Alpine Lodge

Queenstown is built on some pretty steep slopes, but Alpine Lodge is in a great location as you don't have any hills to contend with on you five minute walk to or from the town centre.

The hostel has two lounges and two kitchens. The downstairs lounge and kitchen are at the heart of things, with a large open fire, comfy sofas, a TV, and a video player. The enormous movie library in the TV lounge is a bonus as is the free internet, but bear in mind that the computer upstairs is often less busy than the one downstairs.

The kitchen is clean but pretty basic with the essentials available, but not many extras. It could do with more than one sink though. The upstairs kitchen is much the same, but gets less use so there's more room in the fridge and less of a space issue at busy times. The upstairs lounge is a really nice space to relax. With no TV or music, it's designed to be a quiet area and it's a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Queenstown, or life in a dorm.

The bathrooms are large and modern, though some new bath mats wouldn't go amiss and some of the shower curtains have seen better days. Showers are hot, though some of the bathrooms are a little drafty. For a hostel of its size, there aren't a huge amount of bathrooms, and you may wonder why some of the larger bathrooms aren't split into smaller cubicles.

The dorm rooms aren't the most spacious and, whilst you should be able to find somewhere to lay your pack, there isn't much room to spread yourself out in a full dorm. The metal-frame bunks in the dorms are comfortable enough, though they are prone to squeaking. The top bunks can be a bit of a struggle to get into, especially if the end with the built-in ladder is up against the wall. The top bunks would also benefit from a small shelf for your water/alarm clock/glasses to stop them falling on top of the person below you in the middle of the night.

Queenstown has a bit of a reputation for being a party town and the hostel can get a little noisy at times. At the least you can expect your dorm mates to be trying to get settled into their squeaky bunks at intervals well into the wee small hours. On the plus side, however, this does mean that there is usually someone willing to party with you in one of Queenstown's many nightspots.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review