BUG Review
This long-established hostel is an old house in the Mount Victoria neighbourhood. It is an old place that feels a bit tired but the building does have some character. Facilities include a lounge with a grand piano and internet access, a kitchen (no oven), a room with a pool table and a TV lounge with city views. There is also decking outside the front of the hostel, which is probably a nice place to enjoy a few beers while looking over Wellington. It is one of the few hostels in Wellington with parking.
Price Dorm bed $21 ($20 VIP) Single room $50 ($48 VIP) Double room $60 ($58 VIP) Camping $12 per person Prices are in New Zealand dollars and are inclusive of all taxes.
Pros:
Fairly close to wellington city
Cons:
Awful staff, dirty, unsafe
holly2008
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I just had to write a review after staying here. I had a single room for three days and it turned out to be a big mistake. Firstly there were two guys who worked there that had zero customer service skills. It felt like it was a chore to get any information and even paying for my room I felt like I was an annoyance. There is a fire escape ledge outside all the rooms that people walk on throughout the night and a couple of times I heard my window trying to be opened from the outside. The bathrooms were filthy and had no soap. The bed is impossible to sleep on as the old mattress groans and rolls at any movement. the walls are paper thin so you hear EVERYTHING
Stay for one night if you have to, otherwise avoid it like the plague
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(Review ID: 273)
A very filthy place with the rudest people on earth., April 6, 2006
I lived at Rowena for five days, unfortunately.
It is one of the dirtiest, stinkiest places on Earth, if not the filthiest one.
The receptionist was a very rude and despicable human being.
Everything is run down, stinks and there are no conditions whatsover. It is strange that a place like Wellington allows this kind of lodges to get away with everything and still be in business. I am asking the Health Department to shut it down for good. It is not a healthy place to be sleeping in, it is not a place to live in, to do anything. I had to live there, because I couldn't find another dorm at the time. It was a huge mistake that I will never repeat. It is absolutely strange how people still go there even though there are plenty of bad reviews about this place. DO NOT GO THERE! You can get sick, believe me. Not to mention that I had one of my good shirts stolen after two days of stay there.
Shame on Wellington city council because it allows that lodge to be in business and still operate.
Camelia
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(Review ID: 11983)
POOR CLEANLINESS, July 5, 2005
Reviewer:
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n/a
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Anonymous
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I now understand why Rowenas was the only hostel with room in all of Wellington for this weekend....in summary, when I booked over the internet I was quoted $19, but when I arrived I was charged $30pn, because they knew I had nowhere else to go. The staff were rude and unpleasant (except for the ONE cleaner they have, who works tirelessly to clean a huge hostel). The kitchen was poorly equiped to say the least, with only one cutting knife, two chopping boards, and less than four sets of cutlery (only two spoons); the whole place smelled of stale milk and the carpet hadn't seen a carpet in months.On the day I arrived, the kitchen cupboards were being cleaned out...the cleaner found bread dated mid february (we're in July now) - it was disgusting! Everyone I met agreed that it was the filthiest hostel they have been to. The bedding was horrible too, so a sleeping bag and your own pillow case is advisable.It has the potential to be a great hostel with loads of character, but is badly let down by rude and unhelpful staff and really bad cleanliness.Good luck if you are considering this as an option.
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(Review ID: 11984)
Friendly and Clean, July 28, 2004
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n/a
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Anonymous
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Maintenance
(4)
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I have just read previous reviews and found the hostel to be clean and well maintained. The beds had new mattresses and duvets so nice and comfy. Lot of maintenence work been done at the moment great new BBQ area been build outside. I camped for 4 days it was busy and cramped but well worth it as the nearest camping ground was 30 minutes away on the train. Then moved into a dorm when my friends arrived we had a room with awesome views over the noisey deck yes it was a pain but spoke to the manager and she asked people outside to move in no hassles. Management were friendly and helpful needs a bigger kitchen for all the people staying there. Carpark was packed when we arrived had to park behind someone else and shift in the morning. Cheaper than the $40.00 parking ticket we got when my friends stayed at the YHA. Keep up the good work Rowena's. Have sadly returned home after 12 months travel and missing NZ
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(Review ID: 11985)
s'ok really, July 17, 2004
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n/a
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Anonymous
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I found Rowena's to be a fun, entertaining place. The house has a lot of character and was quite lively. Close enough to Courtney Place to stagger back home after a drunken night out on the town (which also is quite lively).I stayed in a single room, though it was small, it was good enough place to get your head down for the night and I found the weekly rate to be quite reasonable.After reading the other reviews, I would say it's maybe not the place to stay if you expect to get waited on hand and foot, you may have to use your own head to sort yourself out.The car park was busy, but it seemed to me everybody was using a car as they are fairly cheap to hire/buy in NZ.Anyway, I had fun, but dont leave your boots outside your room overnight and expect them to be polished for you in the morning.
3 of
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(Review ID: 11986)
Rambling, busy place, July 10, 2003
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Anonymous
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Rowena's is a maze--even after two days, I kept taking the wrong hallways trying to get to and from my room. I stayed during a holiday weekend, when all the rooms were booked and the place was lively and crazy. Not a good place if you want quiet--the place had many partyers, and one annoying person who decided to play the piano at 7am (which I could hear upstairs). Rooms were mostly clean, and the upstairs bathrooms were much cleaner than the downstairs. On-site laundry is convenient, kitchen is good but not great. Rowena's is in a nice residential neighborhood a short walk from downtown and Te Papa.
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5 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 11987)
Only your money counts here!, June 9, 2003
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Anonymous
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I do not have good experiences with this `VIP`??? hostel, where I stayed last January.When I made a reservation by phone, I asked whether there was a carpark. They said they had one and so I booked for 2 nights. When we arrived we had to drive up a very steep hill to find out that the carpark was completely full with 2 other cars already blocking everyone else, really messy. When we went to the reception, we asked what to do with our car since the car park was full and in the neighbourhood you can`t park because it is only for the residents. The guy from the reception said to us that we just had to park the car on their car park and wait until somebody left. With 2 cars already blocking the rest, this wasn`t even possible. Anyway they did not handle the situation very well and eventually we had to ring one of the neighbours door, just to ask where we could park our car.Than the hostel itself, I have never seen a `kitchen`before where so many things were broken. It is actually a challenge to find something that does work. It is not clean as well.There is a lot of noise at night, we got a room just above the garden where everybody sits at night. When we asked for another room since we could not sleep, they would not give us one. They said it was fully booked, but we were certain there were still rooms available. The people working there were some of the noise makers, so probably they do not care about other people who do want to sleep. The matresses are very thin as well.The campsites are very bad and expensive compared to other camp sites. They just put so many tents on such a small area of grass that you do not have space at all. Many people were complaining.After all we moved to another hostel and there we met loads of other people who moved out of Rowena`s.
