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Perfectly located central city, boutique hostel in historic 1871 home, in a lovely quiet garden setting and next to beautiful Hagley Park. You will find everything needed including a guest lounge with pool table, DVD's, Freeview TV, free unlimited WiFi throughout the hostel, kitchen, balcony, guest laundry and free off-street parking (on a 'first come first serve' basis). A selection of 5-bed dorms (single beds), 8-bed bunk rooms (bunk beds), single, double and twin rooms are available. Enjoy a stroll to Cathedral Square, or indulge in cafes & shopping on Victoria St.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Charming
Languages Spoken
English, Dutch
Location
1 Dorset Street PO Box 21083, Christchurch 8144 New Zealand
Dorset House Backpackers
319 reviews
Getting there
Good for walkers
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Amazing, small-business hostel with many like-minded travelers to meet along the way. The nice kitchen and outdoor deck area provided a tranquil respite from the hustle of Christchurch. Very responsive and helpful over email - I sent a package of my photography gear ahead to them and they held it for almost a month with no issues.
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Date of stay: March 2020
Value
Rooms
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.
Very nice place, nice staff and great location. Close to the park, botanical garden and museum and only 20 minutes walk to the city center. Nice rooms, enough bathrooms, washrooms and a great kitchen are available. Would love to come back!
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip 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.
We spent 2 nights here before and after our stay in Queenstown and on both nights we arrived late at night. We had booked online months ago and the staff had given us the door code access way ahead of time. Upon entering the front door on both occasions, we found our key and Wifi access code in an envelope pinned to the reception desk's notice board, hence everything went smoothly. We just had to find our way to our room according to the floor map attached. Our choice of a small double room turned out to be quite cramped for 2 adults with 60-litre backpacks but it was fine for a very short stay. There were many restrooms and showers available - which is a good thing - but on the second night, the one nearest to our room (which was in the second/back block) happened to have run out of hot water, resulting in us having to hop over to the front block via an unsheltered backyard (it was drizzling and cold). Light sleepers may also be woken up by the noise from the carpark if your window opens to it. As for the common kitchen, we utilized it once and found it to be pretty well-stocked and equipped. Vic's Cafe was very nearby (exit the hostel, turn left and go down the street for about 3 minutes before crossing the road to the cafe) and the Canterbury Museum was a 15-minute stroll away (shorter if you're not carrying luggage). Overall, the hostel was pretty ok and well-suited to our budget. We also appreciate the hostel's prompt replies to our emails leading up to our arrival.
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Date of stay: August 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:The small double room is best suited for one guest.
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 wife and I stayed here twice, at the beginning of our NZ "holiday" and at the end. I loved the first time - the Dorset House was magical - it is in a quiet neighborhood directly adjacent to a large city park and only short walk from the beautiful botanical gardens. It is a historic house/hotel that has been providing people with a place to stay for 75+ years (100+ ?), and has been owned by the same family at least since WWII. It was a charming place and I totally understand why it has been rated so highly by other reviewers, BUT the service that we received on our 2nd visit was the WORST that I've EVER received from ANY place of accomodation that I have EVER stayed at and I would NEVER stay there again or recommend it to anybody (except my evil advisor from graduate school).
On our 2nd visit we arrived at the front door at 6:05 p.m., five minutes the front desk closed for the night. The receptionist left us instructions and a key in an envelope taped to the front door - no problem so far - EXCEPT that when we went to our room (#9)somebody's stuff was already in the room! What to do? We went to the receptionist's desk to see if anybody was still there - nobody was. We asked the people in the tv lounge and the kitchen (everybody that we could find) if they were staying in #9 (so we could sort out who was really where), but nobody was. We went back to the desk and looked for an after hours number, an emergency number, for somebody to call, but NOTHING was listed. We knocked repeatedly on the "Private" door, but nobody answered. There was NO WAY to get in touch with ANYBODY that owned/worked at the place after 6pm! My wife was just about done writing a note a saying that we went elsewhere for the night and not to charge our credit card when a young woman who worked at the reception returned to get her phone charger. My wife spoke to her and, fortunately, she realized the severity of our problem and began to help, trying to figure out who had their luggage in our room (she confirmed that we were reserved for #9). In the process we discovered that the woman who apparently owns Dorset House had been in the closed receptionist office the ENTIRE TIME and when she learned of our problem from the young woman helping us, what did she say? She said, "well that will teach you [the receptionist] to forget your phone charger!" The woman TOTALLY lacked empathy! Somehow someone who works for your hotel gave a 2nd key to our room to another guest, now we have no place to stay, and all you have to say to the person helping us is, "well that will teach you to forgot your phone charger!" That is simply ridiculous! Shortly thereafter a man (apparently the woman's husband) came out of a different unmarked door in the establishment and, hearing of our troubles, only commented, "normally I'm more charming than this," before walking away! Finally, after exhausting all the possible lines of inquiry, the woman helping us concluded that she couldn't figure out who was in our room and that she would have to make us a reservation a different hostel, BUT the place they put us in was CHEAPER and, when we got there, we discovered that it was DIRECTLY OVER a bar that was open until 3am and across the street from six (SIX!) nightclubs. Although some people like those kind of establishments, that is nothing like the Dorset House, which my wife picked out specifically from Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor reviews for its quiet location!
