The Art House Backpackers
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The Art House Backpackers
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About
#5 of 6 hostels in Napier
Location
Rooms
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
The Art House Backpackers is located on Napier's Marine Parade with Pacific Ocean views. We offer our guests a funky relaxing environment and a perfect base from which to explore the beautiful Art Deco city beyond. Free Wi-Fi, free tea and coffee, friendly welcoming staff and a beachfront location. Our facilities include a large guest kitchen and dining area, sunny outdoor courtyard, TV lounge and laundry. Less than 10 minutes walk from the bus stop, supermarket and city centre.
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Property amenities
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Board games / puzzles
Books, DVDs, music for children
BBQ facilities
Non-smoking hotel
Laundry service
Self-serve laundry
Shared bathroom
Shared kitchen
Shared lounge / TV area
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Good to know
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Languages Spoken
English, Chinese
Location
259 Marine Parade, Napier 4110 New Zealand
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 92 out of 100
92
Hawkes Bay Airport
5.4 km•
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Car Hire
76 Restaurants
within 0.5 kilometers
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We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
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Detailed Reviews
If I look back to the double bedroom we stayed in here, I'm not quite sure why this hostel has the best rating out of all Napier BBH ones. I know it's not nice to start with a rant, but I'd like to reflect what my partner's and mine impression about this place was.
We just stayed for one night as we've been to the Splash Planet in Hastings over the day and wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon plus the following day exploring Napier. At first, the hostel's location straight on Marine Pde is great, however you'll find that other Napier hostels are actually never far away from it either, so that's nothing outstanding here. The Spanish girl working at the reception was kind and friendly, which we appreciated. WiFi is free too, and the place as a TV, darts, apparently even an XBox (didn't look for it).
It's a pity to see that this hostel takes a $20 key deposit, but I guess that relates to the hostel's experience with bad guests. The kitchen was a total mess when we arrived there, so we were happy we didn't have plans to cook. The lounge looked a bit cluttered but was okay otherwise. Now, we stayed in one of the doubles on the first floor - the room was really dull, there was only a small closet to storage clothing and a small window to let some air in the stuffy room. Problem: Once you've opened the window you've heard water dropping all the time, I couldn't see the source of this but suspect the shower room on the right hand side or the toilet room on the left hand side of the double to be the reason - likely the pipes have been installed just outside on the wall and are leaking or something. There's a working wash basin in the room though, which is not too bad.
I reckon it'll be fine for people just looking for a bed for the night, as the prices are good. Maybe we're coming back one day and see whether we've got a wrong impression and didn't see the total picture, but for now it's only 3 stars despite the individual ratings for service etc.
We just stayed for one night as we've been to the Splash Planet in Hastings over the day and wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon plus the following day exploring Napier. At first, the hostel's location straight on Marine Pde is great, however you'll find that other Napier hostels are actually never far away from it either, so that's nothing outstanding here. The Spanish girl working at the reception was kind and friendly, which we appreciated. WiFi is free too, and the place as a TV, darts, apparently even an XBox (didn't look for it).
It's a pity to see that this hostel takes a $20 key deposit, but I guess that relates to the hostel's experience with bad guests. The kitchen was a total mess when we arrived there, so we were happy we didn't have plans to cook. The lounge looked a bit cluttered but was okay otherwise. Now, we stayed in one of the doubles on the first floor - the room was really dull, there was only a small closet to storage clothing and a small window to let some air in the stuffy room. Problem: Once you've opened the window you've heard water dropping all the time, I couldn't see the source of this but suspect the shower room on the right hand side or the toilet room on the left hand side of the double to be the reason - likely the pipes have been installed just outside on the wall and are leaking or something. There's a working wash basin in the room though, which is not too bad.
I reckon it'll be fine for people just looking for a bed for the night, as the prices are good. Maybe we're coming back one day and see whether we've got a wrong impression and didn't see the total picture, but for now it's only 3 stars despite the individual ratings for service etc.
