Reef Island Surf Lodge

Lots of varying things to comment on about The Reef Island Surf Lodge, some good, some bad.
Firstly I think this hostel is very overpriced (we paid £45 pp per night, no discount offered for large group booking either). The rooms are not all the glamour they are supposedly promoted to be. Very very basic. Bunk Beds and sheets/ pillows are the only things in the rooms. our rooms were en-suite which was handly, but so were the other rooms we had quotes for in other hostels. Ok yes the plasma TVs and CD players brighten the rooms up, but the TV is very small and so high on the walls of the rooms we couldn't actually see them from our beds. One of the rooms some of our group stayed in was very cramped and the amount of times we banged our heads on each other's bunk beds was beyond a joke by the end of the weekend. The ceilings in our rooms were very thin and we could hear everything going on in the room above us, even when we really didn't want to!
The rooms have no cupboards, shelves, drawers or even towel racks, meaning we were literally living out of suitcases while we were there and as you can imagine, the room turned into a complete mess with no-where to put stuff with everything hanging off our bunk beds.
The check in proceedure is long and unecessary (especially after you've sat in a car for 8 hours all the way from London) with personal information forms to fill out that so could easily have been completed before we'd even left if they had been emailed to us. As we were a big group, this took nearly 45 minutes to complete. We wern't even allowed to go and do the spot check of the rooms untill these other forms had been competed. Yes I agree checking the rooms for damges etc is necessary and I agree that with this place being accommodated by stag/ hen do's who are generally inclined to drunkenly break things, yes this covers your back and holds you responsible. Be warned, you break it, you pay for it. No arguement, no compromise.
There is little to no parking here (although this can't be blamed on the hostel itself!). Its situated on a residential road so there are free spaces, but you'll be lucky to get one. We were very lucky to be able to park just outside when we arrived, but other than that I didn't see a free space anywhere close all weekend.
You are not allowed ANY food or drink into the rooms. Ok, to help avoid mess in the rooms this rule to a degree is understandable, but when we were stopped at reception for trying to take up a can of coke and a bottle of water, we thought this was a bit extreme. Too many petty rules just made us feel unwelcome.
There are many plus points though not to forget. The bar is fairly good and reasonably priced. Quite small though, but a good place to have that first drink to start your evening off with.
The dry-room at the back of the hostel of surf boards and wet suits is very handy and only accesible to those at the hostel. Quite small however, and we ended up hanging wet-suits on top of wet suits at times, but generally a good idea and ideal as there is no-where in the rooms to store them (even when dry!).
The location of this place is perfect. Its so close to the main high street where all the bars and clubs are situated, you'll never be paying for cabs anywhere. Close enough to be right in the action, only 1 minutes walk from the high street. This is possibly the only reason I could justify the price we paid for staying here.
We had lessons with their surf school on Great Western Beach and they were great. The staff there are so helpful and friendly and really know their stuff about surfing. The lesson lasted a decent amount of time and was great value for money (ask about discounts for group bookings) and I can highly recommend them. They also do board and wetsuit hire too which was again reasonlably priced and good value.
Would I stay there again? Possibly yes. I might look around first for a better deal, price wise I still think its a lot to pay for what you get, but you can't argue with the location, its perfect for girls' and / or lads' weekends away.