Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers

Big room. Laundry. Kitchenette. Location

No lake view. Bit noisy guests

The view from the living was amazing. Having parking spaces was a plus. The kitchen is very nice.

I would prefer showers outside the rooms

Parking was easy, short walk into town. New and fresh. Bed very comfortable.

Bed was clean, surfaces were clean, the floor was clean. Nice fixtures and fittings in the bedroom.

- The building has been painted over and kept clean, but structurally it looks and feels like it’s old and falling to bits. My private room was up on the first floor. One of the first things I noticed, was that the floor was uneven (the wood floorboards under my carpet were wonky or dipped in various places). Secondly: the wood of the outdoor balcony looked warped, some of the miniature timber flooring was lifting. It didn’t feel safe to stay in this place, particularly given the recent earthquakes near Te Anau. (I actually got woken up at 2am by an earthquake in this building, the mirror was rattling on the wall). - Wasn’t impressed with the quality of the staff. They did their job, but customer service was lacking. I didn’t find them very helpful with baggage or check in. I suspect they’ve just hired a few backpackers to run the place in exchange for free lodgings. - One of my biggest concerns (aside from this place being structurally unsound to survive an earthquake), was the mould in the bathroom. I could smell it faintly when I first entered the room. When I went to have a shower and hot water started pouring onto it, it got worse. A health hazard and very, very unpleasant. It’s not a cleaning issue: it’s a waterproofing, water damage issue that needs a bathroom renovation to fix I suspect.