Downtown Wellington Backpackers

Wellington

5 of 17

Address	1 Bunny Street, Wellington North Island, New Zealand Map
Price	$23 Check Current Prices by Date Here

Location/Contact

Details

This is a VIP hostel. Show your VIP Backpackers membership card for a discount at check-in.

Their Description

Features

Kitchen
Lockers
24 Hour Free Hot Showers
Pool Table
Washing Machine (laundry)
Lounge / Common space
Travel information provided
Bar
Food/Restaurant
Gameroom

The Hostelz.com Review

The name is a bit misleading, as Downtown Wellington Backpackers is a good 15-20 minute walk from the main esplanade. It is however, directly across from Lambton Station, a major bus/train station that also connects to the Interislander ferry terminal.

The hostel is in an older highrise building and has several floors of various types of accommodation. A bar is located on the first floor, along with pool tables, a cafe, a common lounge/tv room, and a magnificent kitchen. The dorm rooms are clean, in good condition, and come ensuite. A buy-two-get-one-free voucher for the bar is provided at check-in, and a liquor store is only a 5 minute walk away.

Overall, this is a very good friendly hostel that has very good facilities, location, and atmosphere. But don't spend all of your time at the hostel, as Wellington has an excellent nightlife scene.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2004

Ratings & Comments

2.5 Average from 10 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.

Comment by Angel, Australian

January 2009

Old and rundown
The staff here didn't seem to care and took a while to check us in. They do not hold bags at reception, even for an hour so lockers have to be paid for. The was an elevator, which was necessary for the number of floors. The room was old but since we were in a twin, we were sharing a bathroom with just one other room. There is a cafe next to the kitchen that does breakfast. This hostel is not very close to the city centre at all.

Comment by Kat

September 2005

This old hotel is showing its age, but it was clean and well-maintained. The bar was loads of fun. Room are small and drafty (due to the hotel development trends of when it was built), but they were comfortable, clean, and hot water was readily available. On the downside, the kitchen food was not good.

Comment by Anonymous

July 2005

I got scabies here. I was not happy. Avoid.

Comment by Anonymous

April 2005

Do not ever stay here. It is filthy and creepy. And it smells.

Comment by Leanne Law

February 2005

AH!!! I shudder to think of this place! I booked two beds in a dorm because of its location near the train station and when I arrived I had to wait for ONE WHOLE HOUR to get checked in. The reason why I had to wait: there were about eight people filing complaints with the hostel. Some of them had dirty rooms, and others were being moved out of their rooms every day against their will! One couple was woken up at night by a staff member who "just remembered" that they had promised the room to someone else! By the time I finally got someone to deal with me, I had a creepy feeling about the place. Staff were sparse and overwhelmed and I had just the worst vibe. Then they said we never made a reservation (I had to go to an Internet cafe and print out the confirmation e-mail to prove it to them) and then they said that people in my beds hadn't checked out yet! It was 2 p.m. and the checkout is at 10 a.m.!!! Well that did it. I didn't stay there (even though they were reluctant to refund me the money!!!). Wellington is in short supply of good hostels, but you can't do much worse than this place. Too bad I can't give it a zero star.

Comment by Clare

January 2005

This place had a nice art deco style. The dorms were overcrowded hellholes. The double rooms were okay, if old and shabby. The bar is good — especially with free pool! The location is not so good. It takes about 20 minutes to get into the city center and there is very little nearby except the station and ferry terminals.