Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers
1 Bunny St PO Box 3071, Wellington New Zealand
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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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About
#6 of 11 hostels in Wellington
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Welcome to the Hotel Waterloo – Budget Accommodation Wellington, NZ You’ll find a warm welcome at our comfortable and clean Art Deco heritage hotel. We offer a wide range of hotel and dormitory rooms at great value rates. The hotel is conveniently located next to all major travelling connections (rail, sea and road) as well as being a short walk from Wellington city’s retail shops and major tourist attractions. Enjoy our on-site cafe for an affordable breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hotel also has a popular bar with pool tables, sky sport features and some of the best beverage prices in the city. We specialise in catering for groups on school excursions, sports tours or club events and can tailor a package to suit your budget. Our in-house travel desk offers free bookings for all your transport and tour requirements.
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Property amenities
Street parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Bar / lounge
Game room
Billiards
Non-smoking hotel
Shared kitchen
24-hour front desk
Wifi
Paid wifi
Restaurant
Vending machine
Darts
Shared lounge / TV area
Laundry service
Self-serve laundry
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Room features
Safe
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Centrally Located
Languages Spoken
English, Czech, German, Slovak
Location
99Great for walkers
Grade: 99 out of 100
104Restaurantswithin 0.5 km
29Attractionswithin 0.5 km
1 Bunny St PO Box 3071, Wellington New Zealand
Getting there
Car HireSee all Wellington car hire
550Reviews2Q+A86Room tips
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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.
Learn more about our review moderation.
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Room was just to sleep, was overused and old. Windows were old and you could hear the wind all night. I had problem sleeping due to the wind-noise. Bathroom was in the room and ok. Location was good opposite to railway station and walking distance to center. If hotel was newer could be great. Reception was gear more to backpackers than to hotel clients.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Location
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.
Helpful
+1
Big Room no cable channels or a fridge but the room was warm, and the shower was good as well. Free parking on the street from 8pm to 8 am or park in a nearby car park building for a discounted fee. The railway station and intercity bus stop is within walking distance as is the city center and local bus station. Bluebridge ferry terminal is across the road and there is a McDonald's next door and a restaurant attached to the Hotel. The location is great and its even a 10-minute walk to the cable car. The price for a double room with a bathroom through Agoda was very reasonable. Body wash and towels as well as tea and coffee making facilities were included in the room price. There is also a kitchen on the first floor as well as other facilities in the hotel including a 24-hour reception. I would choose to stay here again when next in Wellington. The picture of the room on the website differs from the one we got.…
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: We didn't get the free Wi-Fi so make sure to ask for the password when you check in as they don't...
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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.
Helpful
Booked in to stay 3 nights. Didnt sleep 1st night. Why? Retired firefighter. No sprinklers can deal with that, But no smoke alarm, could see where it had been but was missing.. All I could think of was the Loafers fire.. Was my second time staying there, 1st time was ok, this time dingy dark room, cold and small... Think about fire safety standards before staying here. Its on the list of the worst 25 places to stay in Wellington. Never again for me..
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Location
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.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
The picture on the website was absolutely different from what it is! -The place is filsy! -No heating during the winter! I had to ask for a spare one as it was FREEZING cold! -Noisy -Reception people (all of them!) can hardly smile! Come on, guys, it won't kill you if you AT LEAST PRETEND to be happy to see your clients! -The room that I stayed in has a cracked window glass! -No socket by the bed!
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: If you have an extra $50 go and book somewhere else!
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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.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Reminded me slightly of the hotel from 'The Shining', but with (as a room mate commented) a lower budget. Here's Johnny! Big backpackers, conveniently located near to bus and rail terminals and city centre. The 6 bed mixed dorm was fine, but the ensuite shower was either v hot or cold. There was another shower/toilet along the corridor though, so no biggie. Yes, it's a tired building, but it's fine for a budget stay imo, has a big common area, laundry on the top floor. Not sure how often the duvet covers are changed. This hostel does that thing where you get two new bedsheets to sleep on and under.....
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Date of stay: April 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Location
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.
