Bowen Terrace Accommodation

The room was not available for me even though I had booked and paid through wotif. Another guest at the establishment advised me that the owner is not taking on-line bookings and there was no room in any case. I have already emailed about this and I expect a full refund. Please advise when this will happen.

Confusion over whether I even had a booking when I was attempting to get my keys from staff who were not on site was only the beginning. I had an inkling of Fawlty Towers that proved to be premonitory gold. The pool had been filled in with dirt long before our arrival, so not being a tunnelling wombat, I was unable to partake. Sun-dried tomato and chicken gristle, a fallen screw and the butt ends of smoked joints lay on the long-uncleaned floor; tobacco cuttings on the mantel; and carpet tacks pointing up where the carpet had curled away from the wood on which to impale my foot. No soap even in the public toilet, much less the ensuite. The doona covers were not very absorbent, but they were the closet thing to towels we could find, short of using our next day's clothing. We were a little unsettled by what appeared to be a blood stain on the wall near where someone had apparently fallen heavily against the plasterboard. I imagined that the fall may have been precipitated by contact with the bare bayonets on the wall light fixture that had no shade to protect the unwary, and possibly stoned, traveller. On the positive side, if the previous occupant did meet his demise in the room at least the body had been removed, if not the evidence of his last meal. Oh, and no sign of tetanus from the carpet track obstacle course.

Caveat emptor.

The property was not open, they were renovating. We had driven a while and had to go home. Not their fault. Wotif, thanks.

Booked a room back in July cancelled and Manager Fergal said he would refund he didnt also stayed in room 3 June 19 and the place absolutely filthy and room 10 was uninhabitable he has random travellers running the place mid COVID 19 is he serious !.. spent another $120 and Fergal insists on cash what is going on ?..again refuses a refund not happy off to Fair Trading next.

Filthy cockroach ridden place not COVID safe avoid at all costs

Although the little hotel is situated nicely in a villa area, but still close to shops restaurants etc, I would not recommend it. First of all it was dirty, several cockroaches was spotted, 1 also inside the fridge, 2 even in my bed one morning. It must been years since someone cleaned under the bed. The pool was filled with bat poo and rotten mangoes, disgusting, completely out of use. When we arrived there were no towels in our room, did not get any until next day, There is no AC and the rooms are VERY hot. The bed linen are some mix of synthetic/cotton, quite uncomfortable. The living room has sofas, it seemed like people were sleeping overnight at the sofas. There was only one power outlet in the room, so you will have to choose between power to the fridge, tv, fan or recharging your phone. It’s a budget hotel, but you shouldn’t mean you have to share the room with herds of cockroaches.

Bowen Terrace Accommodation is located in an ideal place a block back from Brunswick St., New Farm, which is right in the centre of the action, the quite magical inner west of Brisbane, which is like a less gritty, more bacchanalian Darlinghurst. The bus to the city goes right down the next street and so it's easy to get around. The New Farm river walk is a bit of a hike to the access points of Sydney St Pier and New Farm Park but it's well worth it, it's lovely and the residential streets are like a cross between St. Kilda and Battery Point in Hobart, gorgeous. Bowen Terrace is a sizeable old single story early 20thC house predominantly with private rooms and a few backpackers dorm rooms. It's a little bit budget and while moderately cheaper than a mid-level hotel, you'd still expect it to be reasonably good. And in most respects it is, the interior of the house is nice, the kitchen and lounge areas downstairs are quite pleasant and the two outdoor areas, one a verandah and the other the back yard are really nice, with quite a lot of effort put into them. The double rooms, one of which I stayed in, are pretty good, a bit spartan but easily livened up once a bit of your stuff is strewn about them. If you appreciate the rooms for their character, it's quite enjoyable. I've seen people complain quite scathingly on these sites about the little shortcomings of these places such as those I'm about to mention, but if you look at them as quirky and characterful, it's quite ok. The psycho fan as I called it, ceiling fan, had only two working settings, II which was more like a I and III which was so fast and hard the thing began to creak and wobble ominously so you couldn't use it. Shame because the oppressive humidity in Brisbane that week was insane and you really needed it. There was also a stand fan in the room which made it just ok with the lights turned off. That was another thing, a simple bedside lamp would've made all the difference as with the humidity, the ceiling light made the room unbearably warm and sweaty. So I had to use the tv for light or my phone's flashlight which was good, it kept it quite comfortable, but was a bit of a pain. The tv remote control's batteries needed replacing too, and all these things combined were both quirky and slightly irritating. It strikes me as odd that these sorts of places seem to overlook these small but necessary touches even when clearly quite a lot of money and effort has been spent on the lovely outdoor areas which are in oversupply for the quantity of people it accomodates. That being said, the beds were really nice with good quality mattresses and pleasant bedding, so the more or less most important thing was great. The thing that let it down the most wasn't the place itself but some of the guests. Bowen Terrace is about 70% cosy B&B accommodation and 30% knockabout backpackers. But there seemed to be an overrepresentation of tough nuts there, which seemed incongruous to the place, it doesn't look or feel like a deadbeat halfway house. However there was a smattering of moody, macho, probably mentally ill young men who made the tone uncomfortable outside of the rooms. There was one guy who sat on the lounges right next to the tv all day on his laptop with the girlfriend and made it unapproachable and so no-one else used the lounges or tv. It sucked, he was really annoying. And then there was the mess, some guests leaving the kitchen and the bathrooms real pigstys, which doesn't suit the tone of the place, Bowen Terrace is cosier and more decent than that. It irritated me and thus compromised what otherwise was a pretty good stay, I thought. The bathrooms are basic but solid but again, the mess left by some of the guests was unsavoury. So there seems to be a little confusion as to its purpose or function, which seems weird. It's nice enough quality bit some of people it attracts seem to be a bit beneath its standard and creates a strange, incongruous clash. Also, if those minor touches in the bedrooms, or at least mine, were addressed, it'd make a big jump in comfort. Although all in all, lI liked it a lot and in most respects it was a nice place to stay.

