My first experience of Bondi was a visit to the beach on Christmas day... not my cup of tea. A friend and I returned a month later and stayed here. I was very surprised with how good this hostel was! In an excellent location situated away from the main town centre with a dairy next door and 2 lovely cafes just opposite. The room was a bit dark and dingy as it was on the ground floor facing the inside courtyard... but hey it was clean and quiet so no real complaints! The icing on the cake of this hostel is the top deck area with superb ocean views.

We booked a double room, and were pleasantly surprised by the amazing location and beautiful view from this hostel. Even if you don't get a room with an ocean view, don't worry because you will not be spending much time inside anyway. Lots to do nearby, and the hostel has lots of beach gear that you can rent. The service was friendly, we slept well, had nice showers and had a great stay in Bondi Beach. It was so pretty, we never made it into Sydney! No complaints about the hostel.

One should realize that Sydney airport is far away from everything, so getting here is a bit tricky. Since we got in late at 8:05pm, we opted to take a taxi from the airport for 52 NZD (vs. the more complicated train ticket for 16 NZD per person, to the bus, to the hostel). We returned on the hostel shuttle back for less. (about 15 NZD per person back to the airport on the hostel shuttle)

I slung my creaking backpack into a double room which offered prime views of the sea but which was a bit grotty around the edges and smelt of stale sweat.
A fetid, cabbage-like odour also hung in the corridor and in the toilets. The courtyard, kitchen and reception areas were in tip-top shape, though.
OK, I thought, I'm not going to be bedding down with Yoko Ono here so I'll crack on.
On the first day, however, I dumped my possessions in the room's locker bar a phone charger, which I errantly left on the bed as I sprung off the blocks on the way to see the sights of Sydney. Incredibly, when I came back a few hours later it had vanished.
On the plus side the reception staff were friendly, helpful and I didn't lose sleep over any of the above - though that was mainly down to jet lag.
The location is fantastic, being just a few minutes' walk to the beaches for surfing (spot the Brit involuntarily catching a wave backwards), swimming or to join the beautiful Bondi people running along the coastal path.
But based on my two-night stay the hostel overall falls a tad short of the high standards set by YHA venues elsewhere on the east coast.

Arrived at Bondi Beach House late at night after 24 hour flight from London. Reception could not have been more helpful, told me where I could find late night shop for essentials etc.

Very friendly & helpful staff at front desk, good common room, reasonable kitchen. Excellent internet facilities. Location had good transport links to centre of Sydney. It had a very homely atmosphere generally, which made it very easy to strike up gossip with whoever was around.

Bunk room small, but bed comfortable. The only drawback was that the carpet was a bit old, and the room had a bit of a smell of old socks, which was hard to get rid of. Some of the decoration and doorways/ windows were a bit battered