I've stayed twice at the YHA Lake Tekapo, first in October 2019 and then again in June 2020. The…read moreworld's changed in that time, but the YHA has maintained its friendly staff, affordable prices, and clean rooms. This YHA is interesting in that it has a full-service restaurant on site. It's worth it to sign up for a YHA membership if you plan on travelling around New Zealand and staying at other YHA locations. The membership will pay for itself rather quickly. This YHA sits on some of the most expensive real estate imaginable. It's right on the lakefront. It's next door to the Dark Sky Project, which runs nightly tours up to the University of Canterbury's Mt. John Observatory. The YHA is also walking distance to the Church of the Good Shepherd, perhaps the most-photographed church in the area.

We have stayed here multiple times and it's great! Beautiful spot, new and modern facilities, great…read moreprice. The lakeside private rooms are a little more pricey but totally worth waking up in the morning next to the lake. People outside can see in though!

We stayed at Lake Tekapo Scenic Resort for one night during our stay in Tekapo…read more As soon as we arrived, we checked in at the office and they escorted us to our room facing the beautiful blue lake! The room itself is very spacious and comfortable with a bed, couch and neat bathrooms. I loved waking up to the sight of the lake. So refreshing! There is car parking space in the property. Breakfast joints and restaurants are 2 min walk away. There's also a convenient store nearby and a gas station as well. Best location! Lake Tekapo is a very popular place to see the milky way galaxy. At night, you simply walk out of the room and walk for a few minutes towards the lake and look up. Boom, if the skies are clear that day, then you see the lovely galaxy. I LOVED my stay in this resort and couldn't recommend enough.

We had a perfectly serviceable stay here for two nights in a lake view studio…read more We booked well in advance because there are extremely limited options in this part of the South Island in terms of traditional hotel/motel rooms. It's about an hour from Mt. Cook, which was our primary reason for booking. The room is roughly on par with an American Best Western. The room was spacious and included a sitting area, small fridge, and balcony. The decor was dated but clean. The property included other rooming options for backpackers, so we were essentially next to a hostel dorm, but they were quiet. Keep in mind that Lake Tekapo is a small town. The motel office is not a 24 hour front desk (I think it closed at 8) so you may want to try calling ahead if you're arriving in the wee hours. There are some good dining options literally steps from the motel, but good luck getting a table or even finding an open shop after about 8 or 9. Plan accordingly. Finally, despite the very real beauty of Lake Tekapo, this spot is not especially serene one for two reasons: (1) the town is overrun by tourists (yes, I recognize the irony of that statement), and (2) the motel's lake view is increasingly obscured by a hostel and what looks to be a new astronomy center. Our view of the lake from the second floor therefore looked out over the parking lot and between those two buildings. I suspect this may be why we saw the motel listed for sale on a local real estate board.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this lodge. Staff is friendly also it's a great experience for…read moresomeone like me, who had never been to backpackers lodge before. It's located at a beautiful location.

Such a nice stay in Franz Josef! The room was decorated beautifully with everything we needed for…read moreour short visit. The rooms can be challenging to find, as the place has lots of twisty roads leading to different cottages, but once you're there it feels like your own private treehouse. The Monsoon Restaurant was too busy for us to get dinner there, but we did go for breakfast. Food was very good but service was INCREDIBLY slow. Don't go if you're in a hurry. But good food and a nice place to relax if you've got plenty of time.

We absolutely loved our stay at Rainforest Retreat! We were only in Franz Josef Glacier for one…read morenight, but I wish we had longer in these amazing accommodations. We were in a Gecko Cottage, which was in it's own little area with a few other cottages. We had a hot tub that was only for the cottages, so it was basically like we had it all to ourselves. Our room had a king bed, a little living space, and a bathroom. It was perfect for the 2 of us. And the location is great! Everything we needed was in walking distance, including a grocery store. There is also a restaurant as part of the resort, so it's easy to go get a meal and some cocktails without having to drive anywhere. We would happily return if in New Zealand again.

Travel to New Zealand. It's half hostel and half motel with…read morea nice restaurant serving breakfast, lunch & dinner. Don't expect much when you book here. It's a room with a bed, chair and en suite. There's a hot water maker with tea and coffee supplies but we found a dead moth and half filled smelly caraffe. The cups were also dirty. Be careful. There's enough for you to survive but I can't say I was comfortable since we killed 3 moths, 2 big flying insects that looked like mosquitoes & found a dead roach on my pillow. You do have use of the kitchen facilities in the hostel side which is great but it got really crowded and dirty with all the people staying here using it. Location is great since it's in the heart of the small town. We walked to and from, everywhere but it took us only 2 minutes to the farthest town destination. It was a bargain but I would have spent more on nicer accommodations. If you're there just to sleep overnite, this place is great for the price.

Well where to start ... it is a very big hostel and during my stay it was crowded. The facilities…read morewere not really clean but this is just a result of ignorant guests that don't care about others. Kitchen is big and offers multiple ovens and places to cook with gas or electric. Free WI-FI Towels just 1$ donation Really beautiful location Inter City Bus drop & pick up at hostel Nice staff and good value for money

My review comes with some fine print... I arrived at 12:15am after a 13 hour drive from Picton (the…read moremain highway to Franz Josef was closed due to a rock / land slide). We were exhausted and just wanted to sleep. The address in google maps will point you too far down the road FYI! So we wandered around in the dark a bit... Once we found it? It was a huge relief. They had provided us a door code earlier in the day to enter for after-hours check-in and it was super easy to get our key and find our room. Granted, everyone was in their rooms so that probably helped it seem more quiet and clean but I was still surprised with just HOW quiet and clean it was... the room was small (2 twin beds and a small set of drawers w/ towels and extra blanket), but it served its purpose. The bathroom was just down the hall and was very clean and bright and spacious. We only walked by the kitchen a couple of times but it seemed very big and welcoming and clean. If I visited Franz Josef again, I would definitely stay here. Everything (heli / hikes, cafe, short hikes) are within walking distance too.