Name: Mango Tourist Hostel
Address: 110 Torquay Road Hervey Bay,Torquay Road, Urraween, Urraween, Urraween, 4655, Australia
Rating: 7

Terrace

Outdoor furniture

General

Common kitchen

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

German

English

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Offsite parking reservations required

Parking

Location

At the hostel

Esplanade

Fraser Coast Discovery Sphere

Fraser Coast Cultural Centre

Stockland Hervey Bay Shopping Centre

Duggan Conservation Park

Hervey Bay Airport

Maryborough Airport

Mango Tourist Hostel

Urraween

I booked this place for a 3rd night in Harvey Bay as the hostel I'd stayed in prior had no availability. 
I arrived at around 9pm and the whole entrance is pitch black.  When I got in, every door was open, so I walked in and shouted hello, noone was around.  I sat for 10 minutes and still nopne came so I l9oked around and saw that there was a bell to ring for attention, this didn't work.  There was also I number to call, which I reluctantly called (costs a fortune on an English phone).  The owner came through and showed me to my room.  It had no locks, which I didn't like.  This also led to 2 people throughout the night walking into my room looking for their bed, obviously with the same issue as me, no one to help them check in.  When I woke early in the morning, this poor person was asleep on the sofa as she couldn't find him!  This also meant that I couldn't use the communal area.  This check in process needs to better to make people feel more safe and secure. 
Only positives for me, is that the owner very kindly ordered me a taxi for early morning bus, there is good WiFi,  and he also had a lovely dog 😁  wouldn't stay again I'm afraid.  

Very strange place

BOOKING WAS REFUSED - because I am vaccinated against COVID!!

Avoid this place, unless you like being bombarded with conspiracy theories owner wants to spread!! He's quite forceful in his fringe views. Can wreck a peaceful holiday!!

After doing research on places in Hervey Bay, chose Mango as it is small & I love old wooden houses.
Tried to book a dorm bed...

BOOKING WAS REFUSED - because I was fully vaccinated against COVID!! Not what anyone would expect! Very unpleasant & possibly against the law!!

Lodged a formal complaint with MP & Queensland Health Dept. Being investigated! Am considering legal action.

So glad I didn't pay through a booking site, & then find out I would have to leave because I was vaccinated!! So bad!

Walked past this very empty place.  So glad I had a 5star stay at the Woolshed, along same road.

______________________________

SMS 4/8/21 received in response to my call to book. (Personal details omitted.)

Mango: Okay mate text back your name, dates & room type that you require ? Don't book online, just respond By text

Me: Thanks. (my name)
Will arrive Friday to stay up to a week. Will be Dorm bed.

Mango: where will you be travelling from that day ?

Me: On Magnetic Island last 18 days.
(Fully vaccinated)

Mango: Oh ! Are you considered in the high risk group ?

Me: No. Just want to be safe. I like to travel. Have been travelling overseas for years.

Mango: According to the correct health advice you're less safe now from any ailment into the future, I think a private room might be more suitable, the W.H.O. due to the vaccine being still under trial, have an interim advice that I can send you, stating no proof of vaccination will be required for international travel

Me: Although your rooms look great, Dorm bed is my usual stay.
Currently in a Dorm room for 18 days. So Dorm is my preference.

Mango: Governments have only been following advice from the W.H.O. any thing else is hearsay. Advice from Germany states, These experimental therapies extend effects to others around you, particularly girls so we are being cautious about who shares a room

Me: As an experienced backpacker, your place seems unsuitable for me. Will make other plans.

Mango: Thank you for your understanding, try woolshed bp, they may be more indoctrinated & follow the risky narrative, time will tell, cheers.

AVOID!!! REFUSED AS AM VACCINATED AGAINST COVID!

Stayed here a couple of days to go to Fraser Island, the owner Phil was very helpful with everything and gave us all the information to make good decisions about what we wanted to do. The hostel is small but cosy and very very clean. Also a very good location to be able to walk everywhere in Hervey Bay. Very welcoming and warm environment:)

Lovely owner and hostel

Luckily we only spent one night there. Check in very strange. The host didn't even know we were coming and then we had to register in a guest book including passport number (whatever it is). In this book no one has registered for a week so this means that this one also had no guests... really a very funny host. Bits floating. No keys. No mosquito nets on the windows (so close to the water and no-go!). Lack of cleanliness. Beds hard. All night all the doors to the community room open. Would prefer to book the hostel 100 times better and cozier just 400m further down the same street.

Never again!

I am not one to do negative reviews unless I absolutely feel it's necessary as I am a very positive person. However I think the terrible experience, which is echoed by other reviews I have read from similar backpackers and travellers, I endured during my stay at Mango Eco Tourist Hostel, more than warrants the following...

