Barnacles Seaside Inn - Hostel

I’d put it at 3.5 stars. The welcome was really warm, and although the house is old, everything was clean. The only things that bothered me a little were the curtain in front of the shower and that I couldn’t find a power point in the room. All in all, it was okay, and I’d stay again.

The beach right across from the hotel was the biggest plus, and free Wi-Fi was a bonus since many places in NZ don’t offer it. We stayed for almost two months and found it a nice place for the price. The staff were lovely, the amenities were generally clean depending on the other guests, and we got along with the other long-term guests. It’s an older building, so rooms can feel chilly in winter, and weekends can get noisy when some people aren’t very considerate of other guests.

The staff were great and the price was cheap. That was about all I liked. Our first bed was broken and felt like sleeping on the side of a mountain. There are no private toilets or showers, and the place is very old and dated, with creepy photos and decorations everywhere. There’s no TV in the room, just one shared TV. If you’re after a hotel, I wouldn’t come here.

The worst YHA hostel we came across. We had one night in #6 and then two more in #26. The double rooms had a bad funky smell, and the oven caught fire because leftover food hadn’t been cleaned out. After that, I wasn’t convinced the smoke alarms worked. Anyone over 6'4" has to keep bending or risk hitting their head in the kitchen. Parking is limited, with cars parked on the front lawn. The showers seem built for very short people, around 4 feet 6 inches. The fridges were set so cold they froze and ruined our fresh produce. There was also an older white lady who seemed to live at the hostel without working and took over the TV each night to watch American soaps.