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Date of stay: November 2014Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Â Ask for a different double than the one on the first floor between toilet and shower!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My stay was from mon 12 Feb - tues 13 Feb 18
Check-in was very quick and efficient. The staff member was very friendly and she helped me carry my suitcase up the stairs to my room. They have lockers in the lounge room. They have a separate room with a large table where you can sit and enjoy your meals. The kitchen was big and spacious. They have a garden which was very spacious and had 3 different areas you could sit at. The toilet was in a very small space. However there was a sink and mirror in the room which was convenient. They had separate shower rooms. The top bunk bed was comfortable and I had a sea view which was amazing. Overall I enjoyed my stay at the hostel and I would stay there again and recommend it to others.
Check-in was very quick and efficient. The staff member was very friendly and she helped me carry my suitcase up the stairs to my room. They have lockers in the lounge room. They have a separate room with a large table where you can sit and enjoy your meals. The kitchen was big and spacious. They have a garden which was very spacious and had 3 different areas you could sit at. The toilet was in a very small space. However there was a sink and mirror in the room which was convenient. They had separate shower rooms. The top bunk bed was comfortable and I had a sea view which was amazing. Overall I enjoyed my stay at the hostel and I would stay there again and recommend it to others.
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Date of stay: February 2018Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Was late to check in but a note with keys was left pinned to the door which I really appreciated. Kitchen was okay. Felt very uncomfortable sitting in the lounge as there are a group of people that make it clear you should move so they can use the TV. Not sure why.
Rooms were clean and plug sockets provided. Great view of the ocean. Met some great people here, staff helpful.
Whilst packing to check out there were cockroaches all over my clothes which put a bad end to a good stay. Bathrooms terrible with no wash basin and awful shower. Sinks in the bedrooms barely produce an adequate around of water to wash hands.
I stayed in room 1 upstairs but rooms 7 and 8 are right by the kitchen and looked terrible.
Rooms were clean and plug sockets provided. Great view of the ocean. Met some great people here, staff helpful.
Whilst packing to check out there were cockroaches all over my clothes which put a bad end to a good stay. Bathrooms terrible with no wash basin and awful shower. Sinks in the bedrooms barely produce an adequate around of water to wash hands.
I stayed in room 1 upstairs but rooms 7 and 8 are right by the kitchen and looked terrible.
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Date of stay: September 2017Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My boyfriend and I chose the Art House Backpackers as an overnight stop in Napier. We arrived at the hostel, with two heavy suitcases and were turned away at the door, even though we had booked online. A young man came to the door, who was not the owner, telling us that they weren't taking any more guests. Waving our booking sheet at him, he mumbled about how the owner didn't want anymore guests due to renovation. He then told us to take it up with the owner who was a few doors down in another hostel. So we took our bags a mile down the road where we found, 'The Bluewater Lodge'. This was crowded with backpackers but no owner in sight. We eventually got the owners number off another guest, who told us one of the backpackers would find us a room in this new hostel. All in all, the experience was extremely poor and not what you would expect from a reasonably rated establishment.
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Date of stay: June 2017Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is one of the better hostels we stayed at in New Zealand. The building is a bit worn down but there is a very big kitchen with sufficient equipment, a nice TV area with Xbox and movies and a lot of open areas to just hang out. Great views over the ocean and close to everything this little town has to offer. Free pasta on Wednesdays which was a nice touch, and free, working wifi. The main point about this place however is the atmosphere, you'll definitely meet lots if great people here!
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Date of stay: January 2016Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This place reminded me of student halls-a bit smelly and in serious need of a deep clean. This probably much to do with the army of very young foreigners who were staying long term whilst working as fruit pickers in their gap years. We were the only guests there who weren't long term and felt a little like we'd intruded on their space. The kitchen area wasn't too bad but I still scrubbed every item and work surface before I used it. Our bedroom was facing the courtyard which meant we were party to every drinking game, argument and sing song the group had which got very tiresome.
