Haka House Taupo — Hotel in North Island

I am extremely disappointed with my stay at this hostel. There was a fly infestation throughout the entire place — in the kitchen, bathrooms, and even the rooms. Both alive and dead flies were everywhere, including on the dishes. It was absolutely disgusting. To make matters worse, there were no tea towels provided to clean or dry anything.

On the second day, the staff did spray to kill the flies, but they didn’t bother to clean up the mess of dead flies afterward. The kitchen was filthy, with grease and grime everywhere, and the cushions on the couch had visible stains. The overall cleanliness was appalling, and I would not recommend staying here unless you’re okay with a lack of hygiene and poor upkeep. Truly an unpleasant experience.

To make matters worse, the other building attached to the reception was so much nicer, which is honestly ridiculous considering all rooms cost the same. It’s baffling that such a stark contrast exists within the same hostel chain. This was the fourth Haka Hostel we stayed at during our trip around New Zealand, and the difference in quality between this one and the others was shocking. The standard here was far below what we had come to expect from the brand, and it really does a disservice to Haka’s reputation.

The other locations were well-maintained, clean, and comfortable, which made this experience feel even more disappointing. It’s frustrating to see such a drop in standards, especially when you're paying the same rate. This hostel definitely needs a major overhaul in terms of cleanliness and maintenance if it wants to maintain...

No hot water. Rooms below average clean. Noisey people.

All you want after spending a day on the mountains would be a warm shower. But not here, both nights we stayed, there was no hot water. I asked the staff and they said if someone is in the kitchen using the water it effects the showers (really not a good plumbing system clearly) so I tried 4 times to have a shower, even once everyone was in bed, kitchen was closed still no hot water.

Poor excuse for their explanation on hot water in their response below. My partner is a plumber, i'm pretty certain we know how to turn on a shower it went hot for 30 seconds then went ice cold, this isnt user error.... its poor plumbing **

The bed in the room was sufficient, not new and could feel the springs coming through. However, thank ful they provided a heater as that helped with the cold night. The sheets has some Mark's on it which really didnt bother me until I noticed under the bed. There was so much rubbish and other peoples belongings. There were socks right on the edge of the bed so if you had vacuumed in there youd know there was something under the bed...

The second night they had crammed a family with lots of young children into the room next to us. Thet were so loud the whole evening and finally when they went to bed they snored sooo loud we couldn't stand it any more.

We ended up leaving at 11.30pm and driving 3 hours home as we couldn't stand...

The rooms here are comfortable, they come with wooden frames built into the wall so the matresses can be moved and the person above/below cannot feel it. The mattresses are really comfortable and the sheets were clean. The beds came with individual lights and charging points which is incredibly helpful. The kitchen was nice and clean. Bathrooms are mixed which is never great, so more bathrooms would be preferable and separate would be nice. The bathroom doors slam too loudly, they need soft close options because staying in room 6 next to the bathroom, when someone used it the wall I was sleeping next to shuddered with the slam. The staff also need cleaning signs to place on the bathrooms to close them. First time I was in the shower and had someone hollar at me "I need to clean that shower next" which isn't appropriate to do. If it needs to be cleaned and the person is at the end of their shift, and someone is using the shower, just tell the person the next shift to clean it. Second time I went in to use the loo and the lady was cleaning one and the other was used so I waited and then she asked me to go use another one. So really if you're going to do this you need some signs on the doors to close them off to people. I do like this place but staff need a bit of training and assistance with cleaning protocols. They also had a lovely TV room to relax in that was really...