Helpful
Dirty. Noisy. There's olde world ambience and then there's a sad old building in desperate need of maintenance. I had a single room. No basin in the bathroom and had to open and close 2 doors before getting to wash my hands. Judging by the quality of the cleaning elsewhere, those door handles probably haven't been cleaned in a week. Just sooooooo gross
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip 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.
Helpful
Stayed in a single room - wouldn’t have wanted to spend any extra time in the room apart from sleeping. Room smelt bad - musty and cigarette smell. Duvet had discolouration marks on it and soap containers were empty. Overpriced for poor state of room - would avoid in future.
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip 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.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
I'm writing this review while I'm awake in the "Hotel". If I had got here earlier in the night I would have gone somewhere else. The room I was given was humid, smelled bad and had no towel. I noticed the sheets were discoloured and passed it off as being cheap. But then I smelt the sheets and found more marks. It was disgusting. The man at reception was lovely though and quickly booked me another room. Which was nicer and more what I expected for what I paid. I had to book in a hurry due to flight disruption but I wish I'd read reviews as I would have avoided this place. NIce reception staff but tired and disgusting facilities. I can't believe I was given a room that hadn't been turned over.
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Date of stay: December 2022Trip 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.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Terrible! Avoid this place at all costs. A complete hole and waste of money. Nothing worked in the kitchen, everything was dirty, arrogant staff on reception who were downright rude, toilets out of order… the list goes on! it was the worst place I have stayed in NZ and to top it off it is not cheap… do yourself a favour and book elsewhere. The reviews on google are true, this place is the pits.
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip: Just avoid this place altogether, they need to spend some money and get this place up to a basic...
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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.
Helpful
Not sure where to start - This used to be a cute, budget option that ticked all the boxes. Now it's a disgusting tip with no facilities at all. There is a pervasive gross smell everywhere. They are clearly using it for emergency housing for homeless and mentally unstable people which meant that neither myself or my teenagers felt safe at all. In four nights I had my room serviced only once - and barely. The 'shared lounge' is a complete hovel and there was no way I walking through it to see if the self-service kitchen was still in use. The entire interior is a pig sty which has had no renovation in decades. Despite still advertising pool tables and a bar on their website and other booking sites, they've been closed for years with no planned re-opening. Even Trip Advisor listing has "The hotel also has a popular bar with pool tables, sky sport features and some of the best beverage prices in the city. " which is a total lie because it hasn't been open for years - there's a neighbouring bar which is new but this is not what they're referring to as no pool tables exist there either and the pricing is hardly in line with the Waterloo. It's such a shame because this art deco hotel still has great bones and someone could have turned this into an amazing boutique accommodation - I suggest the owners really review why they even own this property when they clearly don't care to run this as a proper business. Oh and check out the view from my room....…
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Date of stay: October 2022
Rooms
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.
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PRICE RANGE
US$33 - US$57 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
downtown backpackers hotel wellington
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Downtown Backpackers
LOCATION
New ZealandNorth IslandGreater WellingtonWellington
NUMBER OF ROOMS
120
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Claim Your ListingHOTEL WATERLOO & BACKPACKERS - Now $95 (Was $̶1̶6̶2̶) - UPDATED 2023 Hostel Reviews & Price Comparison (Wellington, New Zealand) - Tripadvisor
Frequently Asked Questions about Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers
Which popular attractions are close to Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Nearby attractions include Escape Mate (0.4 km), Tarot Zamm - Tarot Reader (0.2 km), and Old St Paul's (0.4 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
What food & drink options are available at Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Yes, street parking is available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Conveniently located restaurants include The Thistle Inn, Shed 5 Bar & Restaurant, and Portlander.
Is Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers located near the city centre?
Yes, it is 0.7 km away from the centre of Wellington.
Are any cleaning services offered at Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Yes, laundry service and self serve laundry are offered to guests.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English, German, Czech, and Slovak.
Are there any historical sites close to Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Old St Paul's (0.4 km), Wellington Cable Car (0.8 km), and Government House (2.9 km).
Is Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers accessible?
Yes, it offers reduced mobility rooms. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.