I stayed at newquay backpackers for a weekend and i didn't want to leave! everyone was so friendly espcially the owner Lorna, she really helped me on where to go and what to do around nwquay. I will deffinately come back to this hostel. I love Alfie!

Having read the reviews about this place, I have to say I agree with both the most damning ones and the ones raving about Backpackers.

Judging it on standard of accommodation alone, despite waking up each morning to the smell of bleach in the shower areas and the sound of the vacuum downstairs, its obvious there are places the cleaning regime hasn't reached eg the slightly whiffy duvet and sticky toilet floor upstairs. Bed has seen better days and radiator needed bleeding - so the room was a tad cool. Place had a very lived in, though cosy feel.

Now its strengths. Firstly only 5 mins walk from Fistral beach - ideal if you surf. Also in close proximity to 2 food stores, cafes and a launderette, and not far from the centre of town. Board store next to shower facilities, so again ideal for surfers. Friendly staff, and v sociable vibe. I think if I'd stayed longer the place would have grown on me.

Advice for visitors - bring a plug for the sink, don't forget its all self-catering and earplugs may come in handy. No locks in the doors so don't bring your valuables. And as another reviewer pointed out you get out as much as you put in - ie in terms of the social vibe.

I've marked it down in terms of quality of accommodation - but in other aspects it scores better for me ... so all in all an 'average' rating

Arriving late in Newquay without any accommodation booked we started phoning around numbers gathered from Google. This place had space and so I booked over the phone. Big Mistake!

On arrival there is no obvious way in, eventually a dirty looking person let us in without saying a word to us, there was no way to tell if this was a staff member or a traveller. They took us into the filthy communal area, ripped sofas with what looked like homeless sleeping on them.

The room was dirty, peeling wallpaper, stained unwashed sheets and smelly duvets. No locks on the doors! I mean how are you supposed to feel secure when all your world travelling gear is not locked? Communal facilities were the standard of a beach shower block. I mean it's a surfing town but the amount of sand in there rivalled the beach! Low water pressure, horrible showers and filthy toilets.

After going out with all our bags, returning to the "communal area" we found if full of sleeping homeless types. Same again in the morning when we left. This is not what budget travel is about, we paid £17.50 per person which would have bought a nice hotel if we had of booked early.

Obviously this place was OK - IN THE PAST, I mean the old reviews are good, but now it has turned into a filthy, unsafe doss house. AVOID!

I was looking for somewhere cheap to stay in April but this place wasn't even worth £10 a night... I would rather have camped (and I hate camping!). I would never stay here again, and want to warn people about it!

It was incredibly dirty... not just the rooms but the sheets and toilets. Not only did the toilet door not have a lock, it wouldn't even close and there was never any toilet roll. It was in a disgusting state, in my opinion one of the worst toilets i've ever seen. I couldn't bring myself to even use it a second time...

The room to keep your surfboards in was full of boards, but none seemed to belong to any of the guests... there was very little storage space and I found my board lying on the floor the next day :(

Things were broken all over the place and some were outright dangerous - sharp bits of wood and nails sticking out of random places.

Stay here only if there's nowhere else!!! Personally i think it would have been more comfortable and safer to sleep in my car.