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Last month we mentioned the high quality but budget price of the Base Hostel in Sydney, which has made budget travel so upmarket that it even includes rooms with king-size beds and plasma TVs. Of course, the typical youth hostel dorm rooms still exist too, and it means travelers of all kinds can get accommodation at a reasonable price.

The Sydney Base is part of a larger network of Base hostels which started in New Zealand, and this week they announced that two Brisbane hostels have been bought by Base, effective immediately.

The Palace Central and the Palace Embassy hostels in Brisbane, Queensland, will be renamed soon to add “by Base” to their signage, and are already undergoing renovations to help them fit the Base model.

The improvements include adding what Base calls “Sanctuary” rooms which are dorm rooms exclusively for female backpackers who are traveling alone, which is a nice touch. Travelers checking into Sanctuary rooms even will sleep on feather pillows and get special toiletry gift packs and complimentary towels.

Base is looking to continue its expansion, now that it has five hostels in Australia and ten in New Zealand. It’s great to have a reasonable alternative to budget hotels, especially for travelers who just need somewhere decent to sleep and don’t need all the extra amenities of an expensive hotel.