Haka House Wanaka — Hotel in South Island

Have been staying with the global YHA chain... i understood Haka took over the YHA NZ hostels. The place was recently refurbished! I'm loving their new brown oak - black metal style.

Now.. Haka Wanaka... Love: Location for sure - centrally located. Walking distance to New World supermarket... the park and the lake itself. Close to the restaurants and breakfast cafes if u dont wanna cook. Living - i love how the rooms are situated cabin-styled. Each room is its own cabin. Depending on what u book/ prefer, it ranges from 2 to 8 in a room. Bunk beds, love it.. u have ur own little corner with sufficient shelves and a night lamp. They pre-assign a bed to u. Which is quite okie.... so if u dont wanna climb up and down, best to let them know if u could be assigned to a lower bunk. Ensuite bathrooms.. the space is just nice. It has heating and a towel to dry ur hands. #ecofriendly #great Common kitchen, dining and relaxation spaces - love the concept. U can make friends and chat with fellow travellers or u can just keep to urself. No one really judges u on that. Theres HOT water to rinsing and "sterilizing" the pots pans dishes cutleries before and after use. I like how they have shared but differentiated spaces to put ur wet and dry groceries (in the fridge and kitchen cubicles). Im all for the idea to "donate" unlabelled food items or those that has been left behind to ensure #nowaste Laundry room! - standard prices across the HAKAs.. NZD4 each for the washer n the dryer. I loved that the clothes are well and completely dry after 1 cycle. They habe a laundry line to air the clothes too which i thought was very attentive (and thoughtful) of the staff.

Things that... could be improved: Common toilets in shared areas so that one do not have to keep heading back to the cabins. Light sensors in the dining room and ensuite bathroom. I understood the intention but it can get frustrating. It would be nice to enforce a "no shoes in the bathroom" rule. Quite meh to step on dirty water when u need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night just becuz u forget to put on ur shoes.. Shampoo n Bodywash not provided.. so do bring ur own. The cabins are disjoint from the main building. All good when the weather is clear but would be a problem when it rains. Would be nice to have umbrellas around for guests to use.

Thats about it. I had a lovely stay.. just thought i could share some ideas and thoughts. I have had 3 beautiful...

I stayed in Haka House Wanaka for 2 and a half weeks and I absolutely loved every second. The location was brilliant and the huge windows at the front of the hostel gave the best views over the park and lake. The layout inside the main building was a great size, really nice and social, but there were still cosy spots where you could feel comfortable relaxing on your own. The dorm rooms were great, with comfy beds and nice privacy, they were good sizes, had loads of storage and had nice, clean bathrooms. The kitchen had everything you needed and was big enough that you never felt too much in anyone's way! The ski locker room was great for storing my gear and drying my stuff every night. And the foosball table in the lounge was great fun (and brilliant entertainment when Ollie or Conor were involved ;) And best of all was the people there. All the workers are like one big happy family with just the best energy, and from the minute I arrived I felt comfortable, happy and at ease. Everyone was so kind and friendly and really included me so I felt like part of the family. I can't thank them all enough for making my time in Wanaka nothing but amazing. I stayed in a couple of the other hostels in Wanaka for a night or two but Haka was by far my favourite. I really really recommend staying here and I hope to be back one day in the not too distant future! Thank you Haka Family, I'll miss you all very...

This place was great the staff were helpful and the check in was easy and the room was very clean and spacious. The one thing was that the sink drained at an incredibly slow pace and so washing your face or doing your teeth became a lot of a longer thing - i was going to inform the staff but never really found a good moment when i was actually in the hostel and the reception weren't busy with other guests. The kitchen was very clean but sadly no free tea or coffee which was strange for a YHA. Although they did offer free vegetables home grown which was really great. There needs to be more toilets added because 1 in a room of 4 people obviously there is someone usually in the bathroom and outside there are only 2 other toilets which in the morning are usually very busy and there were ques at some points for showers and toilets. Lots of space to relax and chill with friends and places to read etc and yoga on Tuesday which unfortunately I didn't get to attend. I think this place is good but a few little extras like toilets, slow drain sinks and free tea are needed to make...