This post will be just a quick one for your Karen fix before I tell you all about the zoo.
I arrived in Noosa a couple of days ago, and I didn’t really do much in the actual city of Noosa because my hostel (called Dolphins Beach House) is about a three-hour walk away. I was picked up when I got there by their courtesy shuttle so at least I didn’t have to walk, but straight from the beginning I wasn’t really thrilled with the hostel. The people weren’t rude exactly, it was more like they just wouldn’t do anything extra for you, especially if it was anything that might inconvenience them in the slightest. For example, when I first got there I asked “do you have laundry machines?” and they said “yes.” That was it. They didn’t tell me where it was or how much they were (the dryer was a dollar per five minutes by the way). Also, any time I went to ask them a question, they had an attitude like it was such an inconvenience to have to answer my question.
The hostel itself was OK, but it seemed a little dirty and a bit run-down. It was in a suburban area so it wasn’t noisy or anything like that, but if I had known that it was so far away from the town (where I can DO things) I probably would have chosen another place. The only reason I booked at Dophins Beach House was because this was the place my travel agent had highly recommended. They marketed it as a peaceful escape from city life. The hostel did have interesting little paintings and sculptures throughout, which could have made it seem nicer if it was better maintained.
At least they did have ten shuttles running to and from the town throughout the day, but I really like the freedom of choosing when to go somewhere and when to leave it – which is why I normally prefer places I can walk to.
Another thing that irked me about the place was the fact that all over the rooms and in the common area there were little signs posted with messages from the staff to us that made me feel like they didn’t really think much of our intelligence. For example, there were three signs around each light. The first one would say “please save the planet and turn off the light” underneath that one would say “Shut off the light when you are done with it” and one on the bottom would say “It’s simple! Flick off the bloody switch!”. There were multiple signs around the fridge telling us to keep clean and put our food back in the fridge or the cockroaches will come, and signs saying “It makes us very cranky having to wake you guys up at 9:30 to get you to check out! blah blah blah blah…” Also, there was a sign that said “starting in January, everyone is only allowed to stay a maximum of one week” so I guess they get sick of people after that.
Maybe they’ve had problems in the past with a couple of the patrons, but the signs and attitudes made me feel less valued and almost as if they were treating us like children. Maybe I am being overly-sensitive, but I didn’t like it. Some of the signs were friendly little reminders, but some were downright rude.
From the computer area, I would overhear conversations of the staff talking amongst themselves, and they would be badmouthing people that they had just gotten off the phone with. Speaking of the computers, the hours of being able to use them were terrible! The reception closes at 8, and that means you must be off the computers at 8. And the night before last I overheard them saying that they really wanted to leave, so they decided amongst each other to close the office early. “Sorry guys, we are closing 15 minutes early, so you have 10 more minutes on the computer!” We are paying for the privilege of staying at their hostel, I just wish they were a bit more accommodating to their guests.
I feel as though this entire post is a complaint-fest, so I apologize! Maybe it is just unfortunate for Dolphins that I just came from Fraser Island where my bad luck forced me to spend a lot more money than I thought I would have to that week so I am probably being a bit more critical than I would normally be. I am just glad to be leaving today and heading back to Byron Bay, my favorite city in Australia so far. And this will pretty much be my last stop before going home!
One more thing about the hostel that I am staying at before I end the post. I woke up night before last with three bites on my wrist and a couple on my arm. This morning I saw quite a few bites on my leg. I don’t know for sure what bedbug bites look like, but I have heard so many horror stories that I freaked out a little when I saw them. Mosquito bites I can live with, but if bedbugs were sucking my blood while I was asleep? That would really skeeve me out. I brought it to the attention of the manager, and she looked at my bites told me that they didn’t look like the bedbug bites, which she said tend to bite in a straight line all in one area of your body. She did say that she would check them out anyway just in case. I hoped beyond hopes that she was right and they were just mosquito bites but as soon as I get to my next hostel I am giving all my things a good wash. They do kind of look like mosquito bites, so I will just hope for the best.
And now I must say goodbye until my next post. Australia Zoo will be coming soon!