Lake Tekapo

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Tailor-Made Backpackers

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  • 9-11 Aorangi Crescent
     Lake Tekapo
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Red Mezz
Red Mezz
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
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9
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Editor Pick

Peaceful Garden Hostel Away from the Crowds

  • November 13, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by wolfbrother from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Peaceful Garden Hostel Away from the Crowds

New Zealand is known for the good quality of its budget accommodation. There is plenty to choose from and many options have bags of character as well as (usually) very knowledgeable and enthusiastic hosts. We stayed at a couple of the worse inner city hostels before coming to Lake Tekapo and finding somewhere that instantly redeemed this oft-talked about accommodation option.

Lake Tekapo is largely a holiday weekend type of place, with 80% of the housing being holiday homes for city-dwelling Kiwis. The village itself (discounting the holiday homes, that is) is one street, where you'll find just about everything the place has to offer. There's a Four-Square supermarket, a garage, a pub, plenty of eateries and lots of choices of activity. Tailor Made sits away from this hub of activity, up the hill at the edge of town in a peaceful garden setting. It's still very close to everything though, as it's only a five minute walk from the stunningly beautiful lake.

It sleeps 37 people in a variety of options, from a 6-bed dorm and 4 bed share rooms through to twins and doubles with either shared bathroom or ensuites. The best of these rooms are the double and twin ensuite rooms in the VIP building. If you're staying here in an ensuite then it's worth requesting one of these as they're modern, well decorated and renovated far more recently than the other double ensuite in the kitchen building.

All the rooms in the VIP building are very good quality and the management will generally steer you into one of these if they're available. If not, then the other rooms all have very good quality beds which are fully made up and each of the three buildings has its own showers and toilets, so there's no traipsing through the cold or the rain to get to a separate bathroom block.

If you want a cheaper option then it's worth upgrading from the 6-bed dorm to one of the 4-bed share rooms. They are far better quality, although the dorm is better than most backpacker dorms.

The best thing about this place is the common rooms. There's always a good atmosphere in this place - the kitchen is spacious and well equipped with plenty of storage space for your food and the lounge has no TV (there's no TV at all at Tailor Made) so people actually talk to each other. It has a great log burner to keep you toasty warm in the winter months and a good, communal, welcoming vibe that is helped by the friendly and enthusiastic owners.

It's advisable to book in advance because the place tends to fill up quite quickly on busy days. There's plenty of free parking and a big garden with plenty of seating and a really nice hammock for lazing in the sunshine.

All in all, whilst not the cheapest hostel we stayed at in New Zealand ($25 for a dorm bed, up to $74 for a double ensuite - $3 per person discount for BBH members) you get good value for your dollar. You avoid the party crowd as it's generally a quieter traveller that comes through here. You'll often go into the lounge at night to find several people collaborating on a jigsaw puzzle while a few other read quietly near the fire. If that sounds good to you then this is the place to stay - if you're looking for a party hostel then definitely look elsewhere.

From journal The Turquoise Tranquility of Lake Tekapo

Editor Pick

Tailor-Made Tekapo Backpackers: Best Common Room Atmosphere

  • August 29, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
Tailor-Made Tekapo Backpackers: Best Common Room Atmosphere

This is a hostel that lands directly in the centre range of hostel/backpacker stays. It has many plus points for the average traveller, and though is certainly a backpackers and not a hotel – it doesn’t have an overwhelming backpacker vibe that some do.

There seems to be a good variety of travellers that come through here, and on any given night you may be staying with any kind of group – which makes for a much nicer atmosphere. You would as likely see a family group visiting as a 20 year old backpacker on a gap year, and you don’t arrive feeling suddenly that you’re staying in a cruddy version of a college dorm.

There’s a very homey feel to Tailor Made, which has a really nice location just about three minutes walk from the quaint little village of Lake Tekapo (which sits directly on the mind bogglingly blue lake itself) and yet is secluded enough that you are not on the main road and can sit outside the hostel on a cool night (or on a very cold night if you choose) and quietly enjoy the stars above the Lake Tekapo sky which are famous (and rightfully so) for their brilliance.

The hostel itself is run by a friendly and very helpful couple who live across the street and though the place does feel very comfortable and inviting – you don’t ever feel that you are a stranger staying in someone’s home.

The rooms are – for the most part – quite comfortable and though the décor is very dated and not the flashiest hostel you will find in New Zealand it is very clean and tidy and kept in good order.

The bathrooms are very clean and there are plenty of showers and toilets for the shared facility rooms. The showers (though not the best décor) are actually excellent. Two in particular are very spacious and the water pressure and temperature is always superb. Lake Tekapo is in the alpine mountain region just east of Mount Cook and gets very cold in the winter, but the big fire that is always going in the lounge area of the hostel means that there is always more than enough hot water for showering and washing up.

The facilities are good, offering internet access (though once again for the extortionate rate of $2 for 20 minutes) A spacious and clean kitchen with plenty of fridge space and kitchen utensils to use. It’s quite a social kitchen, there seems to always be a group cooking a large and wonderfully smelling meal.

The lounge area is again dated but comfortable with some magazines, books and games to choose from, but there is no TV anywhere in this hostel including in the ensuite rooms. This makes for a nice environment in the common room areas, but can be a bit disappointing when you are ready to retire to your room.

They offer dorms, twins, quads, doubles and double ensuites for reasonable prices (without BBH cards the dorm bed is $25 a night and the double ensuite is $74) a fairly good price for New Zealand budget accommodation.
There are also a laundry area and free tennis courts that can be used by the guests.

All in all a nice, well priced choice to stay in the area. Possibly it’s nicest selling point is the garden area which is well kept and very inviting – chill out in the hammock out front if the weather allows, or have your lunch on one of the picnic tables. There’s a great BBQ area out back with a stunning view of the snow capped mountains in the background.

Tailor Made also has very comfortable beds – which are always nice after a long day on the road.

From journal The Visual Perfection of Secluded Lake Tekapo

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