Balfes Hill - Cradoc, Tasmania

Overview of Balfes Hill Backpackers

Nestled at 4 Sandhill Rd, Cradoc TAS 7109, Australia, Balfes Hill is a unique accommodation option that stands out for its indoor lodging and serene location atop a hill. The property is conveniently linked to huonvalleybackpackers.com, which serves as its online presence, offering potential guests a glimpse into what to expect during their stay.

Location and Contact Information

Situated in Cracod, Balfes Hill is just a 15-minute drive from Huonville and 5 minutes from Cygnet. The address is Address: 4 Sandhill Rd, Cradoc TAS 7109, Australia, and guests can reach out via phone at Phone: 362951551.

Key Features and Services

Specialties: Balfes Hill prides itself on offering indoor lodging, providing a comfortable stay regardless of the weather. This feature is particularly appealing for travelers seeking a retreat from outdoor elements.

Other Noteworthy Aspects:
- Firepit: Ideal for cooking barbecues under the stars, enhancing the camping experience.
- Natural Beauty: Guests can enjoy a beautiful firepit and are surrounded by wildlife, making it a perfect spot for nature lovers.
- Proximity to Work: Opportunities to start work immediately in the nearby strawberry farm or wait for the cherry season, depending on the time of visit.

Reviews and Reputation

Balfes Hill has garnered 9 reviews on Google My Business, with an impressive average opinion rating of 4/5. This suggests a high level of guest satisfaction. Some of the reviews highlight the peaceful atmosphere, friendly staff, and the opportunity to engage in local agriculture right from the hostel. Travelers appreciate the ability to seamlessly transition between work and leisure, whether it's farming or simply enjoying the night sky.

Recommendations for Potential Guests

For those considering a stay at Balfes Hill, here are some recommendations:
- Check Availability: Given its rural setting, it's wise to confirm room availability, especially during peak seasons.
- Embrace Nature: Be prepared to enjoy the natural surroundings. The firepit and wildlife are highlights, but they also mean keeping an eye on fire safety and respecting local fauna.
- Plan Your Activities: With the option to work on a farm or explore nearby, plan your stay to include both relaxation and adventure.

👍 Reviews of Balfes Hill

Luca P.

5/5

Amazing hostel on top of the Hill, quite, nice people, you can start work immediately in the strawberry farm close by or wait for the cherry season to start, 15 min drive from Huonville and 5 to cygnet.
Beautiful firepit where you can cook bbq, amazing starlizing at night and many animals around.
Thank you Jayne!

meganwR9951DS

This was a great hostel which I can highly recommend. The accommodation I stayed in was very lovely (flashpackers)...the rooms and beds were comfortable and clean. It was also well organised and had a nice social space with some great views of the sunsets sunrise and the stars at night! It had a very safe and lovely vibe which was also created by the fabulous people I met here during my five week stay! Jayne (owner) was great - I've read some of the other reviews but my experience was this. Jayne was very friendly and welcoming. She was very upfront about the deposit and the cost of staying in the hostel in my communications with her before I arrived and also upon arrival. I found that Jayne did her best to accommodate everybody and would go out of her way to try and make sure her guests were happy! It was beyond anyone's control but the farmers have had a bad season due to weather conditions so fruit picking work was sparse at times but Jayne would still do her best to find you work and was a great help in organising transport to get you there! I had a great time so thank you for providing such a lovely space! See you again!! Xx

Niallmt7

I arrived at Huon Valley Backpackers at the end of Feb 2020 and stayed right though until the end of May whilst doing farmwork required for the 2 year visa. Not gunna ramble on but honestly i had some of the best times here and even in the middle of the covid pandemic Jayne made the changes to keep us all right and in line with the latest australian guidlines. ||Rooms are simple, no wifi etc but the times in Cygnet hostel were some of the best times in my stay in Australia. Work throughout the week then live for the weekend and the Huon Valley is beautiful. I personally found Jayne very upfront and honest when on the phone before coming to Tasmania so wasnt left shocked when i turned up like ive seen on some reviews here. Seen a few talk bad about Jayne too but i have no idea how. If you show her respect and respect her property you will have literally no problems from her nor have problems getting your deposit back. Im lost when i see bad reviews on her she was nothing short of perfect with myself. ||Anyway take these reviews with a pinch of salt, your time in HVB will be what you make of it, but i cannot recommend it enough when it comes to forming friendships and memories that’ll last a lifetime. ||Sending all my love from Ireland Jayne. God bless you, Andy and wee Ollie 🐕||||Niall xx

