and get rid of the bed bugs. Any usual hostel would have dealt with this situation within the hour.however our manager dealt with it 2 days later. <br/>•He finds every way possible to not give your bond back when you leave, especially when he doesn't like you. <br/>•The place is pretty dirty, he sometimes gets someone in the hostel to clean for free rent which is great, but if nobody is there to clean it becomes dirty very quickly. <br/>- only good thing is the location, it's near to everything you need and a bus that goes into mildura and you have transport to and from work.if you have a job.