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Reviews of Haka Lodge Taupo - Hostel

2 out of 5
Haka Lodge Taupo - Hostel
56 Kaimanawa Street, Taupo

Reviews

8.4

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 94 out of 219 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 81 out of 219 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 32 out of 219 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 9 out of 219 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 219 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

8.2/10

Amenities

8.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.6/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Simba Kevin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Allgood
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 16 Apr,2024
Thanks for the feedback

8/10 Good

Simba Kevin

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Clean and quiet
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Timo Hummel, Hostel Manager on 1 Apr,2024
Kia Ora Simba, thanks for your feedback

8/10 Good

Cyree

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Easy walk to town. Balcony view of the lake.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Timo Hummel, Hostel Manager on 1 Apr,2024
Kia Ora Cyree, Thanks for your nice feedback

4/10 Poor

Paula

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Nothing at all very poor service
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 24 Mar,2024
Kia Ora Paula, Thanks for your feedback, surprised to hear about this bad review considering you booked the wrong category and blaming us , if you look under your Expedia booking, you can clearly see you booked a eco double with shared bathroom .

10/10 Excellent

Finn

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 16 Apr,2024
Thanks for the feedback

10/10 Excellent

Anthony

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Basic accommodation, but very clean, and staff relaxed and helpful.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Timo on 18 Mar,2024
Kia Ora Anthony,Thank you for your feedback

8/10 Good

Susan

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Tired looking but a clean room
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Timo on 18 Mar,2024
Kia Ora Susan, Thank you for your feedback

6/10 Okay

Zef

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Staff were welcoming and friendly. The beds provided a reasonably comfortable night's sleep. The main lounge offered a selection of enjoyable board games. However, the lack of air conditioning on a hot night was notable. The kitchen appliances were somewhat unreliable, and the extended wait for shower access due to one bathroom being out of order was inconvenient. A blocked shower outlet led to an overflow issue. Given these issues, personally, I don't plan on staying there again.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 14 Jan,2024
Kia Ora Zef, Thank you for your great feedback.

8/10 Good

Callum

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 17 Jan,2024
Thank you for your feedback

10/10 Excellent

Callum A

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Fantastic location, affordable rooms and very well located. Clean and comfortable room that perfectly suited our needs. Extremely recommend
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 16 Oct,2023
Kia Ora Callum, Thank you very much for your feedback . Haka Taupo Team

4/10 Poor

Madhav

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 16 Oct,2023
Kia Ora Madhav,Thank you for your review.

6/10 Okay

CHRISTINE

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 30 Aug,2023
Thank you for your review

10/10 Excellent

Luc

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Brilliant location and facilities. Really enjoyed the stay.
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 30 Aug,2023
Thank you for the great review.

4/10 Poor

WEI CHINN KEITH, Singapore

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Although I had prepaid my stay through Expedia, the accommodation charged my credit card after I had checked out. I had to contact Expedia to get a refund. However, through no fault of mine, I have been hit with a SGD9 (NZD11) loss due to credit card fees and exchange rate conversions for the wrongful deduction and subsequent refund. Because of this, I cannot recommend this hostel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 30 Aug,2023
Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. We will investigate this further to prevent this mistake happening again.

10/10 Excellent

Cassie

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Nice and tidy room, and easy to get to the center of taupo from
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from HAKA reservation Team on 1 Jul,2023
Kia Ora We’re happy you had a fantastic time with us! Thanks for your trust. We’re thankful for amazing customers like you. We hope to see you again soon!Ngā mihi,Reservations Team

10/10 Excellent

Robyn

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
How great to find a backpackers that is quiet! Great room, ensuite attached, comfy beds, fab kitchen.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from HAKA reservation Team on 23 Jun,2023
Kia OraWe are glad to have you as our customer. Thank you for sharing your kind words with us. It means a lot to us and our entire team! We look forward to improving our service over time and look forward to seeing you soon!Ngā mihi,Reservations Team

8/10 Good

Kolovula

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
It’s good enough for pack packers. Quick response for my booking. May in the ads should say it’s sharing bathroom. Sorry but I didn’t like noises people still walking around in the nighttime.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo on 21 May,2023
Kia Ora Kolovula,Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. I’m so sorry to hear you had a frustrating experience. We apologize that our service did not meet your expectations. Your comments allow us the opportunity to do better. We are looking into the issue and hope to resolve it promptly. Please do not allow this isolated incident to stop you from giving us another chance.Ngā mihi,

