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Great homey feel
big rooms, friendly staff, and great location.
Blackcurrant Backpackers is a friendly and pleasant hostel. The building's design encourages guests to sit outside together and socialize.
The Location
Blackcurrant is only a few blocks from the Intercity bus stop, though it's easy to get turned around and walk the wrong way. By car, it's an equally easy turn off Spa Road. Look for the Pak 'N' Save and a "The Warehouse" store -- Blackcurrant is across the street from "The Warehouse" and one block from the Pak 'N' Save. The bad part of all this accessibility is that the traffic noise is terrible. Cars, trucks, and motorcycles are always roaring by.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Unusually, Blackcurrant Backpackers has the design of a motor court motel -- think Motel 6 or Econo-Lodge. All the rooms have two entrances, a front entrance from the parking lot and a back entrance with sliding glass door. Only the back entrances are in general use, though, because the traffic noise is so bad near the front. Some people with cars put up with the noise long enough to bring their luggage in by the front door.
All rooms are ensuite, with a full-sized bathroom and a nice, large shower. Each main room is large enough for two double beds; in the dorms, this space is filled by four non-bunked twin beds. Private rooms (single and doubles) have their own refrigerators. The rooms have many electrical outlets, and the Global Gossip Wi-Fi works in most if not all rooms. Three kiosked computers are also available.
The downside of the sliding glass doors is that room temperature fluctuates widely. Rooms can be cold at night, but hot in mid-afternoon when the sun shines in. All rooms have heated mattress pads, and a space heater is available. There's no air-conditioning, so most guests leave their windows and even their doors open during the day in summer.
Common Spaces
Rooms are in two buildings separated by a garden, with trees and picnic tables. During daylight hours, at least while we were there (in February), most guests preferred to sit in the garden or on the deck outside the kitchen. There is quite a lot of chatter and noise from suppertime until 10 or 11 p.m., but after that things quiet down.
Besides the garden, there is a small lounge next to the kitchen and a larger lounge (the DVD lounge) downstairs. The DVD lounge has a large television, though it apparently does not receive broadcasts. People who want to talk and make noise after 11 p.m. are asked to go inside to the DVD lounge.
The kitchen is well-equipped and has herbs and spices, but one of the gas burners is acting up and the oven door has to be held shut. The kitchen closes at 10 but those who want to use it at other times can request a key from reception.
Summary
Blackcurrant Backpackers is an excellent value for money, and if the traffic noise weren't so bad it would be truly exceptional. We enjoyed our stay.
Excellent, friendly staff, intimate.
The last of refurbishments was completed during my stay, and our room was brand new, clean, and very comfortable. Fantastic staff made our stay very pleasant. We stayed an extra two nights in fact, as we found it hard to leave! Great new kitchen and top advice from office staff. Stay here -- it's awesome!
Blackcurrant Backpackers is a cheap hostel that should be used whenever some of the nicer and prettier hostels in the area are full. It performs adequately in most ways, but lacks anything extra or memorable or frankly worthwhile. It isn't a bad hostel -- it just doesn't stand out in any way and everything is fairly mediocre. Use it as a backup option when others are busy.
The Location
Blackcurrant is in a great location that is close to everything in town, but far enough away from the bars and action that it isn't too loud at night. The travel center and i-site are a three- to five-minute walk down the street and anything you need (groceries, cinema, pubs, lake) is within seven minutes at the most.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorm rooms are very plain with little or no decoration anywhere other than the occasional section of wall painted gray. Each room has a sliding glass door and a shared balcony of sorts, which creates a very comfortable feel within the room. Most of the dorm rooms have no bunk beds, which is a rather nice change from most hostels. There are no lockers within the rooms, but since five or six people is the largest dorm room, your belongings still feel secure. They have the option of singles/doubles/dorms or anything in between.
The bathrooms, again very plain, are adequate and certainly not spectacular. Water pressure is acceptable and there is space to hang your towel, but little else. They are clean and have more or less everything you'd expect from a normal bathroom. Most of the dorm rooms have private bathrooms and since there are only three or four other people using them, they're quite clean for the most part.
Common Spaces
Common space are nothing special. The standout is the nice small courtyard with picnic tables and grass and trees, but everything else is quite small and less than desirable. The sole TV looks like it is from 1989 and can't be properly seen from more than ten feet away. There is a book-share (technically) with about thirteen books nobody born in this millennium would enjoy reading. The kitchen is quite small (with two sets of stoves and an oven), but since the place itself isn't very large it never seems too overcrowded. That's about all there is in terms of common spaces and so it makes you want to spend time doing things outside of the hostel or in your room, which can be a good thing, especially in such a wonderful place like Taupo. The people staying there are just like the people staying everywhere else -- friendly, foreign, and cheap. It is definitely not the party hostel of the area, but was still social enough to remain entertaining.
Summary
Blackcurrant is a nice enough place overall. There are many places in Taupo that are better and possibly a few that are worse. It is often the last hostel to fill up so if you can't find room elsewhere, look here. The staff fall into one of two categories. They are either foreigners working for a couple weeks who are very friendly, but know very little. Or they are locals and thus very knowledgeable, but for whatever reason angry at life and not as helpful as you'd expect. The hostel is reminiscent of a cheap motel with more people in your room, but the cheap rates are still worth a gander if you can't find room elsewhere.
I stayed here with my friend for four nights. Burkes is an awesome place to stay! The staff was very friendly and helpful (cheers John) -- the facilities were really nice, and the grounds were really clean -- really good prices, i mean what more can i say! I Love Burkes, and i would recommend it to anyone. I'll definitely be going there again!
