The Hostelz.com Review
High on a hill overlooking downtown Dunedin, Elm Lodge is a hike to get to, but well worth the effort. It’s only a five- to ten-minute walk to the Octagon, Dunedin’s center, but it’s a twenty- or twenty-five-minute walk back up the hill, including two hundred stairs.
The hostel’s rooms are spread between three buildings, all sharing one yard. The buildings are close enough and cozy enough to feel like one whole rather than separate units. The atmosphere of all the buildings is more like staying in someone’s home than most hostels. In fact, the back house was the owner’s home until early this year.
The beds in every room sport new mattresses and pillows for a comfortable night’s sleep -- no foam pads here. There also aren’t any bunk beds to be found, even in the dorm rooms. Use of the hot tub and barbeque are free to all guests, and if you have a laptop you can ask to plug into the hostel’s ethernet network without charge.
The home-like atmosphere also often lends the common areas -- kitchen, dining room, and TV lounge -- a social feel, although this is not generally a party hostel. Since the majority of travellers to Dunedin have just come from the full-on nightlife of Queenstown, they tend to use Elm Lodge as a place to relax and recover for a few days.
The hostel’s rooms are spread between three buildings, all sharing one yard. The buildings are close enough and cozy enough to feel like one whole rather than separate units. The atmosphere of all the buildings is more like staying in someone’s home than most hostels. In fact, the back house was the owner’s home until early this year.
The beds in every room sport new mattresses and pillows for a comfortable night’s sleep -- no foam pads here. There also aren’t any bunk beds to be found, even in the dorm rooms. Use of the hot tub and barbeque are free to all guests, and if you have a laptop you can ask to plug into the hostel’s ethernet network without charge.
The home-like atmosphere also often lends the common areas -- kitchen, dining room, and TV lounge -- a social feel, although this is not generally a party hostel. Since the majority of travellers to Dunedin have just come from the full-on nightlife of Queenstown, they tend to use Elm Lodge as a place to relax and recover for a few days.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
August 2006
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Elm Lodge Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Very Poor Due to stay for two days and turned up to find no body on reception and no key waiting for us. An 'emergency' contact number was left but failed to connect!!! Have sent numerous emails requesting a refund and have been ignored or presented with rubbish excuses over why they cannot re-pay the money for the room. Very poor level of service and unprofessional. Least they could have done was admit they made a mistake and provided a refund. Would advise to stay away!!! — Anonymous , UK (2011-11-21) Best place i have ever stayed This hostel is the greatest hostel i have ever stayed at and this is my second round the world trip! It's clean, tidy, and it has loads of facilities including filter coffee! the staff are super friendly and made me feel totally welcome. i will definitely be back! — Alexandra , Scottish (2009-03-01) We booked a double room. And ended up in just that and nothing more. Bit of a disappointment, because it was so run down. Luckily we were very tired cause we took the Elm Wildlife Tour to see all the native animals on Otago Peninsula. Excellent! Up close and almost personal with Albatrosses, penguins, seals, sea lions. The communal area of the hostel was great -- so i think we just had bad luck with our room. — kiim - Belgium (2006-12-23) The big problem here is that it's up a hill. Not just a small hill, a gigantic hill that takes ages to walk up and is full of twists and turns and places to get lost. There's nothing in the area besides the hostel, so going out anywhere means negotiating the hill. Trust me, you'll hate the hill too once you get here. If you don't hate the hill, there's a lot to like at this friendly, cozy, homey hostel. Real beds (no bunks here!) with full linens and rooms that feel like someone's house. A great kitchen and backyard area. A cozy TV room with couches. Warm, friendly, helpful staff that also run and organize great wildlife tours in the Otago. Everything about this place feels like coming home, and it's fantastic for that... except for the hill. That's why I can't give it five stars, and why if I went to Dunedin again, I'd stay in the center of town instead. — Sarah (2006-07-09) Homely, clean, welcoming and an amazing DVD collection! I would definitely recommend this hostel. — Anonymous (2005-07-21) I'd done my exercise for the week once I walked up the huge hill with my 40-lb. rucksack. It is a lovely little hostel and had a good vibe — not my kind of vibe, though. It's a "let's stay at this little hostel and go on wildlife adventures" kind of vibe. It has a lovely garden to sit in, though. But next time I'll try and find somewhere in the city center, I think! — Lydia (2004-12-09) Great hostel. I stayed in the Elm Lodge Too just up the road. It's a great house, with a great kitchen and rooms. Maybe it's a little bit cold, but it's in a good spot. — Alex (2004-11-27) This was the best hostel I have stayed at in years. It had brilliant views, helpful staff, and was always tidy and clean. — Anonymous (2004-07-27) It's situated on the highest hill in town (at least it feels like it if you have to walk all the way up!), and even in winter it is normally fully booked. It's a pretty noisy spot with ramshackle beds and a dirty kitchen. Some people like it, but in my eyes, it was just run-down. There are definitely better places in Dunedin. — Anonymous (2004-04-22)