Don't stay here unless you plan for a sleepless night, brought your own soap and the only other…read morealternative is to sleep in your car, or maybe just sleep in your car. This seems like the kinda olace where human traffickers would bring their victims. The night we were here was a holiday weekend and there were literally no rooms between hamilton, rotorua and the coast. We got the last room. It was more of repurposed closet. Had a terrible margarita at the bar. Was supposed to be spicy pineapple. Can recommend the cheesy garlic bread though, it was almost good enough to merit the one star. Other high points were the staff- Raj and his team were genuinely nice to me, but when my buddy came down to ask for soap he was literally told to F off. We asked if we just left if they would refund our money. They offered to call the police and have us thrown out. Good times!

Haha, this was kinda my introduction to New Zealand. My best friend moved to NZ and I chose to…read morevisit him for my 40th birthday. After that wonderful trans-Pacific flight, I landed in Auckland and we pretty much came down to Matamata to go to Hobbiton the next morning so we needed a place to stay and Horse And Jockey Inn was a great price for us to crash for the night. As Tom C. (currently the only other review for this 'Inn') mentions, it's a cross between a motel and a hostel. I knew that when I booked the room. BFF and I were college roommates so sharing a room was no big deal. It was pretty cozy to say the least. It had 2 beds, a heater, and I think there was a chair. That's it. Down the hall was the bathroom. Everything was kept clean, but they probably haven't made improvements since this place opened in the 60's or 70's to the rooms. Not sure what the age of the bathroom was. I was pretty tired and it's all a blur now. However, for 2 guys who needed a place to stay for a night, it worked just fine. It's located right off the main drag of this otherwise very quaint town. Staff was super friendly when we checked in and very helpful. They had some sort of rule about coming in late with keys, but I can't remember, but the key situation with getting to the rooms was different than I've ever seen before. There's a bar at the bottom of the inn and a grocery store that has seen better days across the street. I can't imagine spending more than 1 night here though. I think it's okay for a just-passing-through type of place.

Excellent hostel. Professional-grade kitchen, friendly staff who mailed something to us that we…read morehad left behind, and great common areas.

I reckon it would have gotten 3 stars for any one of the following problems, but it was more than…read moreone. Dirty linens. Some of the stains were not bleached out properly, but one of the duvet covers had something on it that had obviously not been washed out between customers. Worst pillows of any hostel I've ever stayed in. Normally a person gets two when they are in that sad of shape. The bar attached to the hostel had music going at all hours of the night and it was hard to sleep. This place would be great for the 18 year old who likes to party, but not for the 30-something grad student trying to take a cheap holiday. I've stayed in better hostels for less money. I suggest looking elsewhere. With all that being said, the staff was really nice when I did ask for directions and suggestions around town.

This seemed like a good price, $800 NZD for a 8 day stay. It was ANYTHING but. Staying at this…read moreestablishment was an absolute nightmare. Upon finally entering my single room a pungent smell lingered, but i decided it wasnt a big deal. The smell of cat piss and body odor grew worse as there is no ventillation in the entire room. I made multiple verbal complaints throughout my entire stay, with zero avail. Well, on my last day of staying in this shitty hotel as a tourist, i finally got to leave. Not even 2 hours after my leaving do i get a fraud alert on my credit card. They had tried to charge me $400 NZD without my consent. I disputed this immediately and the next thing i know, i'm recieving threats via email from the owner, named Sam. To make a long story short, if you want to stay in a place with no windows, musty, piss smelling rooms, and then be fraudulently charged hundreds of dollars- this seems like the place for you. I have filed a police report on Mr. Sam and intend to prosecute him to the full extent of the law.

The location of this backpackers on Waitangi Island is spectacular, and while there is not much of…read morea view from the actual hostel, it's only a short walk down to the beautiful Onetangi Beach. When I say a short walk, there are actually like 200 stairs to descend, but it doesn't take very long and the beach is worth the walk. It's climbing back up which is the shit part anyway. The backpackers itself doesn't have that much going for it in terms of the actual rooms and the condition of the place, but it is a backpackers don't forget, and it is cheap; You can't really expect a resort. The Staff are nice, and I met some good people here. As there are not many cheap accommodation options on Waiheke Island, this hostel is a decent and inexpensive place to stay.

From the owner: Kina Backpackers provides true value for money on Waiheke Island, 35 minutes from downtown…read moreAuckland, New Zealand. It's your very own piece of paradise. Formally known as Waiheke Island Hostel, the backpackers is now leased by Erin & Luke. Kina Backpackers offers million dollar views for the budget conscious, the location cannot be beat! Enjoy the big sea views over Onetangi from the large front lawn where you can have a bbq with friends or relax with a book in the hammock. Wake up to the sound of the seagulls or Tui's and head down the hill for a walk or run along Onetangi Beach (with its 2.5 K of beautiful white sand) to end up at a local beachside cafe for a morning coffee. Enjoy an afternoon stroll to one (or two) of several award winning Waiheke Island vineyards for wine tasting or bite to eat. Miro/Casita Miro, Obsidian, The Hay Paddock, Stonyridge,and Te Motu vineyards or sample a the local boutique brew at Wild on Waiheke they are all within walking distance.

Stayed here on a Friday and Saturday night for a running event happening in Rotorua. The place is…read moreeasy to find with large signage along the road. The complex appears to be a hotel/motel which has been converted into a hostel. The staff were super friendly on check in and throughout the stay, and the front desk lady took the time to walk us around to show us the property. The hostel has a large kitchen with a number of new hotplates and ovens, and large stainless steel benchspaces for preparing meals, however could do well to have some larger commercial style refrigerators. Found there were enough utensils for our use, however it could be somewhat limited in the availability of pots and pans when busy. There is a large TV room with lots of lounge seating and a huge LCD television with SKY tv box, DVD's available from reception, and you could plug in a hard drive using the USB port to watch your own movies. We stayed in a 8 bed dorm which we had to ourselves the first night, and shared with 3 others on the second night. Each of the dorm rooms has their own ensuite bathroom which is cool. The shower was adequate and there was also a hairdryer fitted to the wall. The beds are probably the best I've ever slept in at a hostel, and much better than many hotels I've stayed at. I had the best sleep here thanks to these beds! They are also made when you arrive, which is awesome - you can just rock in and rack out if you want. Also they don't allow anyone to check in to occupied rooms after 10pm so you won't be disturbed late at night by late arrivals. The pools are great - there is a one is cold, one is warm, and a smaller one is filled with mineral water which felt awesome on the skin. They also have free wifi, you collect a code from reception which gives you 4 hours of access (which became a little tedious having to enter codes every now and then - but it worked and was pretty fast). Great hostel, good sleep quality, plenty of space, pools, large kitchen, awesome TV room, friendly staff. What more could you want? Its only a short walk from town. If I'm back in Rotorua I'd definitely stay here again!

You usually know that in most YHA Hostels in NZ that the YHA option is fairly basic but generally…read moreOK for the average backpaker. Rotorua, on the other hand was well below average. It took ages to do the booking on the phone, it took a while for them to find our booking as well when we did get there! The room itself was dreadful! Really very small - wood panelling the whole way round and the bed wasn't clean. The ceiling creaked so much that we wondered whether the people in the room upstairs would fall through onto our bed!!!! The shower rooms were filthy - they were also very poorly lit. I think that this more or less was one of the worst places that we stayed in this fantastic county. We would definately not recommend this place - there has to be nicer places in around Rotorua!