Lake Tekapo Budget Accommodation — Hotel in South Island

To be honest this is more of a 2.5 star review, but since trip advisor doesn't allow that I'd go with the lower score. There was nothing Horribly wrong with the place, but there really wasn't anything nice about it either. We were in a shared dorm of 6 beds, since we booked last minute and all the private rooms were booked out. The room had no window you could open, though there was a small one on the ceiling that was not accessible and had no curtain (not the nicest with the full moon we had while staying there, it was like having a street light shine in most of the time). Keeping in mind that a lot of people who do backpacker places in NZ also do the walking tracks and come in not smelling the best (and with some sweaty clothes to spread around), not being able to air the room is a major down side. In addition to this the room was advertised as having one double bed, but of course there was already a single person who spread their things all over it and the owner simply said that we could take any of the remaining beds. I guess they are not obliged to deal with inconsiderate travelers, but they also didn't seem to care much. Apart from that the facilities were acceptable but not great either. Only three bathrooms (toilet & shower) for 5-6 rooms, which I sincerely hope weren't all 6 bed dorms. We never had to use the toilets in morning rush hour but 30 people trying to do so at the same time doesn't sound fun. On the other hand, we did find piles of soaked/dirty towels and bathroom mats inside due to using them later in the day. The shower cabin I tried was an entirely closed off cubicle that felt like being in a steam bath within 2 minutes of using it. The website advertised towels as included in the room rates, but we were told after arrival this only meant the bathroom mats. Everything else warranted a $1 "donation." The amount really is negligible, however this is direct payment rather than a donation since they don't seem to pass on the money to anyone else or make it optional to give them in the first place- so it should be advertised as such. The kitchen had all the necessary basics (big fridges, cooking utensils etc.) but was also rather small and lacking windows. The 'common area' consisted of a couple of couches placed in between the rooms & bathroom facilities. The only positive thing I could find is that there was enough space in the rooms themselves, with enough plugs and a shared table. The place is close to both the water and restaurants in the area, but so is everything else, so if you can I would recommend staying...

I’ve stayed in lots of backpacker accommodation so feel I have a pretty good idea of what to expect.||I was a little confused trying to find the place as it is part of the Motel and the backpacker sign is quite small. The backpacker accommodation is behind the ‘Greedy Cow.’||The price to stay here is pretty reasonable and it’s definitely handy to be really really close to the supermarket, cafes and shops. The standard of cleanliness was acceptable.||The hostel has most of the things you need but it definitely needs a refresh as a few things were broken or looked rather worn. Mostly the kitchen and showers.||The shower was very quick to heat up and refreshing. Unfortunately the two showers are in the same room as the toilets, which can mean waiting a while to use the toilet when someone is using the shower.||I was given fresh bedding which felt and looked very crisp and clean. The bunk bed had a comfortable mattress, but the bar at the end of the bed restricted me being able to comfortably lay down due to the short length for me. An average person would be fine.||There was enough room in the dorm and the door had a lock on it, although it was propped open when I arrived. I did arrive early though. I had plug sockets by the bed which was very useful but the Wi-Fi apparently is only good in the outside seating area.||The Wi-Fi was the only thing that really bothered me, the other things aren’t big deal. I needed to upload lots of photos and videos to my iCloud account to free up space on my phone, but the Wi-Fi is pretty much non existent. Everyone else also wasn’t happy about the Wi-Fi, so this needs improvement, especially in these modern times.||The lady at reception did kindly give me another Wi-Fi voucher so I could use more than 5GB (your initial quota), but it was more a problem of the Wi-Fi being incredibly slow rather than running out of data.||Despite the staff being helpful and friendly, I’m afraid to say that I do think there are better options available. I don’t think this place is keeping up as well as other backpacker accommodation for a...

TLDR; Facilities - standard, practical, clean. Management - unwelcoming, unfriendly, unreasonable, greedy.

We stayed at this accommodation for as 3 people. One of our friends joined us for a few hours in the evening and 1 hour in the morning - and for this privelege the owner demanded a full night's fee!

We are very mild mannered guests. To recount our evening's activitie: we played a game of Scrabble in the hostel, cooked dinner and made friends with a Japanese family who were staying at the hostel, chatted quietly for a few hours (we are very aware and respectful of others guests) and left in the early evening to go on a stargazing adventure in Tekapo's wonderful dark night sky reserve.

In the morning we awoke at 6am to meet our friend who reconvened with us in the hostel kitchen, a natural meeting point. As we are preparing to leave, the owner comes in and DEMANDS a full nights fee from our friend, $35.

We tried to be understanding and meet in the middle, offering him $20 for our friend's use of services (still too much, he used a few tea bags and a few hours chair space). This was unacceptable to him, he would not reach a fair, mutual agreement with us and even threatened to call the authorities. If we had been drinking or partying the night before I might understand, but frankly we had been perfectly reasonable.

This is no way to treat guests and run a business. The management are clearly a bitter, money hungry couple. I am absolutely appalled at the treatment we've received. Please spend your hard-earned money on any other accommodation inTekapo, don't give any more business to these greedy owners.

Thank...