10/10 Excellent

Wilfredo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo on 23 Apr,2023
Kia Ora Wilfredo,We’re happy you had a fantastic time with us! Thanks for your trust, we’re thankful for amazing customers like you. We hope to see you again soon!Ngā mihi,Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo on 17 Apr,2023
Kia Ora We’re happy you had a fantastic time with us! Thanks for your trust, we’re thankful for amazing customers like you. We hope to see you again soon!

6/10 Okay

CHA MEE

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beware there are not enough car parks and the management should have allocated car park to the unit.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Timo Hummel, Lodge Manager on 29 Mar,2023
Good Morning Cha Mee, Thank you for staying with us. Thank you for the good feedback, we don't allocate parking as we have free parking around the whole property so there are always plenty of car parks available on several streets.

8/10 Good

Charles

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
All ok for our time there.
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo on 26 Mar,2023
Kia Ora We’re happy you had a fantastic time with us! Thanks for your trust, we’re thankful for amazing customers like you. We hope to see you again soon!Ngā mihi,Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo

10/10 Excellent

Madison

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo on 22 Mar,2023
Kia Ora We’re happy you had a fantastic time with us! Thanks for your trust, we’re thankful for amazing customers like you. We hope to see you again soon!Ngā mihi,Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo

10/10 Excellent

Thomas S

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Handy to town but quiet enough. Plenty of indoor and outdoor spots to eat and loaf.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo on 22 Mar,2023
Kia Ora We’re happy you had a fantastic time with us! Thanks for your trust, we’re thankful for amazing customers like you. We hope to see you again soon!Ngā mihi,Reservations Team Haka Lodge Taupo

8/10 Good

Jeanette

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 3 Jan,2023
Kia ora Jeanette, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, We are glad you enjoyed the location and hope to welcome you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

Annalie

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 14 Dec,2022
Kia ora Annalie, Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful review - we hope to welcome you again soon. Nga mihi

6/10 Okay

Jono

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
I waited at least 10mins for service as the staff member folded sheets nearby. He must’ve seen me!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 27 Sept,2022
Kia ora Jono, Thanks for taking the time to share your review, We are sorry you felt that you were not attended to straight away, I am sure our staff member came as soon as he saw you. Nga mihi

10/10 Excellent

Madhav

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 19 Sept,2022
Kia ora Madhav, Thank you for your lovely review, We hope to welcome you again soon. Nga mihi

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stay away!
Bed bugs!!
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 8 Sept,2022
Kia ora, When bed bugs were reported to us by you, We stripped everything, washed linen, checked mattress protectors, blocked the room and JAE Pest-control fumigated the room and confirmed no traces of bedbugs. If you would like to discuss this further please give us a callNga mihiWe blocked the room, fumigated the room by JAE Pestcontrol, they confirmed no traces of bed bugs.Most customers refused to help investigating apart from 2 pax , they stayed previously at Rock Solid backpacker in rotorua which still has not replied to any phone calls or email I sent. Also Turangi River Lodge was notified but they had no signs of bed bugs after their investigation.We treated the 2nd room with Kiwicare Bed bug prest control and a pesticide bomb as they were no signs again .Likely were mozzie bites , all our outdoor lights are on during nights and by the windows and ceilings are full of dead flies pretty much daily....so we will get those complaints again a lot dring spring

8/10 Good

Sandy

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Liked the tidy clean property. only trouble was while on crutches the room was up two flights of stairs, however I hadn't mentioned that at time of booking and I wanted a self-contained with bathroom
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 26 Jul,2022
Kia ora Sandy, Thank you for taking the time to share your review, Apologies, you are right there are a lot of stairs on our property. We hope that it wasn't too much of a hassle for you. We hope to welcome you again soon.