The girl that took our booking wrote it on the wrong day in the diary. Luckily there was another room available, and she upgraded us for free. There was free soup in the evenings for hostel patrons. And a old but comfortable lounge area with a free pool table. We met a very nice couple from the U.K. and a group of about ten of us cramped into the lounge to watch the finals of the Amazing Race.
Very friendly staff and I met loads of people there, who I still keep in contact with. Worth a look.
I found the rooms small and walls very thin. We had a quiet bunch of Japenese girls next door, yet we heard every word and got little sleep. To be fair they were very quiet compared to some neighbors we had. We had a longer walk to the action than the other backpackers too! I much preferred the downdown backpackers. Even though it was a bit rougher with the trout bar upstairs and relaxed atmosphere. After all, you are only passing thru and the holy cow dance on the tables bar is around the corner full of kiwi exp. bus girls and boys fresh from europe doing what you should while in town...having fun!!!
Great Hostel in a good location right in town. Rooms were wicked with bunks similar to what I've seen while travelling. Atmosphere was a tad dead during our stay but I'd expect it to be much better during the ski season.
When we arrived. The lady was very friendly and very helpful. She showed us to our room and gave us the keys. And showed us things were, in our room it was clean, tidy, and fresh, nicely presented. With small kitchen, and bathroom area, I will highly recommend Finley - Jacks, Taupo. To our family and friends it's very reasonably priced, welcoming people, we have a wonderful stay.
Really cute hostel, love the bunk beds, felt really secure. Room got a little hot at night, but we could open a windy for some fresh air.
Clean comfortable....excellent hot showers...comfortable and social communal areas. Went to Taupo to do some tramping ..excellent crash place ...will return
I stayed with my small children for a couple nights and they had a great time. No one complained about their playing in the courtyard and they lived in the hammock. Our room was incredibly clean and spacious. Great location, easy to walk everywhere.
Great location, dorm beds have a privacy blind and heaps of space for your luggage. Toilets and showers were really nice and the kitchen was massive. They have a cute dog as well!
The room was clean, warm. Great location. Clean bathrooms and friendly staff. Would definitely stay again.
Great Value - Excellent location close to everything - great facilities. Buzzing atmosphere - very clean. Easy access in and out. Will frequent again.
Finlay Jacks was awesome.
Was given local advice on activities to do when I checked in by a young woman.
Even showed me her awesome self contained van (Taylor).
I stayed in a 10 bed dorm with a bathroom but they also have multiple communal showers/toilets also.
Communal kitchen was thoroughly cleaned daily.
Receptionist was even getting up in every nook and cranny and giving the windowsills a good clean.
Shout out to the hostel dog "Biggie" super awesome little guy.
Overall great stay!
Awesome hostel, bigger than expected. Great facilities, rooms were fine, walking distance to the lakefront and nearby restaurants. Very close to the supermarket - would definitely stay here again!
I stayed two nights in a single room; the room was narrow & small but adequate for me for a short stay.
I would suggest a shelf on the wall at the foot of the bed for backpack &/or suitcase.
In the Dining room there is a black board showing eating places; street names for locations would be useful & perhaps "calling cards" from the places.
I stayed at Finley Jacks during COVID-19 season, so it was hard to judge the atmosphere - although it looked like a really nice spot to be if things were busier. I was pleased with the large, well equipped kitchen that came packed with about six gas-top ovens and heaps of fridges. The pop beds were good and comfy, with storage space inside the pop for a small bag. If one thing could be improved, it would be to add storage space in the rooms. Location was awesome!
Couldnt rate this hostel enough, the staff Nina and Finn were amazing! The sleeping pods were spacious, bathroom and facilities were cleaned everyday. Really friendly vibe, big communal kitchen with everything you could need , piano in a common room is a nice touch. Tons to do in Taupo, hostel can help you plan your days. Will definitely be coming back!
We do loved the place. and will surely come back! nice ambience, and staff!
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Overall, the hostel is good. The staff members are gentle and helps when is necessary. The kitchen is quite good. Even so, we did have space to pack our stuff there, lucky us we had another fridge next to our room. We would definitely recommend this hostel. Thank you ;)
Bed sheet was covered in hair but staff were very apologetic and sorted the issue.
Overall good location and value for money.
Thank you we enjoyed our stay. Awesome staff looked after us nice and close to town. Would stay again .
Easy good stay.
It was unfortunate that there some very noisy children staying when I was there as the rooms are not sound proof. I was woken up by them running up and down the stairs outside my room at 6am. The hostel itself is lovely, lots of areas to chill with beanbags and seats outside. Theres lots of free parking right outside too!
Great hostel, ample parking, clean facilities, walking distance to everything and Biggie!!
Address: 20 Taniwha Street, Taupo, Waikato, New Zealand
Family-Friendly Hostel
Solo Traveller
Bedsheets
Luggage Storage
Parking
Wi-Fi in Lobby/Commons
Bike Rental
City Tours
Towels
BBQ Grill
Board Games
Book Collection/Exchange
Clothes Dryer
Concierge/Info Desk
Credit Card Payments
Entirely Non-Smoking
Evening Entertainment
Gameroom
Hair Dryers
Hot Showers
Kitchen
Laundry
Lounge Area
Movie Library/Rental
Pool Table
TV
Table Tennis
Videogames
Wheelchair Accessible
Service Animals
Max. Age: All Ages
Checkout: 10:00 (10 AM)
Curfew: No Curfew
Lockout: No
Minimum Stay: 1 night
Open Dates: All Year
Reception Hours: 8.30am - 8pm (we are available until 10pm)
Size: Medium (30-60 beds)
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