Rowena's City Lodge

Worst place to stay in New Zealand.
Sadly we had no alternative but to spend three nights here as Wellington accommodation was completely full due to a number of Rock Concerts that were going on over the weekend. The Lodge was, according to Wellington City Council, supposed to advise us of the possibility of a very noisy stay due to the concerts, that was the first joke that didn't happen. The place has not altered from the previous comments that I now find, it's still dirty with a very bad kitchen and the two grumpy old men on reception whom when I tried to complain advised us that I was a whinging pom -- sadly they know nothing about Customer Service or Satisfaction. Personally I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. VIP Backpackers state on their website -- "The VIP network of hostels represents some of the highest quality backpacker's accommodation in New Zealand." I think they are trying to kid someone!

Crappy
This is a sh*thole. The room has nothing in it except for a bed. The staff are assholes -- when we came to check in he was packing a sh*t over nothing. The locks on the windows are sh*t and our window was open when we came home from town. I recommend this place to no one unless you like your stuff being stolen and being treated like sh*t. You can get a lot better for the money you pay. After one night of the paper thin walls i got my money back and went and stayed at a hotel where i wasn't going to get raped.

Dirty!
Rowena's Lodge is a last resort, that's if you need a hostel with parking. the place is filthy -- I've seen the "cleaner" at work in the kitchen. There is no oven, not much delphware, dirty fridges, filthy toilets -- toilet roll on the floor which hadn't been picked up all week. Public toilets would be cleaner.

Friendly and clean
Thoroughly enjoyed my stay here, stranded in Wellington as had passport and cards stolen while in Taupo. Murray on reception was very helpful and sympathetic and did everything possible to make my stay less stressful. Brian the shuttle driver always gave me a lift into town when he was going to save me a few pennies on bus fares. While I was there they were in the process of laying new carpet in the hallways and vinyl in the bathroom, which was good to see even though they started early in the morning much to my disgust. New duvets on the beds are absolutely awesome man they sure keep you warm. My recommendation to anybody is to give this hostel a visit maybe a bit shabby in parts but atmosphere and staff make up for it.

Wow what a awesome hostel great location and wonderful views of the city. Camped for the first three days and then when my boyfriend came we stayed in a double room. Guy at the desk was very helpful with information on what was on in the city and it was so easy to walk into town supermarket a bit expensive but very handy. We bought a van from a fellow backpacker at hostel and so the free parking was good. Kitchen small but had the basics. Friendly staff, clean, bit shabby in parts but everything else makes up for that. Would recommend this hostel to anyone.

I don't know why this is classed as a guest house rather than a hostel, just as much of a hostel as any other place I've stayed in really. I stayed here because it was the only hostel I could find in my guide with car parking close to the city centre. First impressions were bad, it was hard to find, chucking it down with rain the evening I arrived and their car park (terribly bad access) was jammed full so I had to park on the street (easier said than done round there). However a space was found, and when I checked in I was perfectly happy. It seemed to have an excellent atmosphere, up there with some of the best hostels I've stayed in -- some really cool people. I was only there for two nights but I made a few good friends, seemed like a lot of their guests were working in Wellington but that made them no less friendly to people passing through. Not brilliantly clean (I've seen far worse though), otherwise a nice place, and in my experience the staff were very friendly, however I didn't have reason to complain and I didn't deal with all of them. The central Wellington hostel I looked at was full of loudmouthed drinkers on their year out, this place also had plenty of night life but more mature and more my style -- I'd certainly recommend if the first sort of place doesn't appeal to you and you aren't a clean freak (if you are, what are you doing backpacking?).

Stay at this hostel every time I'm working in Wellington. it is a little run-down, and you wouldn't want to disturb the staff on a bad day. However, it's got the best 'community' atmosphere of any hostel I've tried in wellington (and over two years of occasional work here, I've tried most of them). Has about 50% long-term residents -- so if you're staying a while you'll get to know the locals -- rather than the endless stream of people passing though and on the piss you'll find elsewhere. Far from traffic noise, but close enough to the city to walk in to work, or for a feed. By far the best of a mediocre lot!

Dirty, smelly -- unwashed sheets. Everyone I met said the same thing. The worst place I stayed in.

There are no words to describe how appalling this entire hostel is. Nothing is clean there, not the kitchen/beds/floors or bathrooms. It's filthy, the staff are rude and unhelpful and I'm disgusted it's been rated by the lonely planet and is under the VIP backpackers card!

Dirty showers and toilets, miserable staff -- when you complain about the filth in the showers they bite your head off. The pots in the kitchen don't have handles. The TV is so small, you need binoculars to watch it.

Rowena's Lodge is by far the worst hostel I've been in my whole trip. There is no oven, few cups and almost no kitchen supplies, smelly refridgerators, cockaroaches, dirty unclean rooms with broken windows, unclean bedding and scary residents because it is cheap to live there long term. There is no security and when I was there a girl got 600 dollars stolen from her room. There is no way I would reccomend this "hostel" to anyone. Honestly, take my advice...pass on Rowena's .

We stayed at Rowena's on a family trip to New Zealand and it was wonderful. It worked out great for us. I'd happily stay here again.