It's the nicest guesthouse one could ever stay at! very quiet, cosy and clean! Friendly people, just peaceful and a good location! I spent 5 days there and enjoyed every single one of it!

Okay. What Olembia has going for it is charm. It is a big house with really chilled out guests, a cat that rolls around in front of the open fire in the lounge and lots of cups of tea and chatting in the kitchen and reading in the lounge on the sofas. It's a friendly place with a happy owner and I think this gives it gravitas.

The rooms are really basic, but clean - we stayed one night in a dorm room before a tour - but could have stayed a few. The price obviously is appealing (and OZ is pretty expensive at the mo - even a bottle of water is £3 upwards!) So yes, just a bed and a couple of sheets etc. I found the room quite cold. The showers are clean and there are plenty of them - they were a bit cold too but all had hot water. And the toilets were all clean but again just a bit cold. Also a towel would have been really nice.

But we've stayed in a lot of places while we've been traveling and friendliness and atmosphere really count for a lot - so i'm giving Olembia top marks for that.

Be aware that it is quite near 'Grey Street' which is meant to be pretty dodgy. We didn't experience any problems the night we were there - but we were accompanied home by a male friend so we felt safe.

All in all for £20 pp it is a sound option. Oh and there is a communal kitchen which is pretty handy.

M

I very much enjoyed my five nights here. It is very handy for the tram into town. The manager is extremely helpful and nice. The showers and kitchen were kept clean. There is a lovely, relaxed atmosphere, and it felt very safe.
I would highly recommend this place.

We had been traveling n Oz quite a bit and staying in hotels was starting to burn our budget. We therefore picked Olembia off the strength of the reviews below.

I feel the balance of the reviews here is exactly right. This place isn't luxury, it isn't glossy and it does feel a bit old and tatty in places but fundamentally that's because it's a hostel and should be judged as such.

The place is clean and tidy, the showers and toilets are good, and the beds seem more than adequate. Our private double room was a quirky split level thing and it served our few nights really well.

The hostel manager was really nice and extremely helpful when I tried to check in outside of the office hours (thank again!) plus there's a car park at the back and wifi inside (which is slow but passable)

The location is spot on if you're planning to spend time in St Kilda and the transport links are good enough if you want to get in and out of the city,

Overall, a very good stay, (and on balance much better than some hotels we've stayed in on our travels!)