The Hostelz.com Review
Kiwipaka Waitomo is located on the bus route of Kiwi Experience -- we don't have to tell you what this does to the atmosphere. The hostel consists of a few separate buildings -- the reception/restaurant/meeting room building, the dorm building, and several self-contained apartments.
The Location
The location is pretty neat -- it's set back from the main road directly next to some woods and some nice walking paths. It's really easy to find if you're traveling on your own wheels and there is plenty of parking space available. If you're more of a bus-tour person, you can catch the Kiwi Experience at the daily stop here. It is also convenient enough for some of the attractions -- the glowworm caves can be reached on foot as well as some of the tour providers. The further-flung tour operators can arrange transport to and from their facilities at generally no extra cost if you have booked a tour. It's also easy enough to walk into the village if you don't want to rely on the hostel's restaurant. Bear in mind, though, that the village itself doesn't have much to offer but a tiny general store and a handful of generally pricey cafes and restaurants, so bringing your own supplies wouldn't hurt.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The nicest thing about the hostel is its rooms -- they are bunk-free! Each room has four single beds and decent space to spread your stuff. Rooms are clean and well insulated, which is a good thing, as temperatures drop steeply at night. Unfortunately there are no security lockers, but overall security provided through key cards seems to be ok. All rooms have big windows, some allowing nice views of the surrounding nature.
Bathrooms are shared and separated into male and female and cleanliness can be dependent on whom Kiwi Experience has dropped off that day. Apparently bathrooms only get cleaned once a day, which isn't a lot considering the number of people that stay in the hostel.
Common Spaces
The common area reminds us of the youth hostels from school trips -- they are designed to fit in a lot of people and make cleaning easy, which means no frills at all and all stainless steel or polished wood. There is no actual chill-out area with couches -- only the dining area and kitchen, which feels rather like a canteen. The kitchen has big fridges to store food and utensils for cooking. Cutlery and plates, glasses, and cups have to be collected for a deposit at the reception.
The kitchen suffers the same problem as the bathroom -- cleaning once a day, which is not enough! You wouldn't want to be the last person to cook dinner at night there! The dining area is not as bad. There is also a terrace with some outdoor seating right next to the dining area. Internet computers are available inside. In the building with the reception, there is a restaurant and yet more outdoor seating, but the style is the same uninviting sterility.
Summary
It surely is a good place to sleep, thanks to good single beds and quiet surroundings, but doesn't have a nice atmosphere.
The Location
The location is pretty neat -- it's set back from the main road directly next to some woods and some nice walking paths. It's really easy to find if you're traveling on your own wheels and there is plenty of parking space available. If you're more of a bus-tour person, you can catch the Kiwi Experience at the daily stop here. It is also convenient enough for some of the attractions -- the glowworm caves can be reached on foot as well as some of the tour providers. The further-flung tour operators can arrange transport to and from their facilities at generally no extra cost if you have booked a tour. It's also easy enough to walk into the village if you don't want to rely on the hostel's restaurant. Bear in mind, though, that the village itself doesn't have much to offer but a tiny general store and a handful of generally pricey cafes and restaurants, so bringing your own supplies wouldn't hurt.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The nicest thing about the hostel is its rooms -- they are bunk-free! Each room has four single beds and decent space to spread your stuff. Rooms are clean and well insulated, which is a good thing, as temperatures drop steeply at night. Unfortunately there are no security lockers, but overall security provided through key cards seems to be ok. All rooms have big windows, some allowing nice views of the surrounding nature.
Bathrooms are shared and separated into male and female and cleanliness can be dependent on whom Kiwi Experience has dropped off that day. Apparently bathrooms only get cleaned once a day, which isn't a lot considering the number of people that stay in the hostel.
Common Spaces
The common area reminds us of the youth hostels from school trips -- they are designed to fit in a lot of people and make cleaning easy, which means no frills at all and all stainless steel or polished wood. There is no actual chill-out area with couches -- only the dining area and kitchen, which feels rather like a canteen. The kitchen has big fridges to store food and utensils for cooking. Cutlery and plates, glasses, and cups have to be collected for a deposit at the reception.
