Garden Hostel

I got no sleep during my one night there. It was too hot, there was too much outside noise, and the place says it’s soundproof in the ad. There’s no air conditioning, just the option of opening a window. The room felt very tired and the beds were clean, but the place is old, like a converted office block, and needs new windows and a general tidy-up. The price was too high for what was offered. When I arrived there was no one to help, just other guests. Won’t be back.

I felt really safe at Garden Hostel. It’s in a commercial building, so you need a tag to reach the floor and a password to enter the hostel. The staff were super friendly and always willing to help. I also got lucky with a room overlooking the sea, which was a great bonus. Everything you need is a short walk away, and for me this was easily the best place I stayed in Auckland CBD. If you want somewhere affordable and quiet with welcoming people, I definitely recommend it.

The showers and toilets were the worst part of my four days there. They were filthy with long-standing grime, not just mess left from that morning, and there was rubbish and pieces of broken furniture scattered around. I didn’t see a single staff member the whole time. My bed squeaked so loudly that turning over woke everyone in the room. With a bit of time and money invested, this could be a nice hostel.

The location and relatively low cost were the only upsides. The bathrooms were vile, with stains, slime, hairs, water marks and mould everywhere. The kitchen was just as dirty, and the fridge was the dirtiest one I’ve ever put food in. I was half expecting whatever I left there to turn into some kind of lethal superfungus. The hall had rubbish and broken furniture, the bedroom floor was dusty, and the walls were stained. At least the sheets were clean. We saw no staff during our two-night stay, so there was nobody to let us in or help with problems. A bizarre, unpleasant stay. If you want to avoid picking up some unknown disease from the filth, I’d avoid it at all costs.