Arts Factory by Nomads

Great staff and lots of things to do

Generally nice looking place with plenty of free parking (otherwise in very short supply in Byron) and a big kitchen. The room itself was fine apart from the thin foam mattress leaving something to be desired. Just make sure you arrive with the expectation that other guests will show minimal consideration in terms of nighttime/early morning noise and cleanliness in the common areas.

If you want to go and sing songs around a fire this is absolutely for you, very chill, of U want to fry an onion, forget about it. Kitchen is unuseable, no pots no pans, that are not totally knackered or filthy, no one cleans up after themselves at all, there are no mugs, you have to rent them hahahaha. The shower had a huge clump of hair on the wall that was there for 3 days and a pile of wet tissue in the corner despite them being cleaned everyday aparanlty. And despite this DIY chaotic approach to hostel management, they still annoying close the kitchen early, so the one good thing (the instant hot water) can't be used to make a cup of tea in the evenings. Some lovely interesting people. But being a hippy isn't about having baggy trousers and long hair, it's about respect and giving a crap, if U can't look after a kitchen then what sort of socialist hippy utopia is this? Place has got a strong whiff of private school kids with Mac books, to create their latest acid house, lofi, ambient, tecno remix, too many people far to proficient on the piano, got a bit to old to go on another skiing holiday with mum and dad so time to get a shell anklet and some elephant trousers made by a kid in Bangladesh for peanuts No decent vegan options in their Caffe either, they should really sort that out, it's not hard to have some vegan sausages in the freezer. Obviously not for me but some people will undoubtedly love the chaos and more power to them. I really hope they print this out and put it on the wall in some sort of ironic art statement. All that said the staff were super nice.

The arts factory has to be one of the greatest hostels i have ever stayed in. The staff are the most welcoming and made my stay. They have done an incredible job at making the arts feel homely and after travelling for so long it such a great place to unwind and just enjoy.

Arts factory? More like sharts factory! The place was violently unclean and everything smelt of shart. I don’t care how cheap a stay is, at the bare minimum it should be clean. The other ‘guests’ here have clearly made this place home, and some have even settled in a camp out the back like squatters, literally offering to sell their tents in ‘the best spot’ on the lobby notice board. I wouldn’t advise walking towards the campground or lake area unless you want to experience a scene out of the latest zombie apocalypse film. The laundry on-site is very helpful, but again left in a state by the long term residents who call this place home. Likewise, the kitchen could be great given its size but when you walk in you’ll be swarmed by flies and welcomed by a smell of rotting food from last years cohort of settlers. People here seem to think that it’s everyone else’s job to clean up after them, so every single sink will be stacked high with used pans and plates, the tables have food left on them from people who clearly weren’t raised with any manners or respect for others. One guest stormed around the kitchen area and proceeded to go on a stampede around the hostel shouting ‘b**ch’ repeatedly at the top of his voice because someone had mistakenly moved his mug, which was in fact a hostel mug for anyone to use. We were in our room for all of a day before we had a family of ants joining us, most likely trying to avoid the filthy residents just like we were, but still not ideal at all. The bathrooms were grim too - in our 3 days here I said good morning to the same patch of dirt & grime every single day (most likely scraped off one of the residents in their annual shower), despite the staff apparently cleaning the showers daily. All in all, a filthy pit of a place full of people who clearly need constant care & looking after because they weren’t raised to clean up after themselves or how to behave normally. I’ve been backpacking for a long time now and I’ve never felt the need to leave a horrible review, but there’s a first for everything I guess - definitely wouldn’t recommend, as you can tell. Cheers.

Good location not too far from the centre of Byron Bay. The whole place felt a bit rundown and the bathrooms were not the best. Big kitchen but just like every hostel it did get dirty quick quickly. There were lots of activities to participate in but did cost extra.