SALTWATER LODGE

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4.5

Excellent

112 reviews

#18 of 38 Specialty lodging in Paihia

Location

Cleanliness

Service

Value

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Good to know

HOTEL CLASS

HOTEL STYLE

Modern

Budget

Languages Spoken

English, Hindi

Property amenities

Free parking

Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)

Pool / beach towels

Complimentary Instant Coffee

Bicycle rental

Bicycles available

Books, DVDs, music for children

Indoor play area for children

Parking

Wifi

Complimentary tea

Canoeing

Diving

Game room

Golf course

Hiking

Horseback riding

Mini golf

Snorkelling

Tennis court

Darts

Fishing

Table tennis

Board games / puzzles

BBQ facilities

Baggage storage

Non-smoking hotel

Shared kitchen

Shared lounge / TV area

Laundry service

Self-serve laundry

Room features

Coffee / tea maker

Kitchenette

Microwave

Refrigerator

Room types

Non-smoking rooms

Family rooms

Location

Full view

82Good for walkers

Grade: 82 out of 100

10Restaurantswithin 0.5 km

6Attractionswithin 0.5 km

Contact

14 Kings Road, Paihia 0247 New Zealand

Getting there

Kerikeri Airport15 kmSee all flights

Whangarei Airport59 kmSee all flights

Car HireSee all Paihia car hire

See all nearby hotels

Nearby restaurants

Tipsy Oyster Tapas & Bar Restaurant

See all nearby restaurants

Nearby attractions

Paihia Harbour

1,218 reviews

6 minNature & Wildlife Areas

Pipi Patch Bar

35 reviews

1 minBars & Clubs

St Paul's Anglican Church

33 reviews

3 minArchitectural Buildings

Sandpit Poolroom & Bar

11 reviews

1 minBars & Clubs

See all nearby attractions

112Reviews0Q+A11Room tips

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Active Runner wrote a review Jan 2021

Rotorua, New Zealand3 contributions2 helpful votes

A terrible place to stay

Our family stayed in a family room of Saltwater Lodge on 26 to 30 Dec 2020. We liked the location of Saltwater Lodge because it's only a short walk to the major shops in Paihia. Our friends in Rotorua, who stayed in the other rooms, convened with us in the common room to have wonderful group dinners and breakfasts. However, our friends and I all agreed that the respective rooms where we stayed in were dusty and not up to standard. I needed to clean the bathroom in our family room to make it suitable for use. The TV in our room did not work. There were insects in the linen that made me itchy. The bed covers were dusty. The room also had very limited power points. My family members and I found the room to have a bad smell. The room were never serviced during our entire stay. Never again are we going to stay in Saltwater Lodge. Our friends also had a similar bad experience. It was a terrible place to stay and a total rip-off. Shame on you Saltwater Lodge. …

Date of stay: December 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.

1 Helpful vote

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Response from Nachiket Vaity, General Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 7 Apr 2021

Hi Richard We are sorry that you didn't have an enjoyable stay with us. The date you visited was a very busy time of year for us, with 100% occupancy during your stay. Nevertheless, we strive to fully meet our guest's expectations at all times. However, upon reading your review and consulting with our staff, we found several inconsistencies with your account of your experience at Saltwater Lodge. Our rooms are cleaned to the highest standard, with a thorough clean occurring each new booking as well as a deep clean regularly. A guest from your group did come to reception and said they were sneezing frequently, we are confident in our cleaning standard and believe that this is due to the time of year, when pollen in the air is prevalent. Regarding your claim of insects in the linen, our laundry is sent to an offsite laundromat that hot wash all laundry. Upon your checkout, we cleaned the room thoroughly and could not find evidence of this. When a member of your party came to the reception to complain about the above things and other issues, our office staff actively tried to fix the issues brought up. Our staff member offered to give a considerable discount to your party, to which the group member accepted. Upon going to the rooms, we found that despite your claim, the microwave did work and that the tv was also working (the instructions were beside the remote). Upon checking out, another group member in your party proceeded to complain about further issues and threatened our staff member with a negative review if they did not receive a further discount. We found this threat to be unacceptable and decided to not give your party a further discount, given that $700 off the original booking had already been discounted. Saltwater Management

