It was the easiest place to get to and from, being right across the road from Central Station and a ten minute walk to Fortitude Valley. The hostel wasn't modern and the elevator was something out of Bogart Movie...but that all added to the charm of the place. The staff were really awesome, Laura on the travel desk made some great recomendations and had her finger on the pulse for bookings and what to do. The ZiBar breakfast was amazing for $7 and I have to say, one of the best nights out I have had in the Down Underbar. Its great fun for anyone travelling and really can't be missed.

I stayed at Base for one night as a stop-over. It was my first hostel experience in Australia and I've since had plenty. I now know that this hostel isn't that great. The elevator didn't work and it hadn't worked for some time. The stairs circle around the elevator shaft and it makes it difficult to carry your bags up and down with other people traversing the opposite direction. The room was pretty dirty and so were the sheets. I thought there were bugs in the sheets but then I just said 'ah who cares' and closed my eyes and went to sleep. I guess most hostels are a mess but I don't think this one had been cleaned any time soon. All of that is cool and easy to deal with, but the bathrooms were what really seemed to bring my rating of this branch of Base down to a 'poor' rating. The bathrooms literally down one hall then another hall down some stairs and up some stairs and down three more halls. So basically if your going for a shower and have a towel only than your putting on a show. Oh and if you have to go to the toilet in the middle of the night it isn't very convenient. No shower curtains in the shower room either (1 of 3 showers had curtains). The staff seemed average and nothing special. There was a nice little common room with internet and the kitchen seemed a little cramped. There is a wrap around balcony that is cool and the location is okay but I would check out the other Base - Embassy if I were to go back and stay with Base in Brisbane. It's a hostel and its not that bad really but just ask for a room near the toilets/shower. Oh and they have free lockers which was a plus because they were large lockers.

I've stayed here twice on my recent stays in Brisbane. Once for a week when I first arrived and then for a second time for one night when I was heading back through the city. If it wasn't for the proximity to Central Station then there's no way on earth I'd have come back.

The kitchen is of a good size with decent storage, but is always dirty. The rooms are cramped, but this happens in most hostels, they were however dirty and rarely cleaned (apart from by an old chain-smoking woman who used the clean bedding as an ashtray). The toliets are filthy, the showers are a bit better. As a lone traveller, I found the hostel extremely unfriendly - there are no events involving people staying there, and as previously mentioned on other reviews there were some shady characters. The write up says that it's only open to genuine backpackers - this is blatantly not true. The bar downstairs smells of stale booze and is noisy until 3-4am, if you are unlucky enough to have an inside room then you're not getting a good nights sleep. And if you're swayed by the job or travel club then don't be - there is never work there you can't find yourself and any excursions are hugely overpriced.

There are some plusses, the location being an obvious one and the meal plus beer deals are good value, as are the $7 breakfasts. I would stay again if I was travelling through for one night by train, but purely for convenience - otherwise you'll be able to find much better places to stay for a cheaper price.

I went to Brisbane from Sydney where the tour company I booked with 'Work and Travel Company' advised me of this place.

I wish I did more research and found somewhere better! Base Central is a dump. I stayed in a single for $55 per night the size of a shoe box. There was holes in the walls and no locker, nothing for safe secure storage.

This kitchen was a mess and smelled like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Also there wasn't anyplace to store my food as all the fridges where packed.

Avoid this place.