Punakaiki Beach Hostel — Hotel in South Island

I stayed in the House Truck for one night as part of a solo motorbike tour around the island. I was really looking forward to staying somewhere so quirky and I was not disappointed with the truck, except to find out that I wasn't allowed to cook in it. I had become used to making an evening meal and had bought some soup with me but there is a note saying to use the kitchen. Unfortunately it was extremely heavy rain and I didn't want to go out in that so that didn't work for me. Fortunately I also had a sandwich in my bag from visiting the cafe earlier so that was dinner that night.||||I was also disappointed that the promised bakery items mentioned on the website weren't available. I asked about them on check in and the lady just looked confused till I explained what I had read and she shrugged and said she hadn't had time to do any of that for ages and instead just showed me the shelf with some packet rice on it.||||I hate saying anything negative but as it is quite remote I think it's best to not rely on the baked items and instead pick stuff up on the way. I have seen reviews since that mention bread and biscuits so perhaps I was unlucky and had a stand-in staff member. ||||On the plus side, the location is awesome. The beach is right next to you and in the bad weather we were having it was just spectacular to lay in bed over the cab of the truck and watch the waves. Pancake rocks are absolutely worth a visit and the cafe next opposite it was lovely.||||I would absolutely go back but I'd just be a bit...

Do not book at this place; they have no compassion.||We were unable to fulfil our booking, due to the recent storm damage to the roads around the West Coast Glaciers, trapping our family of four and 1000 other tourists for an unforeseen amount of time.||I immediately called the staff directly at this property and they said I needed to appeal the “no cancellation” with Booking.com as the decision was “out of their hands”....||I then spoke to a lovely girl at Booking.com who understood our situation, and said she would open a case of appeal with the property, due to the unforeseen circumstance of this natural disaster. Booking.com then explained that the final decision would lie solely with the property, and any evidence supporting our situation (proof of being stranded in Franz Josef) would help my case.||I emailed through screen shots of our location as well as the road closures on the journeys.nzta website...... Foolproof proof.||After asking Booking.com to chase this up, they quickly followed up with the property and were told that they would not refund our booking costs due to the "no cancellation" terms, regardless of our situation.||Shame on them.||I had to cancel other accommodation due to being stranded (also booked through booking.com) and they ALL graciously...

I don’t know what that other review is talking about, we just stayed in sunset cottage at the hostel and loved it! Have stayed in a lot of hostels and this one is up there with the vibe of the National park village YHA or Byron bay YHA. Was super chill and quiet, the cottage is right by the beach and you can literally watch the sun set from the private deck, or from the decking outside the communal kitchen. The wooden furnishings are gorgeous and yeah the decoration is a bit older but it’s been kept in good condition and we shouldn’t need places to redecorate every 10 minutes. How unsustainable. The facilities in the cottage are great, really good wifi connection, a cute little sink/kettle/dishes area, amazing amazing rainfall shower and you can watch the waves crash on the rocks while you shower too! They’ve got a chromecast but you shouldn’t need it punakaiki has so much amazing stuff to see and do. We were nervous about coming here during peak season but it’s been so chilled here- such...