Lucia L wrote a review Nov 2019

1 contribution

Very pleasant stay

Me and my friend stayed at Saltwaterlodge for two nights and we definitely recommend this hostel. Very nice staff, clean room and comfy beds! Also the area is nice to explore, we did a day trip to Russel and Paihia is a nice little town for drinks.

Date of stay: November 2019Trip type: Travelled with friends

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Oriana P wrote a review Oct 2019

3 contributions

Great stay

We stayed at Saltwater Lodge two nights in October and it was lovely! We booked a 6 bed dorm and got upgraded for free to a 4 bed dorm. The room and bathroom were clean and the bed comfortable. There weren't many people staying at the hostel at the time so there was more than enough space in all the common areas. The kitchen was well equiped. The best part was Ben! The manager of the hostel. He made us feel welcome from the start and recommended really cool places to see. We absolutely recommend the place and would love to be back there sometime.

Date of stay: October 2019Trip type: Travelled with friends

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 26 Oct 2019

Hey Oriana! Thanks for such a nice review! It was a pleasure to have you guys stay :) Look forward to seeing you next time.

Helen S wrote a review Oct 2019

Quindalup, Australia448 contributions43 helpful votes

Very impressed! Stayed two nights!! Wish it was longer!

I haven't stay in a hostel for about 40 years. I was so impressed by how clean this place was. The layout was excellent with great facilities. Don't stay anywhere else and the price is unreal. Direct your dollars in staying longer but when you travel - budget is the key word so this is the place for you. Parking is available underneath the hostel. Location is fantastic with an easy walk to the shops, beach & ferry. Ben the guy at reception was a happy person who made you feel comfortable being there especially me because I am of the older generation. Several room types available to choose from to suit the individual. Well equipped kitchen to share with the other ffellow travellers and plenty of sitting available inside and outside.

Date of stay: September 2019

Value

Location

Service

Room Tip: Just enjoy

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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 10 Oct 2019

Hey, thanks so much, Helen! It was lovely to have you with us and I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed your time with us! I will pass that lovely feedback on to my cleaning staff :) Enjoy the rest of your travels! Ben Pearson

James S wrote a review Aug 2019

World Traveler403 contributions149 helpful votes

One of My Favorite Hostels in New Zealand

Friendly, helpful staff. Appreciated the early check in, Ben! Excellent location, easy 5-minute walk from the InterCity Bus drop. Well appointed dorm rooms, spacious ensuite bathrooom, clean and spotless with frig and complimentary coffee/tea, and a real sustainable ethic at this hostel (see photo) even real drinking and wine glasses, not the usual unsustainable plastic crap. Large well-appointed kitchen and lounge area. WiFi was generally very good on downloads but a bit slow on (4-6MB) photo uploads.

Date of stay: August 2019

Location

Service

Sleep Quality

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 10 Oct 2019

Thanks, James! Thanks for the encouragement! We do try our best to operate in a sustainable manner and we are so glad that our guests feel the benefits of our efforts :) See you next time! Ben Pearson

David N wrote a review Feb 2019

St Gilles Les Bains6 contributions3 helpful votes

Never again

Noisy, Noisy, Noisy, Noisy, Noisy, Noisy... And Noisy! People don't respect each others. Walls are like paper. I must stay one more night, I don't want. At reception, they are quite gentle, we will see Tomorrow to change of place it's awfull.

Date of stay: February 2019Trip 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.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 16 Feb 2019

Hi there David, We are sorry that your stay was so uncomfortable for you. If you could get in contact with us at info@saltwaterlodge.co.nz we would love the chance to make this right with you.