The owner here is, to put it bluntly, is a very horrible and extremely strange human being - he looks like someone out of a horror movie.
As soon as i walked in, i immediately noticed this was not like your average hostel. There is no reception as a misleading sign suggests on your walk into the hostel. Instead you ring a bell, which I presumed it meant you waited there until someone arrived. I waited for 10 minutes and still no sign of any owner and so I rang the doorbell again. This time, about another 5 minutes later, a surprised looking man in his 50s arrived and said: 'yes, can I help you' in a rude and aggressive manor. I politely said that I would like to check into my room as I booked 2 nights via Hostelworld. He said he had no recollection of any booking but that he had space. This happened every time I saw other guests check into the hostel  - it's seems an extremely strange or disorganised booking system is in place. 
He then proceeded to tell me about all the tours he was selling such as both the Fraser Island, Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef experiences. I told him that I was already planning on visiting the Great Barrier Reef via Cairns and he looked at me in an extremely strange way and aggressively said 'why would you go from Cairns?' I replied that almost everyone I had spoke to told me this was the best place to do these tours from. He then said 'ignore whatever you've been told, that's complete rubbish'. He obviously just wanted me to book a tour through him. He seems like he manufactures all this 'knowledge' comprised of little or not fact what so ever. He's a self proclaimed know it all but is in fact the complete opposite - a liar.
Beware that he turns up out of absolute nowhere on a frequent basis, creating a vast lack of privacy, and his rude jokes and uncomfortable vibe he carries with him, means it's very hard to feel 'homely' as the majority of the other hostels I have stayed in gives. 
On the topic of privacy, the security is absolute shocking, The doors have no locks and are left open all day, every day, meaning that anyone can walk in and out as they please. Furthermore, there are no lockers to put your bags in which you would assume was a necessity considering the obvious lack of security?!

The cleanliness and maintenance of the 'hostel', if I can call this place that, is absolutely atrocious considering its size. It only caters for 8 people, meaning the vibe around the place is always extremely quiet and boring. This is not made clear before booking so please be aware of this - although I strongly advise anyone not to stay here at any cost!
Ants are crawling all over the kitchen which is absolutely disgusting making it near enough impossible to cook any food without feeling sick or having ants crawl in your food. The fridge is filled with out of date food and so naturally it smells terrible. Also, they have a serious infestation of bed bugs and mosquitos. I woke up, having already arrived with sandy bed sheets on my first day, one morning with over 40 bites all over my body (and that was with repellent on). A closer look at the bedding confirmed my suspicion of bed bugs which really is not acceptable.
I could not wait for my stay to end in Hervey Bay, which is a massive shame because I really liked the small seaside town outside the immediate locality of this hostel. 
The owner offers no card payment, and only cash or bank transfer, which seems extremely dodgy - maybe the police turning up as I was leaving the hostel on my final day could have something to do with this?
As I was about to pay on departure, he requested i paid more than the figure previously agreed - he wanted $108 rather than $101. I refused and had to write the breakdown of the $101 before he reluctantly accepted the payment.
An absolutely terrible stay at this terrible hostel and I urge any
human being to STAY WELL AWAY !!!

STAY WELL AWAY - DO NOT STAY HERE

This is a lovely house with a big wraparound veranda, it looks like it has not long been decorated and very clean. Our private room was spacious and the bed was comfortable. The kitchen facilities were sufficient with a big fridge.

However, there are no locks on any of the doors, we had one external door and an internal door to our room and the entire place is left open and is often left unattended. After the owner told us there were a lot of low lives in Hervey Bay we weren't sure if our stuff would still be in our room when we returned from our day trip.

Take everything the owner says with a pinch of salt, he is incredibly negative and slated everywhere we'd been as well as everywhere we were going, he even tried to convince us that cyclones were on their way, which they clearly weren't and tell us that Airlie Beach was like Ibiza, having now been to both I can confirm it isn't and he has obviously not actually been to Ibiza, a very odd man with a warped sense of the world

Sleep with one eye open

My friend and I stayed at mango hostel in Hervey Bay for 2 nights. The owner was an absolute delight, and full of knowledge. Any question we had, he had the answer for. 
This hostel felt like the home I have always dreamed of. Quiet, beach themed, very clean. If I could, I would live there forever 💕. 

Perfect 

Stayed here for 2 nights with my partner and found the hostel to be clean and comfortable. It only has 3 rooms and sleeps 8 max. Close to the beach, amenities and the owner can sort out tours to Fraser for you. We knew what trip we wanted and he did book it fir us but nit before he told us that he knew a better trip to do. Now the hostel has no locks on any doors and if it wasn't for us closing all the doors at night the place would have been left open. The place is totally insecure but our stuff seemed to be ok. You are putting a lot of trust in people you dont know. The owner has no people skills and is a bit rude and condescending. I would stay here again because it is a quirky place, quiet and a lovely house, you just have to deal with the owner....

Good little hostel but strange owner!!

It is a very small hostel with just a few rooms,however this added to the homely vibe. When we first arrived we were waiting for about 15 min for the owner to come to us, however in hindsight I don't think we actually pressed the doorbell properly. We were able to check in pretty early, but there was no designated luggage storage, we just left our suitcases in the lounge which was fine. The rooms, kitchen and bathrooms were clean and well equipped and the wifi was free and worked well. The locations of the greyhound buses to most hostels in Hervey Bay are pretty inconvenient, however in terms of other amenities it is just a short walk to the beach, then you can decide where to go from there! There were no lockers and I did have some concerns about security as the doors were often unlocked (it appears to be in a residential area, with little foot-traffic, and the owner didn't seem concerned about theft etc so I imagine it's rare?) but it didn't feel unsafe. There is a nice little outside patio-esque area with seats and plugs. The owner was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Fraser Island with lots of experience and was excited to help when he could.

Small but sweet

We spent one night in the twin room (very small but enough for one night). Only three rooms in this very nice little house. Very clean kitchen, one shower and toilet (we were only 3 girls so enough but if home complete there may be a bit of waiting). Nice owners but the husband (Phil) doesn't mind if you don't take a tour of Fraser Island and especially if you make one but don't book it with him. We tell him we're going to the Whitsundays afterwards and he criticized saying that it was much less well ect ect.. on our arrival we were greeted by his wife, who told us to wait too long because Phil will arrive. We've been in vain in 30 minutes!

Mango Tourist Hostel

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