8/10 Good

Carlos

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Had a very good stay, staff were very friendly and had good facilities. The only thing I’m gonna say is if you are in rooms 24-29 there is parking near the rooms but you got no access to the parking and would have to walk out of the property then walk around to get to the parking there. We used the main parking which is still a bit a of a walk. Also there is limited parking and when we came back from when we went out there were no parks available. Apart from that I did enjoy my stay with the Haka Lodge
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 25 Jul,2022
Kia ora Carlos, Thank you for taking the time to share your review, We are glad you enjoyed your stay and we hope to welcome you again soon.

10/10 Excellent

Jon

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The stay was excellent. Good Price
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 19 Jul,2022
Kia ora Jon, Thank you for taking the time to share your review, We hope to welcome you again soon. Nga mihi

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not for sleeping.
To start with the positives, this place has two nice, warm common areas with plenty of space to hang out and cook a meal. The people who work there are very friendly, and made our check in easy. However. For a hostel that has plenty of signs up saying it is not a party hostel and there should be no noise after 10:30, they sure did let a whole football team stay the night. What's more, they were spread out across the hostel so they stomped back and forth from room to room shouting. To the credit of the staff, they did seem to get ushered out of the hostel around 10:30, unfortunately when they came back at 3am there was little done to get them to quiet down. Even on a quiet night you can hear EVERYTHING in each room, so it's not a hostel for people who want a good night's sleep. We booked a private room, but half the football team was put in a dorm next to us so we were up all night. We could also hear the people on the other side of us snoring, and their text message alert, and their bathroom fan...you get the idea. On top of that the security isn't that good. The first night there was a random guy on the upstairs patio screaming into his phone at midnight. Not sure if he was staying here, but I felt uncomfortable having no way of contacting a night porter or other security staff to deal with it. Overall, I wouldn't stay here again. We had a similarly disappointing time at the other Haka Lodge, so I doubt we'd use them in the future.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 6 Jul,2022
Kia ora Anonymous, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us, I can assure you that we are absolutely not a party lodge. However, as all properties do we sometimes have to deal with noisy guests. I am sorry that you felt unsafe, we do have a newly employed onsite staff member who started yesterday and is available for any issues or concerns. Nga mihi

10/10 Excellent

JAYEL MICA

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Haka Lodge Taupo on 5 Jul,2022
Kia ora Jayel Mica, Thank you for taking the time to share your review, we hope to welcome you again soon.

8/10 Good

Bhushan

Stayed 1 night in May 2022

2/10 Terrible

Thomas

Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Not worthy of the name “Haka”
Cleaning staff came in before checkout time both mornings of my stay. First morning they lifted the curtain to my bed, then turned off the fan that was going for air circulation due to very high humidity over the weekend. Didn’t clean bin, either. Second morning they abruptly turned about as I rushed to close my bed’s curtain as I was getting ready for leaving by checkout time. On-site staff did not quiet down loud group smoking and carrying on until 1:45am on the Saturday night in the parking lot, echoing louder up into the deck towards rooms. Stay in top bunk was incredibly unrestful, as your face is in the floorboards for the unit above and there is no underlay to quiet down the movements of the rooms above you. Pillows incredibly hot and stuffy. Old luggage & clothing left in under-bed storage bay, not cleared out. Broken curtain (thrown in corner of room) for lower bunk made it unusable to avoid noise from upstairs.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2022
Response from Timo on 15 Feb,2022
Kia ora Thomas, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are taking your feedback very seriously and will have a look into our process in Housekeeping. Nga mihi Timo

6/10 Okay

Charlie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Nice walk into the centre of taupo. Affordable and shared bathroom and showers we're very clean despite being a backpackers.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2022
Response from Timo on 5 Jan,2022
Kia ora Charlie, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us, It's a fantastic location isn't it, we are glad you enjoyed your stay. Nga mihi Timo

6/10 Okay

Marie

Liked: Staff & service
Great staff from reception and housekeeping. Wifi signal was weak from my room so I used my data the entire time. Bed was clean but the floors and storage floor should be vacuumed.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2022
Response from Timo on 5 Jan,2022
Kia Ora Marie, Thank you for your feedback, Nga mihi Timo

8/10 Good

Sally

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Quiet, clean rooms
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021
Response from Timo on 1 Nov,2021
Kia ora Sally, Thank you for taking the time to share your review, We are glad you enjoyed your stay and hope to welcome you again soon. Nga mihi Timo