The kitchen suffers the same problem as the bathroom -- cleaning once a day, which is not enough! You wouldn't want to be the last person to cook dinner at night there! The dining area is not as bad. There is also a terrace with some outdoor seating right next to the dining area. Internet computers are available inside. In the building with the reception, there is a restaurant and yet more outdoor seating, but the style is the same uninviting sterility.
Summary
It surely is a good place to sleep, thanks to good single beds and quiet surroundings, but doesn't have a nice atmosphere.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2011
Their Description
Kiwipaka Waitomo Details
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great Was a great place to spend a night in Waitomo, the pizzas are incredible, and the big breakfast wasn't only big, it was HUGE. Must say the staff in the cafe were awesome. Definitely worth a visit. — Anonymous , NZL (2010-12-19) Noisy and over busy The facilities are good, and the rooms are clean, with helpful staff. But unless you want to share with noisy drunken Kiwi Experience people then this is a good place to avoid. I presume they sleep on the bus because they sure as hell don't sleep during the night. As well as the KE bus there was another coach load of happy travelers there the night we stayed. We finally got to sleep about 3 am, only to be woken up a few hours later when they all rose and made preparations for departure. To their credit the hostel staff were apologetic, and gave us a refund for the nights we decided not to stay. And I do understand its not easy to keep a hundred backpackers quiet. We moved a mile up the road to a quieter Hostel. — Bryan and Sharon , Scottish/Kiwi (2008-03-30) This is a large hostel and is used by several tour bus companies. The night I stayed three tour buses were also staying which made it very noisy both in the night and in the morning. The reception was helpful and the bathroom was fine, I didn't use the kitchen. There is not much to do in Waitomo beside the black-water rafting so I doubt people stay here longer than a night, which would explain why the hostel had no atmosphere. — Gillian , Belfast (2007-05-23) I dont know what is meant by "be warned kiwi experience uses it"! i was on kiwi experience and we caused no problems. This hostel is one of my favourites because of the location, there is this amazing walk through the forest and local farms you can do if you walk down to the park at the end of the road -- breathtaking. The rooms are nice, the bathrooms not so nice. the view from the room makes up for this though. The pizza place is awesome but quite expensive! about $28 for a large pizza, i mean we are backpackers! — Alex , Australian (2007-04-19) Wonderful place! We had a twin room. Quiet, relaxed among the countryside. Clean toilets, great kitchen and outdoor/indoor dining area. The restaurant has nice pizzas. — teddy bear , Hong Kong, China (2007-03-29) Fleas! had to get a refund for the night as was eaten by fleas! — Anon (2006-10-25) Stayed here in Feb 2006 to see the famous glow worm caves nearby. The room was huge and the hostel within walking distance of the caves. Ate in the restaurant attached (Morepork) which was quite nice also. Plenty of room for parking. Although, be warned, Kiwi Experience use this hostel. — Mark and Debs (2006-07-18) Clean and friendly. Great place to meet people before or after doing a spot of caving. — Anon (2006-04-13) Lovely hostel, well worth a couple of nights stay. Great downstairs cafe as an added bonus. The black water rafting wasn't really my thing but I'm glad I gave it a bash! — Sam (2005-05-05) SO QUIET!!! This hostel is really clean and relaxing. We had planned to stay in Waitamo for two nights but after doing the caves, that was it!! There was nothing else to do at all. The hostel was really nice. — Jodie (2005-01-06) Excellent hostel. Everything seemed brand new and barely used, probably because people are just passing through. No one really stays longer than a night or two because as soon as you've done the caves there's nothing much else there. Anywhere else this place would be packed all the time. — Monkey (2004-12-30) THE best hostel in New Zealand! It's in a small town but it's beautiful and relaxing with a bar just a short distance away. Great location for going caving at the Waitomo Caves — a MUST-do activity in New Zealand. — Anonymous (2004-12-12)