Surf 'N' Snow Backpackers

Big rooms with enough space for your luggage, big windows with ventilation and rooms smell good. Very central of Auckland that always help and really near to train station. Toilets where clean and in the kitchen good environment of people. Staff really nice too. Good price, highly recommend it. I would come back.

Let’s clear a few things about Surf’n’Snow backpackers. Yes it is true it is an old and not building with rooms that are not renovated. Yes it is true that bathrooms seldom might get dirty. HOWEVER, this comes down to two things:1. The quality of the average guest that the hostel receives, and2. The average price per night, which means that the management runs on a tight budget BUT at the same time tries to make everyone happy.So far, I have stayed in this hostel overall for about 2 months. For this price, you definitely get MORE than what you pay for.The staff and the management are very friendly and will do their best to accommodate you, should you have any need or any request. The hostel manager (Pablo) always has been very friendly and nice to me, and, from what I can see, to other guests as well. All the Receptionists are also nice.Bonus point for the location, which cannot get more central than this.The staff does their best to keep the facilities clean and tidy, as far as I know there are two daily cleaning shifts. The bad reviews on here left by others are due in part to old kitchenware/ furniture/ utilities/ facilities, and in part to, as I said before, to some of the guest, who, let’s say, “do not love” personal hygiene too much.For my personal experience I can say, you get the bang for your buck. If you are looking for a better place to stay, it’s fine however be ready to spend at least double the money per night.Long story short: if you’re on a tight budget or are looking for a central place where to sleep, then most definitely this place suits you. If deep cleanliness and new facilities is what you are looking for, then yes, there are better yet more expensive accommodations around Auckland CBD.

Check out of the hostel that I stayed for the past few days. As I shared with multiple friends of my initial decision to cancel after reading the review, I came to see for myself after checking that the room is non refundable.In my honest opinion, this hostel being one of the lowest rated hostel in Auckland, do not deserve the bad rep it gets online. Maybe in the past during covid period things was difficult. I had the chance to try two different room in this hostel. I do not see bed bugs in both room, the room is not the cleanest on the floor beneath the bed, but I can say this is the same for some big names that I've stayed in fancy places too.The kitchen and toilet area are cleaned at least twice a day. The WiFi is decent. The hostel has lift! The location of the hostel cannot be matched for being smack right in middle of cdb and reallllllly accessible by foot and bus everywhere.I have not felt unsafe in the area. This is a bonus.All in all, I would come back to stay in this hostel in the future for the value of what I get vs what I've paid.

We booked a room for ourselves and it was fine. It was quite big and spacious but besides that I have not a lot of other good things to say. Maybe that the staff was really nice, but that’s it. The bathrooms were ok (not really clean), but the kitchen was horrible. We tried to avoid it as good as possible but it was just really dirty and crowded. The lounge wasn’t big either. All in all for the price it was fine but wouldn’t recommend for a longer stay.

Having seen all of the bad reviews before staying here we were expecting the worst, but once arriving it seemed lovely and we weren’t sure why people had had such bad experiences. I can imagine in the summer it’s a different story as the kitchen is quite small, as are the social areas. But we went in mid April and it was great for the money and we met some lovely people. Would 100% stay again!

Much better experience than I expected based on old reviews; A lot must have changed since then. The rooms were basic but totally fine, the staff were very friendly and helpful, and the kitchen is pretty good as well. Cleanliness could still be improved a bit, but I felt totally comfortable with the level it's at right now. Absolutely the best you can expect at this price level!

This hostel is very gross. If you’re looking for something cheap, I would pay the extra $20 bucks and go somewhere else. After reading reviews about bed bugs I was very hesitant about staying here. However, we didn’t see any. The kitchen had cockroaches crawling on the counters. This hostel needs new bed sheets, as some were stained. The staff members were very nice, and Kyle woke up in the middle of the night to help us get our luggage which was in the storage room because the reception was closed. The only good thing about this place is the staff.

It was a disaster!We we're travelling as a family, 1 male and 3 females. Booked a 4 bed dorm which means we can have the room to ourselves.When we arrived at the property (March 2023), we were told that the room we booked was not available but we were transferred to a 6 bed mixed dorm. Currently, there are 2 men already occupying 2 of the beds.We asked to talk to the manager but he was away on leave. Reception tried to investigate what happened and found that the change was made last December 2022. However, we we're never told about it. No message or email.It was after 6pm and we we're tired. We we're defeated and decided to try it for a night but unfortunately, we did not feel comfortable being with strangers. I think I only slept for about 2 hours that night.

You get what you pay for…From the moment you walk in the door you get hit with a pungent curry powder mixed with sweat smell all the way up to reception, staff were extremely unorganised and made multiple mistakes when sorting out room.Once inside we Had noticed multiple things that were wrong with the room.The window had been left wide open lodged with a plastic bottle and rain had come in wetting the floor, dry wall dust spread all over the floor under the beds next to the seedy metal storage boxes they provide.The fire alarm in the window was covered with tape and stunk of cigarette smoke that was noticeable before even entering the room.6/6 Mattresses were stained head to toe with bed bugs crawling through everything, we ended up sleeping in our sleeping bags to avoid the disgusting beds and itching.The bathrooms were horrendous, toilet paper machines broken in 2/3 toilet blocks, the shower pressure is equal to a water fountain, not to mention the water is on the colder side of room temperature even on the max hot setting.Pubic hairs on the shower floors and sinks.The list could go on and on!Highly recommend staying away from there even as a last minute option.