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Almond House Backpackers

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  • 63 Grove Street
     Nelson
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wolfbrother
wolfbrother
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
Reviews
5
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Editor Pick

A Great Place for Families

  • June 21, 2009
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
A Great Place for Families

Of the four hostels I stayed at in Nelson, this one is probably the hardest to review. It was a rather strange place, and though seemed very good in many aspects, was also just a rather odd experience.

In a very nice area, in view of the surrounding Nelson hills in the middle of a nice and quiet little neighborhood – it is initially a good spot. Very easy to find with a large and colorful mural on the outside wall, and plenty of free parking, this is a hostel that is also in very easy reach of town. (a few minutes by car – ten or fifteen walking.)

It is also the cheapest hostel we stayed at in Nelson at $56 per night for a private double room with shared bathroom, and one of the cheapest we stayed at anywhere in New Zealand.

And its quite private, as well. At first glance it reminds you of an old 50's motel in the US, if a small one. Inside the walled area are a pool (which we unfortunately couldn't use because of the time of year) and a common area building and motel style rooms lining the edge of the property.

At first I was very pleased by this – as it was nice to stay somewhere where the room wasn't actually inside someone's 'house.' I do like that you had a little bit of space and some sense of privacy in the rooms.

I think overall the Almond House was pretty unremarkable. It wasn't a bad place to stay – and the owners were very friendly. And the price was very good. But I have to say that it would not be my first choice in Nelson which has a lot to offer in way the way of cheap accommodation.

The room was ordinary at best. With no TV or amenities at all – it was very basic, and though perfectly clean did have a very dated and less than cozy atmosphere. And the common area, though small was ok – but the kitchen was pretty bad, and had there been a lot of people staying would have been very crowded indeed.

But for me the biggest drawback of this hostel was that it's first appearance of privacy was misleading, and though the owners were very friendly – they also seemed to be everywhere and a little too eager to chat. If you would like a very sociable, home feeling stay – then I'm sure you would thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere at the Almond House. They had several small children which not only played loudly in the yard and area around the rooms, but also in the common area. There were toys and bikes lying around the walk ways, and it was also unfortunately like staying at a motel/daycare.

However, if you are travelling with kids or small children – this may be ideal for you. They will certainly have kids to talk to and play with. But if you are looking for a quiet bit of privacy, then another hostel might be a better choice.

From journal Nelson - New Zealand's Beautiful Little City

Editor Pick

Almond House - Mid-Range, Decent Hostel in Nelson

  • December 22, 2008
  • Rated 2 of 5 by wolfbrother from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Almond House - Mid-Range, Decent Hostel in Nelson

Nelson has a broad range of accommodation on offer, some better than others, and I think that Almond House would fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. It's very easy to spot from the street (Grove Street), with a big mural plastered across the front wall in front of the building. It's a modern strucutre, without a whole lot of character, but it's efficient and pretty orderly at what it does.

The way the hostel is arranged is a little odd. The main building you see when you pull up is actually the home of the couple who own and run the place. The hostel part is round the back in a set of small units - several doubles and a dorm - and it shares the recreational area with the owners' home. It also shares the pool with the owners, which is closed during the winter months.

This all adds up to a community atmosphere. If you look in the guestbook there are many directed to the managers' two young children. People talk about playing cards with them and about the pictures that they drew together, and indeed the kids' toys were strewn all over the hostel - covering much of the pathways. I wasn't too impressed with that, myself, but the managers themselves were very friendly and very helpful.

The kitchen area is small but functional. The internet is rather slow and not too cheap, so if this is a major factor then you're much better off at the Green Monkey round the corner, which offers free, fast internet. The other people at the hostel when we stayed were very pleasant, pretty chilled out. It's certainly not a party hostel.

The rooms themselves were very basic, but pretty clean and comfortable, if a little small. The shower was wonderful though. It's almost worth staying there for the shower alone.

In short, if you like kids and you're not interested in TVs and socialising late into the night then this is a decent hostel for you. It's not cheap, but it's not expensive either. If they have room though, the Green Monkey around the corner outscores these guys on pretty much every level, including price. As an alternative though, you could do a lot worse.

Linen included: Yes
Price: average
Internet: quite expensive and quite slow
Extras: Free tea, coffee, sugar. Pool in summer months

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

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