Mistakes happen and I can understand that sometimes things go wrong, but it is simply UNEXCUSABLE to dump your guests in a cheap, threadbare, rat hole over a bar (open to 3am!) and across the street from 6 discos, when your establishment is noted for its quiet location. It is UNEXCUSABLE to not have an after hours emergency number. If you don't want to be occasionally interupted at any point between 6pm and 8am, don't run a hotel! And finally, it is UNEXCUSABLE to be so callous to the plight of your guests when you've created the problem.
So in conclusion, I can understand why other reviewers have given it the high marks - that would have been our opinion based solely on our first visit - and I can happily tolerate a mistake, but I cannot recommend a place where the staff cares so little about their guests. I would NEVER recommend this hotel to a friend and that makes me a little sad, as it was SO wonderful the first time and has so much potential.
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Date of stay: April 2010
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip 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.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 2 May 2010
Hi, thank you for your feedback and for your comments on your stays at Dorset House. We appreciate all our feedback – the good and the bad – as it helps to know where we have got things right and where we have gone wrong and need to improve. While we’re glad you enjoyed your first stay, I am really sorry that your second stay with us wasn’t a good experience for you. Having figured out the following morning what happened, it appears this was a chain of events that stemmed from us checking in two guests who were shown their room on the map, and then put their luggage into the room next to the one they’d been issued. They then went out for dinner without either locking the (incorrect) room, or apparently noticing the number on their room key. Things spiralled from there. This was a pretty strange and rare situation, and I completely agree with you that we didn’t do well in handling the problem and we didn’t manage this as we should have. You should have been able to expect to obtain your accommodation as booked/or received an equivalent alternative in case of emergency, as a basic standard of care provided by an accommodation business, and for our failure to provide this I sincerely apologise to both of you. We tried to find a solution on a busy Saturday night, and on this evening we fell short of what you should have been able to expect of us. The judgement call that I made to find an available room in another hostel for you was an incorrect one on my behalf. I’m really sad to read that you left feeling that we didn’t take enough care of you as our guests – we do try hard to look after our guests and be helpful to them and watch out for their comfort and convenience as guests to our city and our hostel. I am really regretful that we let you down on this occasion. Our team are grateful that you took the time to send feedback and communicate this to us. We will learn from this experience and will work to improve our systems for dealing with emergencies. We will continue to strive hard to make our guests feel comfortable and well-cared for when staying with us at Dorset House. With kind regards and thanks, Angela Haughey Manager Dorset House
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for the - as we found - high price, we got not much. we had a twin room with shared bathroom. you cant complain about the bathrooms, but our room was bare, not very cosy, it was loud and the bedclothes werent not really clean. we stayed there only one night, so it was ok, but for a longer stay, we cant recommend it. staff girl was friendly
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Date of stay: December 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip 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.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 19 Feb 2013
Hello, Thank you very much for reviewing us, and for your constructive comments. I am sorry to hear that you had problems with noise – Dorset House is generally a quiet hostel, and we don’t attract the ‘party types’. Our owners live on site and will monitor noise levels. I am also alarmed to read that you had concerns regarding cleanliness – we take this extremely seriously. Dorset House was assessed by Qualmark, New Zealand’s hotel quality authority, last month. We were awarded a four-star rating for 2013, with the assessor commenting on the excellent cleanliness of the hostel. If you found that this was not your experience I am concerned – I will be sharing your comments with the housekeeping team. I am glad that you found our staff to be friendly, and that you found the bathrooms of a high standard. We renovated the hostel in 2012 and we have included treats such as LCD tvs in all private rooms, and free WiFi vouchers for all guests. We do appreciate all of our guest feedback, as it helps us to continually improve. I would welcome further feedback at – angela@dorset.co.nz. We wish you the best for your travels, Regards Angela, Manager Dorset House
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Friendly and helpful staff and great unlimited Wi-Fi! The showers kind of sucked but it's a hostel so you get what you get. The kitchen was nicely spacious and the atmosphere was great. Rotor likely go back if given the chance. They're very into trying to convince customers into booking directly with the hostel instead of a hostelworld as it's "better for the travelers" righttt.