Sachi wrote a review Jan 2019

Auckland, New Zealand174 contributions6 helpful votes

Neat and clean!

I stayed in this place during my Northland trip. My bed was comfortable, room was clean and so was the bathroom. Room service was fine everyday. I must say Ben and Nachiket were good hosts and had some great customer service skills. There are few restaurants and bar also next door. Would highly recommend this place! Cheers

Date of stay: December 2018

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 19 Jan 2019

Hi Sachindri, It was so nice to have you guys stay with us! Thank you for the lovely review and we hope to have you again in future! Ben

Ginny759 wrote a review Jan 2019

Sydney, Australia5 contributions2 helpful votes

Good property but unprofessional staff

Good property. Clean and tidy. Staff evicited us due to having visitors (they were visiting, not sleeping there). Staff would not give refund. Do not stay here if you plan to have people visit you as they will evict you. I am happy to remove this negative review if staff refund me.

Date of stay: January 2019

Rooms

Service

Sleep Quality

Trip type: Travelled with friends

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 15 Jan 2019

Hi there, So the issue here is that you booked and paid for a room for two adults and subsequently invited three visitors to the property. We are happy for guests to invite their visitors to the property until 7 pm. This policy is clearly stated in signage visible at the entry to the hostel stairs. Upon check-in we advise our guests that after 10:30 pm the deck is closed but we are happy for guests to use the lounge until mid-night and we request that they keep noise to a minimum in consideration of other guests. On the first night of your stay, your group became highly intoxicated and caused a disturbance throughout the entire night, through the morning and into the day, with additional friends. Three people occupied the room overnight and due to continued disturbance and destruction of property caused you and your guests the Police were called. The Police told your party that you must check out at 10 am, which you did not do. At 2pm we asked you to pay for the extra guest who stayed with you over night. You refused to do so and were then asked to leave. You agreed to vacate and it was made clear that there would be no refund for the following pre-paid room night due to the additional guest which had not been paid for and the disturbance caused the previous night. Glad to say this matter has been resolved, however it has left us at a loss as we now have received negative reviews for other guests saying that they were unable to rest with all the shouting and disruption caused by your group on that night. Not a great start to 2019 for them despite our best efforts to accommodate everyone in an enjoyable and comfortable way.

Nina_Murphys wrote a review Dec 2018

Christchurch, New Zealand296 contributions122 helpful votes

Not a place to rest

It’s a Tuesday night, 1AM and lots of noise coming from the windows. Nobody stays at the reception, so no one to ask for some order. I paid more to stay in a single room willing to get some rest, but its be impossible to fall sleep with all the laughs, screaming people outside! Depends what you’re looking for!

Date of stay: December 2018Trip type: Travelled solo

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from SaltWaterLodge, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 15 Dec 2018

I am sorry that you found your stay at Saltwater Lodge noisy; unfortunately we do not operate the Reception throughout the night however we do have an out of hours phone number detailed in the in-room compendium should guests require assistance during the night. The Lodge Manager is also accomodated on site and we monitor noise levels carefully with the assistance of our Security guard. We had no other reports or concerns from guests about noise last night so it is unfortuante that you had this experience. I hope that you will be keen to return and give us another chance in future.

l_glitzenhirn wrote a review Oct 2018

Kassel, Germany5 contributions1 helpful vote

Nice affordable hostel

The hostel is located next to 5 other hostels in Paihia.The rooms are pretty big for their price, the beds are clean and the Wifi excellent! The kitchen has a lot of good equipment (e. g. two sandwichmakers). The staff was super friendly. My only complain is that the room was a bit cold at night even though the heater was turned on.

Date of stay: September 2018

Value

Service

Sleep Quality

Trip type: Travelled solo

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Response from Nachiket_VAITY, Manager at Saltwater Lodge

Responded 31 Oct 2018

Thank you for the review. Delighted to know you liked our facilities and services. Apologies for the heating inconvenience caused to you. Best wishes for your travels.

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