If you are travelling alone with little money then I'm sure it's fine in the dorms but as a couple who booked for a private room it was poor. Our private room was far from the pictures, we had a few which were of the upstairs shower and rooms which were nice but unfortunately we some how paid extra money to be put among all the dorms downstairs nothing wrong with the backpackers but I don't understand why we were down there. The showers weren't the best it was cramped along with the washing machines and piles of washing. carpets everywhere (ours had lumps out of it and huge stains) with the heat you get seems odd to me I get it's an old house but you can still update the inside the back door is forever left open there's piles of food piled next to the bin which is disgusting the number of people you offer one bin no wonder people get cockroaches which we had HUGE ones in our room thanks to all of that. Pool was horrible I get you have mango trees but you have enough people working there its peak summer it'd be nice to have a swim. We didn't get told where anything was when we entered just here's your number that's it. Front door is a bit temperamental have to try a couple of times to get in. Location is the best factor to this place if anything positive to come from this and the people who stay here are lovely. It's more about filling in the numbers then looking after them.

From pros - only location and price. Otherwise the accommodation was very very dirty - the public areas, the rooms, the toilet, as well as floors were very dirty. The trash bin got full overnight and was not changed in the morning at least not until we checked out around 10.30. The floors were in a good need of vaccum cleaner and the bathrooms and toilet need a COMPLETE clean.

Well set queenslander with a beautiful homely vibe. Attracts great people. Quite family place. Great location set in cosmopolitan new farm, close to the city. Would definitely stay here again. Helpful staff. 4 stars.

Should've found somewhere elss

Great for a one night stop over in Brisbane. Great location close to new farm

Great location, fabulous set up and gorgeous historical mansion.

Really enjoyed our double room with en-suite. A little worn around the edges but clean and friendly. Good cooking facilities and great veranda fir relaxing or eating meals. Very accomodating hosts. Perfect location - ferries, river walk to city, entertainment, cafes, shopping areas and parks all very nearby. Our only down was the noisy closing of doors by some guests and we recommend having earplugs if you are not a heavy sleeper.

No management on site. No soft drink or snack available. No wake up call or clock available. Only hotel shuttle available has to be reserved at airport from private company not related to property. In general, a shabby joint.

At first everything was ok Room was small but tidy. House however smelt terrible.
The shared bathroom was disgusting, was told they clean it ONCE in the mornings by the manager.
It was covered in hair with dirty bath mats and smelled of urine.
Was an overall gross feeling just being there.
Left after 30 minutes and messaged the manager to let her know.
Was offered another room but the bathrooms and smell killed it.
Asked for a refund for ONE night and was ignored.
Please look somewhere else.

Very nice and pleasant staff and stay there . Feel like my own home

It was ok

Friendly housemates. Dormitory was in the basement and was very hot, no air-con. Wi-Fi was good.

A cosy, convenient, inexpensive, homely place to stay.