Hostel New Zealand

New Zealand Hostel

hostel

For tourists with packs on their backs, in search of a clean, comfortable and affordable hotel or youth hostel, where they can find other tourist to converse with.  New Zealand is the place that provide all that and even more. Their clean, comfortable lodges are usually owned and managed by individuals and backpacker’s network.

Depending on the depth of your pocket, you will get a variety of rooms to choice from the hotels, some offer dormitory rooms- mixed and single sex, single rooms, double rooms and twin rooms, Usually you will get a shared bathroom and kitchen .You can also unwind at their communal dinning and living room and meet other tourists with whom you can share your experiences.

These hotels also offer laundry facilities and would provide you with clean bed linen besides other inventories, though some tourists prefer traveling with their own sleeping bags. The choices are as many as the stars.

 

Backpacker Hostels New Zealand

Backpacker’s hostels are traditionally boarding houses for travellers. They provide affordable accommodation in an informal and very social setting. The growth of the tourism industry over the past ten years has seen a dramatic rise in the number of hostels being established. These days, franchised backpacker’s dwellings are just as common as those that are individually owned and operated.

New Zealand’s hostels have a reputation for being clean, comfortable and good value. There are over 250 hostels located across the North and South Islands.
Hostels typically provide dormitory style accommodation, with up to twelve people sharing a large room. You should be able to request a single sex dormitory. Most hostels also provide twin and single bedrooms, and some have triple and quad rooms. The rule of thumb with hostels is that you are not renting a room, as you would in a hotel; instead you are renting a bed.

Facilities are communal.  Hostels usually have one large kitchen area that is shared by all guests and a communal bathroom.  Depending on the size of the hostel, there may be more than one bedroom.  Communal bathrooms are nearly always used by men and women – single sex communal bathrooms are rare.  Some single and twin rooms do have their own bathroom, but you will pay more for these rooms.

Some hostels have coin operated laundry facilities and/or a common room with a television and DVD player.  Other common amenities include a swimming pool, barbeque area, computer labs, pool tables and library.
Common areas generally provide copies of the newspaper, brochures on local attractions and information about job opportunities.

The International Youth Hostel’s Federation have a New Zealand presence in the form of YHA (which means Youth Hostels Australia, although they do service New Zealand.)  YHA form a network of quality budget accommodation.  Membership costs $40 for one year and gets you discounts to over 4000 hostels worldwide.  You’ll also receive a magazine subscription and discounts on insurance, Lonely Planet guides and heaps more.   A lot of places in New Zealand offer backpackers discounts for travellers with a YHA card.

Pro’s: Shared facilities make backpacker’s hostels a very social atmosphere.  Holiday makers are friendly and eager to share their knowledge and experiences.  Hostels are a great choice if you don’t know anyone and are eager to make friends.

Cons: Theft can be a problem in backpacker’s hostels, especially for people sharing dorms.  Many hostels provide lockable storage facilities.
Low prices, an informal, social atmoshpere and a variety of information and services for backpackers makes hostels a natural choice for travellers.

Hotels and Motels in NEW ZEALAND

The most popular of all accommodation types, hotels and motels are establishments that provide rooms for travellers on a paid basis.  A hotel or motel room includes a furnished, all purpose living and sleeping area and a private bathroom; these types of establishment don’t often have communal bathrooms.  Upgraded rooms may have separate living and sleeping areas, a kitchen or a balcony.

As a general rule, hotel rooms are more luxurious than motel rooms.  Motel rooms are usually rented on a per night basis (for example, by road trippers who need a rest), while hotel rooms are rented on a longer basis, thus providing a need for a better quality of accommodation.  The other obvious difference between a hotel and motel room is the cost.

Motel rooms tend to be basic; a television is usually the only added extra.  Hotels, on the other hand, attempt to provide a home away from home for their customers; and with facilities in hotels including restaurants, swimming pools, gyms and valet parking, sometimes they are better than your home!

Hotels and motels come in all shapes and sizes in New Zealand.  Franchises such as Flag Inns and Scenic Circle Hotels provide quality budget accommodation; on the flip side, New Zealand also has a range of luxury hotel chains, like Hyatt and Ridges.  You will also find a charming selection of character and boutique hotels.  Some are refurbished heritage buildings, while others have been custom built to suit the regional location.  You will probably find that the staff at these hotels are more knowledgeable about the local area.

New Zealand’s eco tourism industry is thriving and the range of eco-friendly hotels in the country is massive.  Qualmark has an environmental ratings system for such establishments, which considers the hotel’s policies and procedures as well as their impact on the surrounding environment.

If you’d like to rent a hotel room but don’t want to be stuck in a boring, boxlike room, consider some of New Zealand’s more unique establishments.  Ever wanted to live in a shoe?  You can at the Boot Bed and Breakfast in Nelson.  The hotel is shaped like, you guessed it, a shoe.  Hapuku Lodge, beautifully located between the Kaikoura Mountain Ranges and Mangamaunu Bay in the South Island, has tree house style rooms with gorgeous views all around.  And then there’s Woodlyn Park, in Waitomo.  Here, you can sleep in a 1950’s British freighter plane, a rail carriage or underground in a Hobbit-like hillside cave.