The corridor also stank-the dorm rooms needed a really good airing and clean.The bathrooms were disgusting!! Really dirty and mouldy...just horrid. General decor was tatty and in need of an update. It's a shame because the location is perfect, right on the ocean front, near the I-site and town centre and with a bit of care it could be so much better with a bit of TLC.
The corridor also stank-the dorm rooms needed a really good airing and clean.The bathrooms were disgusting!! Really dirty and mouldy...just horrid. General decor was tatty and in need of an update. It's a shame because the location is perfect, right on the ocean front, near the I-site and town centre and with a bit of care it could be so much better with a bit of TLC.
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Date of stay: February 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It's an average hostel with not much to shout about. Nice view if you have a sea facing window. Quite surprised by the excellent reviews.
Kitchen is a nightmare but there are only so many signs the management can put up asking people to wash and dry up their dirty dishes and clean up after themselves.
Many of the residents are long term stayers so don't expect to watch the television as the games consul seemed to be constantly in use.
Good wifi connection. Well located for the bus station, main town and i-site.
No sinks in the toilets but they are in your bedroom and there is hand sanitizer provided.
Kitchen is a nightmare but there are only so many signs the management can put up asking people to wash and dry up their dirty dishes and clean up after themselves.
Many of the residents are long term stayers so don't expect to watch the television as the games consul seemed to be constantly in use.
Good wifi connection. Well located for the bus station, main town and i-site.
No sinks in the toilets but they are in your bedroom and there is hand sanitizer provided.
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Date of stay: January 2015Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We arrived late at Napier and had to find a room without any pre-booking. Due to the positive recommendations on this site we spent the night at the Art House - such a dirty place! The room was so dirty, that we didn't dare to put off our shoes - the carpet was full with unidentifiable marks and spots. The bed was unmade - our request for fresh new linen was rejected as we were told the bed has already been made. There are so many good and cheap hostels in New Zealand - this one here seriously needs a make-over before it counts as one of them.
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Date of stay: October 2014Trip type: Travelled with friends
Rooms
Location
Service
Room Tip:Â Have a look at the room before you book!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is by far the worst hostel I've ever stayed at. It was impossible to walk bare feet in my own room, only a minute after checking in because the quality of the cleaning was grim. So much rubbish on the floor, the kitchen has dishes piled miles high because nobody seems to clean them. The toilets never seem to have toilet roll and my room was really dark. I have very little positives to say about this hostel, and after seeing other reviews about bed bugs, it doesn't surprise me. Sorry, but sort it out.
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Date of stay: January 2012Trip type: Travelled with family
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dirty and smelly, room did not lock, we had to access our room via another room with people sleeping in it, toilets need cleaned, the place just felt dirty and in kept and would not recommend staying here
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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"Ask for a different double than the one on the first floor between toilet and shower!"Read full review
PRICE RANGE
$33 - $35 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Andy's Backpackers
LOCATION
New ZealandNorth IslandHawke's Bay RegionNapier
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about The Art House Backpackers
Which popular attractions are close to The Art House Backpackers?
Nearby attractions include Sunken Gardens (0.3 km), Hawke's Bay Trails (0.2 km), and A Wave in Time Statue (0.4 km).
What are some of the property amenities at The Art House Backpackers?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, laundry service, and self serve laundry.
What food & drink options are available at The Art House Backpackers?
Guests can enjoy barbeque facilities during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to The Art House Backpackers?
Conveniently located restaurants include Faith Hope Love Malaysian Eatery, Rasoi Cuisine of India, and Mister 'd's Bistro.
Is The Art House Backpackers located near the city centre?
Yes, it is 0.6 km away from the centre of Napier.
Are any cleaning services offered at The Art House Backpackers?
Yes, laundry service and self serve laundry are offered to guests.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at The Art House Backpackers?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English and Chinese.
Are there any historical sites close to The Art House Backpackers?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Napier Cemetery (1.5 km).