The Espy Hostel

Property class: 2

Choose dates to view prices

Photo gallery for The Espy Hostel

A bed with a wooden headboard and white bedding with palm tree patterns, a bedside table with a pink lamp, and a wooden nightstand with a woven front panel.
Property video
A room with two wicker chairs, a small table with a vase of flowers, and a painting on the wall.
A covered outdoor seating area with a hammock, a cushioned bench, and a small table.
A laundry room with washing machines, a drying rack, and a water meter.

Reviews

7.6 out of 10
Good

Popular amenities

  • Pool
  • Free WiFi
  • Air conditioning
  • Laundry
  • Kitchen
The current price is $68
$62 nightly
$68 total
Total with taxes and fees
Nov 21 - Nov 22

Explore the area

View in a map
83 Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, 4870
  • Place, Cairns Night Markets
    ‪2 min walk‬
  • Place, Cairns Esplanade
    ‪2 min walk‬
  • Place, Cairns Esplanade Lagoon
    ‪2 min walk‬
  • Airport, Cairns, QLD (CNS-Cairns Intl.)
    ‪10 min drive‬

Room options

1 Bed in Female 4 Bed Dorm (International & interstate guests only 18-35 Age Only With Bathroom)

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Twin Bunk Bed

Single Private Share Bathroom (International & interstate guests only)

8.0 out of 10
Very good
(5 reviews)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Twin Bed

1 Bed in Mix 4 Bed Dorm (International & interstate guests only)(18-35 Age Only)

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Twin Bunk Bed

1 Bed Mix 6 Bed Dorm with Ensuite (International & interstate guests only)(18-35 Age Only)

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Twin Bunk Bed

Double Room (International & interstate guests only) (all ages)

8.0 out of 10
Very good
(1 review)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

Basic Shared Dormitory, Mixed 6 beds Dorm (International & interstate guests only) (18-35 Age Only)

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Large Twin Bunk Bed

Shared Dormitory, Mixed 4 beds Dorm (International & interstate guests only all ages with bathroom)

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Twin Bunk Bed

Similar properties

About the neighborhood

Cairns

With a stay at The Espy Hostel, you'll be centrally located in Cairns, just a 3-minute walk from Cairns Esplanade and 7 minutes by foot from Cairns Marlin Marina. .This hostel is 0.4 mi (0.6 km) from Reef Fleet Terminal and 0.6 mi (1 km) from Cairns Central Shopping Centre.

What's nearby

  • Cairns Night Markets - 2 min walk - 0.1 miles
  • Cairns Esplanade - 2 min walk - 0.1 miles
  • Cairns Esplanade Lagoon - 2 min walk - 0.1 miles
  • Cairns Marlin Marina - 6 min walk - 0.4 miles
  • Cairns Central Shopping Centre - 8 min walk - 0.5 miles

Getting around

  • Cairns Station - 13 min walk
  • Cairns Intl. Airport (CNS) - 11 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪McDonald's - ‬2 min walk
  • ‪Rattle n Hum Cairns - ‬1 min walk
  • ‪Boardwalk Social by Crystalbrook - ‬1 min walk
  • ‪Villa Romana - ‬1 min walk
  • ‪Splash Seafood Restaurant - ‬2 min walk

About this property

The Espy Hostel

The Espy Hostel offers 17 air-conditioned accommodations with shared/communal kitchens. Refrigerators and microwaves are provided.

Bathrooms include showers. Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wireless Internet access (speed: 250+ Mbps (good for 3–5 people or up to 10 devices)). Housekeeping is provided once per stay.

Recreational amenities at the hostel include an outdoor pool.
Make yourself at home in one of the 17 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. Prepare your meals in the shared/communal kitchen. Complimentary wireless internet access is available to keep you connected. Bathrooms with showers are provided.
Enjoy recreation amenities such as an outdoor pool or take in the view from a terrace. Additional amenities at this hostel include complimentary wireless internet access, a communal living room, and tour/ticket assistance.
Featured amenities include multilingual staff, luggage storage, and laundry facilities.

