My favorite Hostel in the world…read more 1) It's just plain classy with it's Art Deco interior, balcony overlooking the center of town, and private lounge upstairs above the madness. The rooms are also more than passing with sinks in each room. 2) The landlady is hysterical and a realist. Very friendly, able to answer every question, and more than accommodating. 3) THE BIG ONE, the Location. You can't beat it. Across the street information center with free WiFi. Pub downstairs, clubs down the street. Waterfront around the corner. Everything else is on the block or one block down. I wish I could have stayed here multiple nights, but had to move on. Whakatane Hotel, you rocked my socks off.

A nice motel. Certainly the nicest looking one on the main road into Whakatane. Great King Sized…read morebed, spa bath, large shower with good water pressure.

Comfortable room. Good size with nice large bed, good pillows and blankets. Bathrobes provided…read morewhich is a nice touch. Two comfortable chairs in the room and balcony looking into park across the street. We arrived late and they had turned on the heater so room was cosy. Bathroom a bit weird - large deep spa pool - but shower is over it so have to be agile to climb up into and out of it.

Great experience. This hotel/motel provided an excellent center point for our North Island…read moreadventures. Centrally located Easy to find Super friendly staff willing to answer any and all questions. Exceptional room quality with endless hot water ( thank you hot springs ). The bed was magnificently cozy. Parking was a non-issue and close to the room (free too). What else to say .... STAY HERE !!!

Stayed here for three nights in april 2018, and it was great! Check-in was super fast and check-out…read morewas even faster. The staff was super friendly and helpful. The hotel has a great location right next to a wide selection of restaurants. The room was absolutely perfect! Very spacious with a great bed, a huge closet, secure wifi and a huge bathroom. There is a safe in the room, kitchentools, a microwave and a kettle. The hotel has private parking with access directly into the hotel - this costs $10 pr. night and is well given, so you don't have do drive around looking for a parking space. Besides that; Tauranga is a great city and we enjoyed our stay very much!

I stayed one night on the weekend during a short tour of the North Island. I would stay here again…read morein a heartbeat. Everything was pleasant, from the free welcome drink to the comfort and size of the room to the extremely helpful and knowledgeable staff. While my stay was for leisure, this would be a great business stay hotel. The room had a large, comfortable desk and was very quiet. There quite an array of restaurants within a five minute walk. All in all, a wonderful experience.

The best way I can describe this place is the "Pompeii of New Zealand". I have to be honest to say…read moreI was not expecting more than another tourist trap, but it far exceeded my expectations! Firstly, the gift shop you enter the ladies are dressed in era appropriate garb and you automatically feel like you have kinda gone back in time a bit. So that was comforting. One of the nice ladies behind the register even gave me a bit of a "rainy day discount" since it was raining pretty hard at that point and she took pity on me. She also provided an umbrella upon request, which was very nice. You get an informative little laminated map card that tells you your route and all the things you are looking at. You start in the museum, which was one of my favorite parts! The Maori art they had in the museum were just incredible! Seriously, some of the woodworks were jaw-dropping in the grandeur of the piece and the ornate details. There is a piece below the story of the day the volcano erupted about the ghost war canoe that had me mesmerized for what felt like hours! It was just so beautiful and intricate! They did an excellent job explaining what happened, why the village was such a tourist hotspot prior to the eruption, and the aftermath. They even had handwritten excerpts from a journal of a family member who lost his family in the eruption that day. It was extremely poignant and I highly recommend taking your time to really appreciate the museum portion. There were a group of people who came in after me that literally just walked through it w/o even stopping once before going outside. The grounds are pretty spread out and you basically just see the excavation sites of the different features that existed in the village. Some have artifacts that were recovered on display, which are pretty neat, especially the bottles, tea cups, and welding tools. It is a bit somber. As you come to one of the last excavation sites, you start to walk along a stream and it is simply gorgeous! Because of the rain, I basically had the place to myself as the group that ran through the museum was long gone, and it was just very tranquil standing by the little waterfalls of the babbling brook with the sound of the rain on my umbrella. It was a great experience to have in a place like this. When you end the grounds tour you have a choice to hike down to a waterfall. This is a must! The waterfall is just wow and you can get right up to it! You hike down steps and dirt and then hike back up a different way, but the boardwalks by the waterfalls are just awesome! I had it to myself and it a pretty spiritual experience. I could have stood there in front of the initial thundering falls all day! The hike back to the visitor center is about 5mins and they have some great Maori inspired pieces and art work to purchase for souvenirs. All in all a great experience for the price of admission (with my discount it was $22US) and I left with a little trinket that will have sentimental value tied to that experience here!

So going to all the touristy places this is one that you definitely want to come and see. In 1886 a…read morevolcano my tarawera had erupted in the early hours of the morning and molten lava and mud had covered a little village. Recently excavations have happened and items and parts of buildings have been discovered and restored. You'll walk through a museum to see the history of the town and then walk outside and see buildings around. Eventually this will lead you down a path to a beautiful waterfall and great views of the lake below. Entrance to the museum and walk is about $50 for a family if 2 adults and 2 kids but it's well worth it. Also you'll need comfy and sterdy shoes for the walk to the waterfall preferably runners, and be relatively fit it has a lot of steps! But so good for the views