National Park Backpackers

Great place to explore Tongariro NP

Staff was very helpful but could be a bit better oriented in the area.

Hostel was great value and in a perfect location for going off to hike the Tongariro! I met a lot of other fellow solo travellers and there was a great atmosphere in the hostel - everyone was very friendly!

Wifi was a bit of an issue

It was warm

Bed wad like a trampoline it was so springy. We were in an outside room,so the gave us a key to get inside. But the lock was faulty. Only way to get inside was to go round the outside of the building. Not good in the middle of the night for toilet. Very dark

Staff always been friendly. My 3rd time staying here.

Need a good heater to warm the room in coldy nights.

The location was excellent, with good access to the national park and many walks for differing abilities. The pub nearby offered a fun game of mini golf and good food and Whakapapa village has a very useful information centre and wonderful dark skies at night making it a good place for stargazing.

We did not know we would be in a room outside of the main hostel complex, meaning we had to walk outside in the cold to get to the communal bathroom. Bathroom was untidy and only one shower worked properly, meaning there could be a wait, and with only three showers and three toilets this wasnt really enough for the number of guests. The kitchen was also filthy and poorly stocked, and only half the hobs worked properly again, long waits to cook. Furthermore, we were woken by a loud extractor fan being used in a secondary guest kitchen at 5:30am for two out of three mornings, with staff powerless to stop guests from cooking so early in the morning. One staff member chastised us for using the wrong bin somewhat unnecessarily, and then proceeded to speak loudly and disparagingly to another staff member about guests in front of us. Unfortunately the staff seemed unprofessional and poorly trained.