BUG review
The Whakatane is an old hotel right on The Strand, across the road from the information centre and bus stop. The hotel itself feels pretty worn out and lacks charm, but there are party opportunities right underneath your feet. An Irish pub, the Craic, is directly downstairs, and a couple of doors down is a massive party bar called The Boiler Room. The Kiwi Experience bus stops here, so there’s a built-in crowd of backpackers ready to roll, but there’s really not much of a hostel feeling to the place itself. A small kitchen and sparsely furnished TV room are there for guests to use, as well as a balcony with views of the waterfront, but most of the action is outside the hostel.
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Price Dorm bed $20 Single room $30 Double/twin room $50 Prices are in New Zealand dollars and are inclusive of all taxes.
Credit cards American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa
You must be the right person for this hostel 12 February 2006
Pros:
Central Whakatane and cheap
Cons:
Accommodation is lowest priority of the management
bethellg
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 114)
Should you stay here? Depends on who you are, when you stay, and what you want from your stay. If you're a young extrovert who loves lots of noise, doesn't mind staying up until 2am at weekends, and isn't disabled then by all means stay there. You should fit in well. On Fridays and Saturday nights four establishments (of which the Whakatane Hotel is one) at the corner of The Strand try to drown each other out until 2am with what are euphemistically described as "bands" (personally I reckon that should be spelt "banneds"). If you take a walk down The Strand you'll find several more such establishments not too far away. If you want a good night's sleep on those two days then go to one of the holiday parks instead.If you are disabled then don't expect to use the lift to take you up to the two accommodation wings on the first floor because there isn't one - just use the stairs. Again, if you are disabled in any way then make sure you buy your food on the premises otherwise you won't be allowed to sit at the tables outside on the street. We made the mistake of buying food elsewhere and sitting there. We'd have gone upstairs to eat it (which by the grace of management was permissible) but my partner has a major difficulty climbing stairs so we decided to eat it outside. Bad move. We were hastened off by an officious staff member who told us we were "setting a bad example". Even worse, he waited until we dished it up before telling us to move. My partner's disability did not soften his stance at all.This establishment basically has three businesses:1. Selling alcohol
2. Selling food
3. Cheap accommodation... and very much in that order.
