Why I rented a whole YHA

YHA Pittwater Eco

• Sleeps 32

Shawn and Maddi were always pretty laidback – flexible plans, missed flights, abandoned deadlines – cruisy, you know? Then, they got engaged, and their parents finally had an excuse to overhaul the couple’s organisational skills. And Shawn and Maddo just couldn’t have that.

So, they quickly found YHA Pittwater Eco – the closest group accommodation to Sydney’s Northern Beaches – but fell in love with it for so much more than that. The leafy, blissful oasis provided the perfect backdrop to their nuptials, and calmed their guests down so much that they’re all as bad at planning as the new Mr and Mrs!

YHA Thredbo

• Sleeps 48

Family Christmas often results in a quarrel here and there; but none as intense as the 2017 Jaxon versus Shazz showdown. Jaxon laughed away Shazz’s claims that Thredbo offers more adventure over the Summer months – and not to mention the luscious lack of crowds! He was born to snowboard, and wouldn’t hear any more – stuffing dinner rolls in his ears.

Sadly, no one else had been to Thredbo throughout either season (shock horror!), thus the fight continued well into the New Year. So, it was decided. The family would venture to Thredbo in both the sunny and snowy months so the Dinner Roll fiasco would never happen again. One thing they didn’t fight on was the accommodation – where else but Thredbo YHA?

Stay tuned for the results of the experiment.

YHA Port Elliot

• Sleeps 60

Sophiya and Casey were sick of their parents group constantly telling each other how much they had to catch up and nothing ever coming of it. With partners and kids scattered into the equation, they needed somewhere family-friendly, beautiful, relaxing, connective and ideally overlooking Horse Shoe Bay.

And boy, did Port Elliot YHA save the day. The Dads surfed and barbequed, the Mums chatted and sipped, the kids played and pottered, and all was well. The end.

YHA Apollo Bay Eco

• Sleeps 72

Inspired by the film Wild, Phoebe dreamed of leading 71 like-minded folk on a never-before-attempted communal foot expedition of the Great Ocean Road. She forgot to alert the guys at Guinness World Records; but she did remember to book her clan into Apollo Bay Eco YHA for a few solar-heated, soul-connecting nights before taking off on the next leg of the journey.

We like your prioritisation skills, Pheebz.

YHA Grampians Eco

• Sleeps 64

As head of the Green Feet and Hearts Alliance, Tom had pearls of sweat dripping from that conscious forehead of his. He needed to find a location for the inaugural National Summit which was as peaceful as it was progressive. Here enters YHA Grampians Eco - an eco-friendly property that features rammed earth walls, utilises solar hot water and electricity, grey water recycling and rainwater collection, along with wood heaters to limit its environmental footprint.

Following his swift booking, Tom embarked on a 14-hour bush immersion.