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • In-room WiFi speed: 250+ Mbps (good for 3–5 people or up to 10 devices)
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transportation

  • No onsite parking available

Things to do

  • Books
  • Outdoor pool
  • TV in common areas

Conveniences

  • Laundry facilities
  • Limited-hour front desk
  • Luggage storage
  • Shared microwave
  • Shared refrigerator
  • Vending machine

Guest services

  • Housekeeping (once per stay)
  • Multilingual staff
  • Tour and ticket assistance

Outdoors

  • Barbecue grill
  • On the beach
  • Outdoor entertainment area
  • Outdoor furniture
  • Terrace

Accessibility

  • No elevator

More

  • Communal living room
  • Designated smoking areas
  • Traditional architecture

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Bedsheets provided

Bathroom

  • Shower
  • Toilet paper
  • Towels provided

Food and drink

  • Cleaning supplies
  • Cookware, dishware, and utensils
  • Kitchen island
  • Microwave
  • Refrigerator
  • Shared kitchen access
  • Stovetop
  • Toaster

More

  • Air conditioning

Policies

Check-in

Check-in time starts at 2:00 PM
Early check-in subject to availability
Minimum check-in age: 18

Check-out

Check-out before 10:00 AM

Special check-in instructions

The front desk is open daily from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Guests planning to arrive outside of normal check-in hours will receive an email within 24 hours before arrival with check-in instructions and smart lock details; front desk staffed during limited hours
Prior to arrival, you must complete online registration via a secure link
Guests are required to download the property's Goki mobile app before check-in
Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools

Access methods

Front desk (limited hours), smart lock

Pets

Pets not allowed

Children and extra beds

Children 17 and younger are not allowed at this property; All guests older than 17 are welcome

Property payment types

  • JCB International
  • Mastercard
  • Visa

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards and debit cards; cash is not accepted
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, a security system, and a first aid kit

We should mention

This property does not have elevators
Children 17 years old and younger are not permitted at this property
This property welcomes guests of all sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+ friendly)

Property is also known as

The Espy Hostel Cairns
Cairns Waterfront Haven
The Espy Hostel Hostel/Backpacker accommodation
The Espy Hostel Hostel/Backpacker accommodation Cairns

The Espy Hostel Reviews

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 40 out of 95 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 22 out of 95 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 12 out of 95 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 11 out of 95 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 10 out of 95 reviews

7.4/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

7.0/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

Verified review

6/10 Okay

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Great location
Stayed 4 nights in May 2026
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Quiet place for rest.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2026
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location, good vibes.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A hostel with everything I needed, a great location and a friendly staff.
Stayed 7 nights in Oct 2022
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was great, in the centre of town, cheap, good kitchen with everything you need and a pool!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Central location, easy walk to absolutely everything,clean facilities and lovely staff.
Stayed 8 nights in Jul 2022
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great hostal
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Amenities
I loved the spacious kitchen and clean bathrooms facilities. The location was perfect! Just next to the lagoon, shopping malls, bus stop and the beach front.
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2025
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Right in the middle of town Enough hostel eating area
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2024
Verified review

6/10 Okay

Disliked: Cleanliness

Best location

Difficult to check in but friendly staff, not tidy rooms but best location in cairns!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was a quiet and comfortable environment
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Awesome staff and great location! Thanks Monica!
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Food flair and flavors

Peaceful and easy with the added bonus of international aromas
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort

Location excellent

Greatest location. Right on the esplanade. Small private room. Simple, clean, safe, affordable.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Nice wall painting, kind staff. Long term travelers are also kind.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2024
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Bang for the buck 👍
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Staff & service
Covenient location. Close to everything. Nice and quiet.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very easy to find hostel. Convenient in and out. Room and facilities were clean. Bed was comfortable. Shower was hot. Good value for money.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2025
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I was so impressed at the quality for a low budget place. The guests were very respectful, friendly. The kitchen facilities were good. I would stay again. I did notice someone was sleeping kitchen when I woke up at 5am. Not sure if he was guest in the hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
You can enjoy a free life. The staff cleans it every day, and you can make friends with other users.
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness
Great location and comfortably room and bed Bit dingy with no windows to outside and very noisy until at least midnight
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2025
Verified review

8/10 Good

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities

Top position in the city center

The room was really big with a lot of space, the problem was humidity, there was mold in the walls and got worse during the days we stayed. The kitchen is well equipped and has also an airfryer. The best was location really near everything supermarket , port and lagoon pool.
Stayed 5 nights in Jan 2024
Verified review

4/10 Poor

Disliked: Staff & service
We paid for a room to be on the Esplanade. It was a Hostel, not a Hotel so the expectation wasn’t high. The room and amenities were clean and tidy. The cleanliness m
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023
Verified review

10/10 Excellent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Perfect Hidden Gem

As much as i want to keep this hostel a hidden gem, they deserve all the business possible. A simple yet welcoming environment, this place completely changed my prospective on hostels. It's not a party place and everyone respects one another, a very relaxed place. Location is centeral to everything in town on the waterfront, but the sounds of outside arent heard. I cannot recommend this place enough and cannot wait to return.
Stayed 8 nights in Feb 2023