I stayed here from the 18th to the 21st of June as a buffer between moving out of my apartment to moving out of Australia. Obviously since I wasn't staying at the hostel long and wasn't going to be in the country for much longer, I wasn't too into all the social aspects of the hostel, but I'll try my best to make a fair and balanced review.
~ SAFETY:
I don't know about you, but my main concern whenever going to a hostel, hotel, or anything like that is safety. For the most part, Urban Central seems pretty safe. There's a maximum of 4 people to a room, which is a lot easier in terms of keeping track of who's who instead of a lot of hostels that have say, 8 to a room and if there's a chance something goes missing, you have no idea where to start. If you don't have a padlock, they have them for sale $3 each at the front desk reception. During the night, you need a room pass to get into the hostel and need a room pass again to get to your particular floor at the elevator - which is a very good way to ensure that everyone on your floor is supposed to be there.
~ SOCIAL:
Even though I wasn't particularly into it, Urban Central really do make an effort in providing a "fun" environment for its patrons. Each night they have cheap dishes that they service for $5 a plate and offers the guests a communal dining experience. There's a bar as well that a lot of people hang out at and for the most part, everyone is quite friendly!
~ CLEANLINESS:
Urban Central is quite clean, which I like quite a lot. Obviously it's not a 5 star hotel, but they do tidy up. The bathrooms are pretty big and cleaned often with relaxing showers available. In the rooms themselves, its pretty simple and basic - just bunkbeds with locker storages, not much room for dust deposits or anything like that.
~ LOCATION:
The Crown Casino is just a stone's throw away and you can catch the 112 tram up Clarendon St towards the city (not very far).
Overall, I do recommend Urban Central. As far as my research goes, its a very great place if you're looking for both value and quality. The prices aren't too expensive, but you get more than what you pay for! read more