Green Monkey Reviews and Photos, Nelson

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Possibly the Best Low Priced Accomodation in Nelson

June 21, 2009
Rated 4 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland

All in all, the hostel options in Nelson were very, very good. The prices were very good for anywhere in New Zealand, and they generally offered more and were more pleasant than many others that we visited on our year in the country.

And the Green Monkey was one that we revisited time and again. In fact, in the two months we were in and around Nelson, we stayed there three times.

There were a few very unfortunate aspects to the stay there which did keep it from being my favourite hostel in the country – but there were also many very good benefits, which were certainly reason enough to return.

First of all, the price was very good. We got a good sized private double room with a TV (that worked) a very comfortable bed – and all it of it very nicely put together and cozy. It was a very, very pleasant room to stay in and we paid $58 per night, an excellent price for this in New Zealand.

We did have to share a bathroom but it was a very nice bathroom with a spacious shower that worked very well (very warm with lots of water pressure) and it was also very clean.

It was run by a very friendly couple, and it was a very welcoming atmosphere. The common areas were spacious enough to accommodate the number of people staying (two small dorm rooms and two doubles) and were pleasant and well used.

The hostel itself was nicely situated just outside of town (two minute drive, fifteen minute walk) in a very quiet area just below the Nelson hills with plenty of free parking. It's a nice little building, and easy to find – with lemon trees growing in the back. (there are usually plenty of free lemons to use in cooking)

The kitchen is also very nice and with lots of extras like free tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as loads of spices to use. A lot of cooking goes on in this kitchen, and the hostel was often filled with smell of good food.

But there was one perk that The Green Monkey offered which put it above many of the rest for us and was the reason we returned again and again. Both my husband and I are freelancers – and even while travelling, internet access is very important. And in New Zealand, it is very, very expensive, and is run by the same provider in almost every hostel or hotel in the country.

However, the Green Monkey offers free internet, which for us was a huge selling point. And the best of it was, that it wasn't really bad internet on an old computer always being used by other people. There was a moderately fast computer in the lounge which could be used by anyone, but it also offered free wireless for those of us who had laptops – and that ran fairly quickly.
For us this was a very important asset to where we chose to stay and why we returned several times.

The only real drawbacks to the Green Monkey were very unfortunate, and may not be a problem for future travellers here. When we arrived the hostel was nearly filled with people who were basically living there. At least four of the people staying in what is basically a small hostel were working in the area and had been there for months. And though you certainly didn't get this from the owner – there was a very strong territorial vibe from those who lived there – who obviously thought of it as their own personal hostel. Some of them were working at the hostel in exchange for accommodation – and one in particular had a terrible attitude and really ruined the atmosphere in the entire place.

It was regrettable, but as I'm sure they must have moved on that may not be a problem you will run into while visiting this hostel.
The only other complaint I had is that they didn't turn on the heat until 5 pm (another aspect due to the live-in guests, I assume) so being there in the winter, and using it as a stopping place to catch up on work it was annoying having to bundle up in covers to do so.

Other than that, it was a very nice place to stay. The owners were great, and even brought us all chocolate cake one evening.

From journal Nelson - New Zealand's Beautiful Little City

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Best Hostel in Nelson - the Green Monkey

December 22, 2008
Rated 5 of 5 by wolfbrother from Edinburgh, United Kingdom

This superb little hostel was up for sale when we stayed there, so I can't guarantee that things will be the same, but when we visited it was the best of the hostels on offer. Not the flashiest, by any means, but for the price we paid it had a great atmosphere, good facilities, friendly and helpful owners and really good hot chocolate to boot!

We stayed in one of their double rooms, for $56 a night, which got us a very clean, very nicely decorated and spacious room with a great bed and our own TV. It was somewhere we kept coming back to, but if you do decide to stay here make sure you book ahead of time, as they only have two double rooms and two dorm rooms, which are often filled with long-termers working in the area.

The living room is very comfortable. Because it's got such a small number of beds, it's rarely crowded and the log burning fire makes it a really pleasant environment to kick back and read a book in. They have no TV, so it's a friendly place, where people actually talk to each other, and the resident guitar makes for entertaining evenings too. On the first night we stayed there, the owners baked us all a chocolate cake for no particular reason and it was delicious. Obviously, this was not something they advertise, so it's done as and when they get the urge, but I got the impression that they often bring over these little extras as an added treat for their guests.

The kitchen was clean and well equipped, with plenty of storage space and never too many people around to cook your food.

The bathrooms similarly were nicely done, with good showers and some slightly racy cartoons decorating the walls to keep you amused while you ... do what you have to do in there.

The best thing about the Green Monkey though was the internet. It's free. They have a machine there where you can log on and check emails and so on or they also have wireless internet which you can use at no extra charge - as long as you don't download any movies or anything, obviously. This is a rare thing in New Zealand, which has poor internet facilities as a rule, and it was a major factor in deciding where we should spend the night. As it turns out, I'm very glad we did.

Linen included: Yes
Price: cheap
Internet: FREE! Wireless and an in-house desktop machine
Extras: Free tea, coffee, sugar, hot chocolate and marshmallows

From journal Nelson - New Zealand's Easiest Place to Live...

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