Yes – I was finally back at a Youth Hostel after such a long absence. To be honest, even $30 which I was occasionally dolling out for guesthouse in Myanmar is much more than I would usually pay for a room. So it’s kind of ironic that I paid $NZ77 a night for a double with en suite in Rotorua.

Well, no not really. I’ve been looking lately for hostels with doubles and singles so that I could have the hostel atmosphere, the access to cheaper tours and so forth, without actually having to spend the night in a dorm room. Truth is, in Australia and New Zealand it seems, those rooms are priced similarly to hotels. NZ$77 isn’t a raging bargain, but it is a decent price and that was for two people. Their dorm beds, currently by the way, go for NZ$23.

So it has a pretty groovy name, doesn’t it? So that’s somewhere to start. Receptionists were very friendly and extremely helpful, and could tie people in to all the different activates there were to do in and around Rotorua, with a small discount as well which is always helpful. There were coin operated washing machines and dryers too, essentially essential, and the kitchen was open and large, a good place to cook and meet other travellers.

The outdoor area is a decent size with a clothes line, the rooms basically circle the outdoor area. Our room, like most of the rooms, had a glass door facing in to the outdoor area. So yeah, not the best against sounds. Having said that, we had no issues from sound outside the room the four nights we stayed there. We did have issue from the room next door, and perhaps they did from us too. It was pretty easy to hear a normal volume conversation.

The only other real criticism I can level at the hostel was the double bed, and in all fairness that’s probably not fair. We booked a room with a double bed and that’s what we got. At times you forget just how small a double bed is. Which is pretty small. Towels were provided on request at no extra charge.

The location is decent. It’s not RIGHT in the centre of town, but Rotorua is not a big place and a 15 – 20 minute walk will have you right in the thick of it. Also, you are right next to a shopping mall with a supermarket perfect for self-caterers. There’s a little food-court in there too. When the mall is open – 9-5pm basically, you can walk straight through it to town which will shave five minutes of walking time off the journey.

The place is a great spot for meeting travellers and resting your feet. To get advice and discounts to different attractions. To self-cater and save money that way. The room is comfortable enough, but it’s not a hotel room so don’t expect that (because you shouldn’t). If you’re happy in a dorm, the rooms are four or six bed, so there are not too many people crammed into one room. I recommend it! J

Website – Funky Green Voyager

Andy’s Ratings

Value For Money – 3.5/5

Noise – 3/5

Cleanliness – 3.5/5

Friendliness – 4/5

Location – 3.5/5

TOTAL: 17.5/25 (70/100)

Thanks for reading! May the Journey Never End!