8/10 Good

Terry

Business traveller, Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Half the price of a motel
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021
Response from Timo on 12 Sept,2021
Kia Ora Terry, Thank you for sharing your review, We are glad you enjoyed your stay and we hope to welcome you again soon. Nga Mihi Timo

8/10 Good

Bo

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A couple having an argument at 3.20am outside my room! Website had inaccurate description of the kitchen facilities, which were better than expected. Also that kitchen would not open until 8am - found that out when I arrived, didn't suit - but it was opened by 7.30, which was good. Proprietor came quite soon after I locked myself out of my room, very kind of him.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021
Response from Colette on 11 Jul,2021
Kia ora, Thanks for your feedback - we do apologise for the disturbance that you experienced! We are glad you had an overall enjoyable stay with us!

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
An awful night sleep due to paper thin walls not leaving a lot up to the imagination.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021
Response from Colette on 4 Jul,2021
Kia ora Thanks for your feedback - we do apologise that you had this experience!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 2 nights in May 2021
Response from Colette on 13 Jun,2021
Kia ora, Thanks for your rating!

10/10 Excellent

Annalie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Perfect for our needs
Had a great stay in the Apartment at the Haka Lodge for the postponed Ironman 2021. There was plenty of room for all our Ironman gear so we didn't feel at all cramped. Huge spaces for the two of us. And the location is fantastic just a 5-10 minute walk to town so we mostly left the car behind. There were a couple of minor repairs needed to the taps and shower but only minor gripes and didn't affect our stay. We reported them to reception when we checked out so hopefully they get sorted :) We enjoyed it so much we've rebooked for next year already!
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2021
Response from Timo on 6 Apr,2021
Thank you very much for the great feedback. Yes we have replaced the kitchen tap and the shower head by now.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hostel is comfortable, clean and has everything you need and in a great location. I was enjoying the place until the 2nd night. I am an understanding person and can understand that with Covid, the hostel is trying to get as much business as possible. But we had to deal with a stag group that took up all the amenities of the hostel, had a brawl at 9pm, banging and screaming at 2 different occasions in the middle of the night and to add insult to injury, they also ate our leftovers and left the half eaten food for us to deal with. I was going to over look the partying even though my husband and I are tired from our 18km walk, but just the general disrespect that the group was made the stay really unpleasant. My only suggestion is that if the hostel wants to book groups as big as them, have them book the entire place as the group would be using all the amenities and disrupting other guests, leaving everyone else without the access to kitchen or outdoor space.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2021
Response from Timo on 2 Mar,2021
Thank you for the kind feedback.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Clean and tidy premise, shared facilities and utensils. Handy location to reach shops, activities or to the lake. Quiet time respected by all after 10:30pm. Easy check-in and check-out Very pleased with my stay will definitely return, thanks
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2020
Response from Colette on 4 Jan,2021
Kia ora, Thanks for the excellent review and rating - we are so pleased you enjoyed your stay with us! We look forward to welcoming you back again soon!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2020
Response from Colette on 29 Dec,2020
Kia ora Thanks for your excellent rating!

10/10 Excellent

Bruce, Wanaka

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent stay. Facilities and location excellent. Comfortable bed
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2020
Response from Colette on 23 Nov,2020
Thank you for your excellent rating and comments!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disappointing
Last stayed at the Lodge a few years ago so was looking forward to our return. Rather disappointed though. The budget rooms (all they had available) were tired and dowdy. The mattress was sagging in the middle, the bed linen was clean but grey and looked very unappealing. There are loads of other hostels in town with great reviews for comparable, or even cheaper prices. Haka Lodge needs to pull its socks up or it will get left behind.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2020
Response from Timo on 22 Sept,2020
Kia Ora, Thank you for staying with us & your great feedback, although sorry to hear you had a bad experience at the Lodge in Taupo.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice clean room. Didn't meet staff as I arrived late and left early. Was disappointed with the lack of respect for the quiet time hours. Was very noisy most of the night.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2020
Response from Timo Hummel on 9 Mar,2020
Hello, We are very sorry that we have had such a bad stay with us, we have many measures in place to keep the noise down after 10.30pm daily, I will look into the night report and the issues we had that night at our Hostel, again very sorry to hear. Enjoy the rest of your Travels