If you are looking for hostels, the YHA is fantastic: really clean, friendly, with everything you need and as it was an old movie theatre there are projections of movies at nigh). The best thing in Alice Springs is to prepare everything to head exploring the red centre,and the YHA can help you with that. The city itself is not so much interesting, but this hostel is near the Anzac lookout (nice place for sunset in the city) and the market street (one of the few nice and different places in the city where is possible to make some shoppings related to the aboriginal culture). Have fun