All Nations Hotel

About fifteen kilometers after passing through the small town of Punakaiki on the West Coast of the South Island, (along State Highway 6), you'll pass through an even smaller town: Barrytown. There, on the corner of Main Road and Highway 6, is the All Nations Hotel.

Adequate for a backpackers, this hostel has everything you need, but that's about it. The accommodation is located in trailers in the lot behind the bar, and sometimes in busy summer months the hotel will rent the house next door and use some of those rooms for backpacker accomodation. They are nothing fancy but they get the job done, and many of them have a stunning view of the Barrytown coastline out of their window. The rooms sleep four to six people each, and beds are just about the only thing in the rooms but they get the job done. A flat sheet and pillow is provided for each bed, but if you wish to hire a comforter or sheets on a per-visit basis you will have to pay a few dollars at check-in.

The facilities are adequate. The number of restrooms seems to be quite small, especially when there are a large number of backpackers staying there. Lines for the restrooms and showers are not uncommon, especially in the morning. Furthermore, they are all in an outdoor setting, meaning that the lights attract bugs, so you may have a few "visitors" watching you.

The main shortfall of the hostel is the kitchen -- it's about the size of a small walk-in closet. It includes all of the cookware and utensils and appliances necessary for backpacker living, but lacks the square footage to pull it off. It is exceedingly crowded at times. Luckily they have an outdoor bar-b-que that guests can utilize to escape the crowds.

Dinners are available at the bar as are pool tables and complimentary coffee and tea. All of these are limited to times when the bar is open, however, which can be as late as 3 p.m. in the winter months. A TV room is available with a big-screen TV and DVDs are available at reception. The hotel is also only a ten-minute walk from the beach and a short walk from several other walking tracks in the area.

While it may not be the fanciest of places, one of the best parts about the All Nations Hotel is that it is very, very West Coast. It is owned by the two owners of the bar, who are happy to help with anything you should need. Since the All Nations is the only bar in town, it tends to attract quite a few locals, and on some nights it can be quite busy. If you like to chat up the locals and get a good sense of West Coast life, this would be a great place to do so.

So if you are looking for a real sense of life on the rural West Coast, hit up the All Nations Hotel for a night or two, spend some time on the beach looking for jade, chat up the owners, and have a beer or two with the locals at the bar. Just try to be first in the restroom in the morning.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review