47 Petane Road, Bay View, Napier Tel (06) 836 6007
BUG review
Bay Booziee – yes, that’s the spelling – is located in Bayview, 8km north of Napier city centre. There’s a working-class vibe out here compared to its cosmopolitan city cousin. This is a sprawling place with sites for camper vans and tents, as well as rooms in an older house; most backpacker rooms, however, are five-bed dorms in new pre-fabricated cabins. Bay Booziee is also a massive bar known in the area for its Sunday night pig-on-a-spit roast. The bar has live music, pool tables, pokie machines and horse betting, and it attracts a local crowd. There were about 40 dorm beds when we visited, but we’re told it should be up to 100 by the time you read this.
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Price Dorm bed $21 ($18 BBH) Double room $52-66 ($56 ($50 BBH) Prices are in New Zealand dollars and are inclusive of all taxes.
Pros:
Um... let's think... well the cats had personality are were more responsive than the owner
Cons:
Everything that was advertised did not deliver
Anita
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
(Review ID: 8452)
I arrived with four other travellers, we had all made separate bookings (mine having been confirmed by e-mail) and despite this we were told that no bookings existed for myself and another traveller. We were then over-charged compared to what they advertise in the BBH guide and on various internet sites.We were shown to our room (although it may be more accurate to call it a shed) which was a purpose built unit around the back of the building which had five beds, we struggled to fit ourselves and our luggage in. There was only standing room for 2 people at a time which was obviously a huge problem in the morning and at night. It was beyond basic with chip board walls and floor with beds screwed directly to the walls, no bedding, a door which was difficult to use and a security code which was loudly announced to us and other guests (we knew the code to the next door unit and could easily have gained access if we so wished). And if you should need the toilet in the night you faced a walk in the dark back to the main building!Speaking to other guests it immediately became clear that we were not the only people to have problems. One guest was shown to a bed and later awoken (11pm) and made to move as the other occupants of the room had paid for all 4 beds in the room as there were 3 of them and did not want to share with a stranger. In effect the hostel owner was happy to charge twice for that bed and knowingly upset her other guests. We had initially been attracted to this hostel because despite being outside of Napier there was a FREE daily shuttle into town advertised. When we got there we were informed that this only applied if the owner had to go into town anyway (which she did not have to for the duration of our stay). The shuttle if we wanted it was $3 per person each way, therefore costing us $150 for the time that we stayed. We were also to discover that once we had paid this meant the owner 'had to go into town anyway' so then other guests could get the shuttle for free!! In addition to this FREE internet usage was advertised, the one computer that was available was unusable for the majority of our stay and no attempts were made to rectify this despite our mentioning it to several members of staff.The kitchen was small and grubby with little equipment available. We did eventually discover the reason for all the ants that were running around during our stay - a nest behind the oven!!When we attempted to discuss these problems with the owner she was not available and the member of staff on hand did not feel able to help us in any way! I have since also e-mailed the owner to try to get some answers and have received no response at all. This hostel is extremely poor and does not seem to have any intention of changing - DO NOT STAY HERE!!
