Black Sheep Backpackers — Hotel in South Island

Notice for long-term residents

As many former residents of the Black Sheep have already described, this hostel owes all its positives to the staff, and all its negatives to the management.

Let me start with the positives:

1. The community here is very welcoming, and it’s really easy to make great connections!

2. The staff always does their best to respond to any request, with a good dose of kindness and patience!

Now, the negatives:

1. Prices that change overnight. The strategy of this hostel is simple → Raise the weekly rate by $50 each week, while making sure to stay just slightly below the price of other “acceptable” hostels. This constantly leaves residents facing the same dilemma: either stay at the Black Sheep and end up paying drastically too much compared to the quality of services offered, or move to another hostel—choosing between those that are good but way too expensive, or those that are affordable but lacking in quality. The feeling of being considered only as wallets by the management is unbearable.

2. Cleaning times and the opening hours of the kitchen (and lounge). The kitchen is cleaned at 10am, 1pm, and 11pm. For me, that’s way too many times when the kitchen is inaccessible because of cleaning. On top of that, it is completely closed after 11pm. So, if you happen to work in hospitality, or have any other late-night occupation, you simply can’t feed yourself. Same goes for the lounge, which closes at midnight—and since the hostel is connected from the outside, that leads me to the next point...

3. ...which is that it’s difficult to have meaningful social moments with other residents, as the constant feeling of being “kicked out” by restrictive rules is exhausting. And that’s such a shame!

4. The beds—especially the bottom ones—that look more like coffins because of their size than an actual personal space. Add the previous points to this, and you end up in a hostel charging you $350 per week while leaving you no space to actually exist.

5. Anyway, I’ll stop here, but if you’re looking for a place to stay, while the Black Sheep can definitely be fun as a tourist—especially in summer—I strongly recommend checking out other hostels that show more respect toward their guests.

PS: Huge love to the rest of the team who have nothing to do with these...

Hello there.. let me share my experience at Black Sheep Backpackers for a couple of days and if you have liked this property or still in two minds then this review might help clear it, I guess. I do not have any pictures as I don't picture pocket everything but I didn't find the property anything less than the pictures on their web page. I would say it is better than the pictures. It is one of the best shared properties that I've come across and it is on top of my go-to list whenever I'm solo in Queenstown. They have simple and fair rules which is highly recommended for smooth management, you may just have to align your timings with theirs, trust me this only brings a good order in taking care of everyone and everything at the same time. Next, I loved the staff who is friendly and helpful, I would say it is always good to speak to them prior to your stay about whatever your needs are and as per availability they may consider your requests. In my case, they provided me a preferred choice of bed and a safe space for luggage storage even after my checkout timings. I must say, the availability is the prime factor and it is solely up to them to fulfill your request. Lastly, few pointers below for quick read through:- Pros: Supportive and friendly staff. Great property to hang back n do nothing outdoors. Very handy kitchen. Clean bathrooms on all floors. Decent beddings and rooms. Personal security for luggage is available. All bathrooms and your room are accessible with your passcode only. So you have your peace of mind that your things are safe. Heaps of common spaces to sit, dine, chill etc. The place has safe & friendly vibe to it. Outdoor tub and sauna and other amenities. Close to city centre. All time surveillance.

Cons: Carry your ear/headphones if you want to cover your sleep from travel. Kitchen cookware are beyond worn out. Good if you want to carry your owns for longer stay. My 2 days were perfect with what was available. Your nearest drinking water supply can be a bit away for midnight drinkers especially when it is cold. No car parking.

I definitely love Black Sheep Backpackers.. I wouldn't write this long if I didn't like it 😀 and thank God found before the summers. Haha. Thanks for being...

I've stayed here twice, more out of necessity than desire (made the poor decision of booking accommodation in Queenstown last minute). If I had simply written this after my first experience, there would likely be a higher rating, but the second stay I had was much worse.

Firstly, the good: the facilities are clean for the most part, and the staff seems to be constantly cleaning something, so I suppose that's a good thing. The common area is nice to hang out in and the WiFi is surprisingly strong throughout the facility. The showers are nothing to write home about, but they are serviceable.

What really put me off during my second stay started with reception. When I got there, there was already a line of people waiting, which fine, I get that it's standard check-in time. The problem is that there was only one person working at the desk and they were dealing with someone on the phone. So naturally, the line just kept getting longer. If they were the only person working, then I would feel some sympathy, but there were probably 3-4 other staff members standing around, doing what I can only describe as being nothing. Maybe have one of them help out at the desk? I don't know, this just seemed so inefficient to me.

Next, the rooms here are very hit or miss in terms of temperature control. There are no fans or AC, so when it's hot, it really depends on whether or not you can get air flow in there. The first time I stayed in room 10, which faces the street and it was fine. The second time though, I was in room 7, which has windows that face into the courtyard of the hostel, meaning no air flows through. This resulted in an absurdly hot night. In addition, the guy in the bunk below me didn't shower, or had some clothes that reeked, and since the bunks are basically set up in boxes, I was just bombarded by the smell all night. Of course, this last bit is anecdotal and not representative of what you may experience, but it's still a possibility.

Overall, I would not recommend this place to stay if you're planning ahead. Sometimes, you have no choice, and at the end of the day, there are probably worse options, but I would avoid this...