We occupy a classic 1870's building which started life as the Imperial Hotel in Hobart. For a long time, it was the 'place to be' in Hobart, Tasmania. It was always considered to be an upmarket establishment. Throughout its life it has been a hotel, a coffee house and even a hospital near the end of each World War. It has adapted to each change and sutied its roles well. We are proud to have a building which has so much rich heritage and believe that it suits its current role extremely well.

Part of the building was converted to a backpackers by Stephen Lawn and Marshall Kimber in 1992, and was managed successfully by Stephen Lawn and Trish Kimber, Marshall's extremely capable wife. In fact quite a few of the Kimber clan has blood, sweat and tears soaked into the walls of the old building, having helped create, renovate and manage the hostel.
As a backpackers, it started with a partial 1st floor and about 40 beds, and has grown since. It now encompasses all of 2nd and 3rd floors as well as the original 1st floor, and is a thriving, friendly hostel. Once again, the building has proven to be 'the place to be', but by a slightly different crowd!

On April 1st 2005, Peter Winn took over management of the Hostel, becoming the managing partner. He has since been improving the services and attitude of an already popular hostel. Peter had a background of hostel management in Airlie Beach and Cairns in Queensland, so has a grasp of the friendly, vibrant and energetic atmosphere a hostel should have.

This combines with an extensive maintenance program to bring back that 'fresh' feeling in the hostel. Since Peter has taken over, the hostel has started replacing beds with metal-framed bunks with fire-retardent inner-spring mattresses. He has replaced the carpet on second floor and stairwells with woolen fire-retardent carpet. All electrical connections are being maintained, and appliances checked. The hostel is also being painted entirely (over stages), and we have begun hanging pictures and maps in each room.

Central City Backpackers acknowledges the tragedy surrounding the fires and deaths in Australia and overseas, and everything we replace or repair has fire safety in mind. This supplements our state-of-the-art fire detection and supression system, which is wired directly into the State Fire Brigade. Our fire evacuation plan has been aproved and tested remarkably well quite recetly.

All of us here are proud of our hostel, and I think that shows in the product we present to our guests. Importantly, we are also proud of Australia, Tasmania and Hobart. We would love to help you define your trip to Tasmania, and will recommend the best options for your stay here in Tasmania, even if it means we shorten your stay at Central City Backpackers!

Our best efforts go into helping each person make the most of thier trip around our beautiful State. This means that we work out your available time, your budget and what you want to see. We use this to provide you a few options and discuss the pro's and con's of each - then let you make your mind up. When you decide, we tweak your itinierary and give you that extra little bit of info to make your trip the best it can be!

Feel free to contact us for information, even if it is not for a booking.