YHA Te Anau Hostel

The Te Anau YHA is a vibrant, colorful hostel, which makes it a great place to stay on your way to Milford Sound or to the area tramps. The walls are yellow and blue, covered with maps of the South Island and drawings painted onto the walls -- this atmosphere combined with the friendly reception desk makes the hostel welcoming and affable from the start.

The large communal kitchen has well-maintained, high quality appliances that do the trick for anything you need to make. The large dining area next door has many backpackers sitting together and enjoying the hearty meals they just made. Others lounge by the large log fireplace, playing games from the game cabinet, or reading books they just got from the book swap corner. Down the hall, the TV room always seems to have a movie playing, and the reception even sells snacks (including microwave popcorn). If you find yourself in need of an activity for the day, they have tons of information posted, and the reception desk is happy to help with recommendations and bookings.

The rooms themselves are unfortunately rather average. While certainly not cramped, they're not particularly spacious. The mattresses are rather uncomfortable, and the reading lights protruding from the walls are easy to bump into during the night. The bathrooms are nice and clean, with reliable hot water and good (but not great) water pressure in the showers.

This hostel is not intimate, but it's cheerful and bright with lots of information and comfortable facilities. It is a great base from which to explore Te Anau's myriad activities.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review