NSG188

Although I appreciate HVB is a basic country accommodation this fact is not an excuse for filth and the fact that it is so basic ought to be taken into account when calculating the ridiculous price of the rent. There are three different “hostels” and depending on which you’re staying in you can pay up to $210 a week for the “top” accommodation in ‘Flashpackers’ or the lower end at $180 a week in ‘Cygnet’. There isn’t much difference between the two other than heating and plug sockets. In both you are required to keep your showers to three minutes. In Cygnet there are approx 16 people sharing 2 showers and one kitchen. Both showers of which are poor quality and located in outbuildings just off the main shed/bunk area. The rooms are very small and cramped. The hostel is actually located around 20/30 minutes away from the nearest town and farms. We waited a week before being contacted by the farm for work and the whole experience was very unprofessional and disorganised. |If you’re willing to pay an extortionate amount of money for very basic and dirty accommodation (there is no cleaner for Cygnet and the “cleaner” in Flashpackers is another hostel guest) then Huon Valley is perfect. |Also good luck getting your deposit back, only when legal action was discussed did Jayne “consider” giving ours back. Luckily we did get it back after much email discourse. |I am not one for giving a bad review but I felt this hostel really ought to be exposed for exploiting young backpackers. Being charged $210 a week for horrible accommodation, plus potentially paying for transport each day and then not being given a fair wage from the farm is simply wrong. Piece rate 8/10 isn’t enough for even the most capable of workers. They claim that you’re meant to pick a minimum of 5 bins a day per person but most fit and healthy young pickers average 3 a day. 3 x 48 = 144. In an 8 hour day that’s $18 an hour. Casual work minimum wage is just under $25 an hour. Fair enough if you’re a super picker but if you’re not you’re going to struggle. A lad we met who is still working at the farm is currently only earning $90 per day. |A lot of the backpackers just ended up smoking copious amounts of weed to forget their horrid day! |I would avoid Huon Valley all together and just head north. There seemed to be far more opportunities in the North I.e. Devonport and Launceston. There are quite a few places who will pay you an hourly wage and working hostels that are affordable with much better facilities. (Some of them will let you clean for two hours in the evenings and you can get your rent for free!) It really is worth looking elsewhere, don’t let yourself get exploited. ||Awaiting the inevitable unprofessional response from the owner but nothing can excuse the den of iniquity that is Huon Valley Backpackers.

537arianaa

We stayed in the Huon Valley Backpackers in January and February 2020. It was a magnificent stay with wonderful people and comfortable accomidation. Jane is super helpful and caring for all of her guests and always works hard to ensure everyone is having a comfortable stay. I would highly recommend this hostel to anyone needing a place to stay in Huon Valley. It also has beautiful mountain views and a dog that visits the property!

chrisgeorgewatson

If you're reading this from the mainland, and you're considering coming to Tasmania to do farm-work: stay clear of this area. There are limited employers and limited places to stay, and the people in charge will take advantage of that.||||Jayne, who runs Huon Valley Backpackers, is no exception. She will take every opportunity possible to take more money from you, on top of the premium price that she is already charging for a less-than-premium service.||||I could rant all day, but I don't want to waste more time than I already have arguing with Jayne. I tried to explain to her (in person) that perhaps charging $600+ per month to live in a house with:||- a mouse-infestation||- no working oven ||- limited heating||- limited electricity (no plug sockets in the rooms and only a few in total)||- limited hot water (four minute showers)||- no wifi in the hostel itself, and terrible wifi in reception||...was perhaps too much to charge, especially to backpackers who are earning very little as it is. But she told me that this was simply because I didn't understand how to run a business.||||I have never run a hostel. But from the way Jayne acts, you would think she hadn't either.||||On one occasion, we were woken in the middle of the night by Jayne. She was shouting and screaming at one of the backpackers in the corridor outside the bedrooms. We had to be up at 5:30am the next morning, but that didn't stop Jayne. In the end, she only left when we begged her to go and let us sleep.||||I truly believe that Jayne hates backpackers - she said as much to several of us - and THIS is the real problem with Huon Valley Backpackers. Every day she came into the hostel and found something to tell us off for. I could put up with the basic services and facilities, but what I couldn't put up with was Jayne's attitude towards us. About half of the people staying at HVB moved out before the end of the season, and the reason for this (for every single one of us) was to get away from Jayne.||||The ONE positive that came from staying with Jayne is the other backpackers we met. So, if it's too late, and you're already here, then here's what I recommend: stay at Jayne's for a week or so, then get a group together and find an Airbnb to move to. That's what we did eventually. And we're certainly getting a lot more for a lot less money than we were at Jayne's.

Cantona5

Stayed here 2014 had the most amazing time. You get wat u pay for with the accommodation but it is cleaned daily janye does her best to find u work and is fair. Met amazing people an still speak to some of them to this day. Only downside was some of the local people are not very genuine an were jealous of Jayne business they wud pass negative comments in the local pubs.||But get out there an do it for cherries season u will look back an smile u will meet great people

phoebefields

Out of all the hostels I've stayed at across the world, this is one of the worst for cleanliness and facilities, especially considering the price to stay here. However, this isn't the reason why I feel the need to write a review recommending that you do NOT stay here.||||The reason you shouldn't stay here is because of the owner: Jayne.||||Jayne is rude and aggressive to the backpackers staying at the hostel on a daily basis. It is clear that her motive for running the hostel is solely to take as much money from us as she can. If we ever made any complaints, Jayne's response was: ||"If you don't like the way I run things, leave!" ||which is exactly what most of us did (after giving 14 days notice to get our $200 deposits back, of course). We naively assumed that - during these 14 days - Jayne would leave us alone and just wait for us to leave, however she continued worse than before, name calling and threatening to kick people out at ridiculous hours of the evening. Worst of all: she actually phoned our employer in an attempt to get us all fired from our jobs.||||During my stay at Huon Valley Backpackers I thankfully meant some great people. It's just a shame that the atmosphere was always ruined by Jayne. I'm now staying in a gorgeous Airbnb for a cheaper rate with some of the people I met, would strongly recommend this to anyone completing their 88 days farm work in Huon Valley, Tasmania.