Haka House Rotorua — Hotel in North Island

Hm... This was my first time staying at a Haka House and it was a bit of a letdown. The dining and living spaces were nice.

ROOM

I was in a shared dorm and the room was tight. I'm not sure about other rooms, but the one I was in had one light at the edge of the room which did not illuminate the lockers on my side. I had to use my phone as a flashlight.

The bed was comfortable and I like the shelves at the head of the bed with a reading lamp.

At least in the building/room I was staying in... I'm not sure if you would really call them walls as it seemed unfinished. All through the night my roommates and I could hear guests who were talking at a normal volume in the other rooms. It was unfortunate as one of my roommates said they were participating in a race and did not get any sleep.

BATHROOM

I care more about the state of the bathrooms in the hostels I stay at. I'm not sure if it's due to the number of rooms or prioritizing private room over dorm room bathrooms, but it was not a great experience...

My stay was during their winter season and I imagine it would be much less pleasant during their high season if they deliver the same level of attention to the cleaning then. The bathrooms are tight as well with 2 toilets and 2 showers.

Both showers had balls of hair everywhere and I had to clean it up myself. The showers must have also been clogged down the drain as after just a minute of running water, half of the floor tray was filled... Idk about you but I don't like standing in shared shower water... The water also ran cold after a minute in one of the showers, so I had to hop out and move to the one next to it. It also had the same issue, but then it went either veryyy hot or cold.

From the afternoon I arrived to the morning at checkout, the bathroom had never been cleaned. The bin was overflowing with paper towel. There is also the lack of air circulation in the bathroom, and the windows are hard/impossible to reach to open. I'm sensitive to smell, so it was awful every time I had to use the facilities.

STAFF

They were friendly. However, staff was often in the backroom or elsewhere and it was hard to relay these concerns when they mattered. They do pop out from somewhere if you stand by reception for several minutes... or maybe I was lucky. I wish they had someone visible at all times during...

Let’s start with the pros: Location was great, rooms were clean although the bathrooms could do with a deeper clean as we found hairs on the wall (we had the double room) . The towels felt new and luxurious for a hostel, as did the sheets and duvet. The bed was comfy. The kitchen was large and clean.

Cons: unfortunately, it is impossible to sleep here. You’ll be taunted early morning by people leaving the hostel, speaking loudly and inconsiderably , slamming the exit gate which overlooks the majority of rooms. This is also an issue at night. This is a serious design flaw of the hostel. A potential solution could be that the hostel could do more by asking guests to be considerate when they check in and with more signage asking guests to keep their voices down whilst outside/leaving.

The double rooms are tiny and difficult for more than a few nights for two people due to lack of space. The rooms are also so hot and need fans or AC.

Parking- the hostel charge for their car park which seems stingy given it’s a hostel and many people drive. They also fail to initially mention that you can park for free by the park just 1 min walk away (instead promoting the paid car park option).

From a social perspective, whilst the hostel was busy I felt the hostel could have done more to bring people together socially.

Finally, staff only are on reception until 6. Be aware of this if you want to check in later than this as you may struggle to do so without notifying reception in advance. We heard one person late at night, trying to check in asking for help which no one was able to do (as no staff are around). Even during the day, we found that one of the receptionists would hide in the private office (next to reception) for most of the day, rather than be visible to help on reception.

I regretted staying here and...

Disappointing Stay – Avoid if Possible

My stay at this hostel was far from pleasant. Here’s why:

No Lift for Bags It’s shocking that a hostel with multiple floors doesn’t have a lift, and this wasn’t mentioned anywhere. To make it worse, I was allocated a room upstairs and had to carry over 30kg of luggage up old, steep stairs.

No Fan or Air Conditioning The reception was hot and stuffy when I arrived, which should have been a warning sign. My room was even worse—extremely hot, with only a small, barely functional window for ventilation. This is unacceptable, especially in summer.

Missing Essentials After checking in, I went for a shower only to discover the body wash container was empty. For a “newly cleaned” room, this was a major letdown. Providing basic toiletries should be standard.

Rude and Unprofessional Staff When I arrived, the reception was unattended for 15 minutes. When the staff member finally showed up, I greeted him but received no response. I tried again the next day and was ignored again. Not a single staff member managed even a fake smile during my stay. They looked angry, unapproachable, and clearly lacked training in hospitality. One staff member, in particular, was especially rude.

Faulty Heater The heater in my room was broken and stuck on, making the room unbearably hot. When I complained, the staff acknowledged they were aware of the issue but did nothing. Reception was closed early, so I had to hunt down a staff member working in the laundry, who told me there was nothing they could do. The next day, the receptionist feigned ignorance of the problem and finally offered me a fan.

This hostel was a complete waste of money and ruined my stay in Rotorua. It’s poorly managed, uncomfortable, and the staff lack basic courtesy. I would not recommend this...