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Kiwi Paka YHA

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stomps
stomps
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
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1
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Editor Pick

Kiwi Paka YHA

  • April 22, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by stomps from Houston, Texas
Kiwi Paka YHA

My main problem with this hostel was attempting to find it when I arrived in Rotorua. When I stepped off the Intercity bus around noon at the visitors centre, I wasn't exactly sure where to go so I went inside to grab a brochure. The brochure didn't make it look all that far to the hostel, so I decided to walk it.

I ended up walking all the way through town and around a little area with lots of thermal activity (mainly seen in the sulfurous steam rising from the ground), and then through a soccer field. Even at this point, I could see the hostel but couldn't actually figure out how to get to it. I ended up having to walk the long way around and eventually made it, slightly winded from carting all my stuff around Rotorua.

It turns out that the hostel is around 1.5km from the Rotorua, making it rather out of the way. If you call them from the visitors centre, they will send someone working there in a car to pick you up, but they do not have a van so if there are a lot of people waiting it could take some time to actually make it to the hostel.

This was really my only problem with the Kiwi Paka YHA. I only stayed here one night out of the three I spent in Rotorua, because I was there over Easter weekend and could not get three nights in a row at one hostel. However, I have to say that I liked my other hostel much better on account of its much more convenient location.

However, if you have a car or don't mind the trek in and out of town, the Kiwi Paka is a wonderful place to stay. The rooms were very clean and well-kept. I rather liked them; they seemed like a cabin when you first walked in. The room I was in had five beds and was rather cozy. It was close to the bathrooms, which were also very clean and large enough for the number of people in the hostel so there was generally no waiting.

The front desk staff were kind and helpful, even though they were very harried with the number of people going through the place and the number that wanted rooms that weren't available. The only other facility I paid attention to was the internet, which was annoyingly "pay for a bulk amount and then hope you use it all" rather than "pay as you go."

This was a YHA, so it was a rather large hostel, but that was the impression I got from most hostels in Rotorua. I liked it anyways, and would have been happy to stay there two more nights. As I said, it wasn't too conveniently located, but at least it was a decent hostel. Plus, I was convinced that you didn't smell the sulfur quite as much here as you do closer to town.

From journal Back to the North: Rotorua

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