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Date of stay: June 2016Trip 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.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 28 Jun 2016
Hi Adam S, Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us a review. We are glad to hear you found our staff to be friendly and helpful and you enjoyed the free unlimited WiFi. In regards to your comment about direct bookings, we indeed have a poster at reception to make travellers aware that the deposit (ranging from 12 to 20%) you pay as a traveller is not received by the property, but is kept by the Online Travel Agent as a booking fee. I sense a little bit of sceptism perhaps in regards to it being better for the traveller. Please know that it could make a huge difference for a hostel to receive $30.00 rather than $26.40 per person per night, as the hostel would be able to use this to reinvest in the property and upgrade items such as linen or free unlimited WiFi. After mortgage, staffing costs, electricity, cleaning costs, marketing, council rates, maintenance and items to make it comfy for travellers such as linen, comfy mattresses, free pool table, free unlimited WiFi (not free for us!) there generally isn’t a whole lot left to reinvest. This is why some hostels around the world unfortunately show a lot of wear and tear, as this is only a trend since the last 7 years or so. All we’re trying to do is make people aware by showing the poster, but it’s still up to you how you wish to book. Please do let us know (stay@dorset.co.nz) what you did not like about the shower and which one it was. Our showers upstairs have hot water cylinders and can occasionally run out if a lot of people have used the same shower. However, our showers downstairs are gas heated and provide continuous hot water no matter how many people have used the shower. We like to keep improving our facilities and with constructive feedback (and maybe an extra 10% revenue ;) ) we can. Enjoy your travels and we hope to see you again perhaps in the future. Warm regards Hilde Dorset House Backpackers
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Quiet, comfortable, personal very friendly and helpful and very good location (walking distance from city centre). I forgot my watch in one of the rooms and they helped me to deliver on time to my next destination. They offer free tours around the city that I find very cool!
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Date of stay: January 2016
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.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 14 Jan 2016
Hi Cristinagj, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are glad to hear you’ve enjoyed your stay with us and found us to be of good value. We are indeed only a 15 minute walk from Cathedral Square or the Canterbury Museum, so lucky! We are glad to hear your watch made it to you on time as we always try to assist guests however we can. Christchurch indeed also has a free walking tour over summer leaving from Cathedral Square (but this is not organised by the hostel). Thank you for choosing to stay with us in Christchurch and we hope you enjoy the rest of your travels! Warm regards Hilde Dorset House Backpackers
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I arrived late and key was hanged at board. Facilities (kitchen set, wc/shower, laundry) are available and good. This hostel is close to bus stop in Victoria St (cmiiw).
I was lil bit scared because of creepy oldish interior. Looks like this hostel is historical building. Mostly, visitors are old man (I guess they transit for early flight). They were snoring whole night and argued each other in the morning. Really funny! lol..
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Date of stay: October 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Avoid old man because they are snoring!
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.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 11 Nov 2013
Hi there, Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us a review. Our hostel is indeed in a historic building (built in 1871). For more information please also see http://www.dorset.co.nz/house. However, the hostel has been renovated in early 2012 so I’m surprised you found our interior to be oldish. Our guests have very mixed ages and there is usually a good balance. I am sad to hear you had a snoring guest in your room. Unfortunately this does sometimes happen in Shared Rooms and we recommend using earplugs in Shared Rooms. I do hope you were able to sleep even though someone in the room was snoring. We hope you enjoy the rest of your travels. Warm regards Hilde Dorset House Backpackers
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Stayed for two nights in a double room after arriving in New Zealand. Room was warm and comfortable and bathrooms were very close by. Welcome from staff was friendly and late changes to our stay were accommodated swiftly. Very good breakfasts available around the corner at Strawberry Fare.
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Date of stay: August 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip 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.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 21 Aug 2013
Hi there, Thank you very much for leaving us a review. We are glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at Dorset House (especially since it was your first stay in New Zealand). We always try to turn on heaters and make the room cosy for late arrivals. Strawberry Fare is indeed one of our favourites (we also like Vics for breakfast, which is just around the corner). Thanks for staying and we would love to see you again. Enjoy the rest of your travels! Warm regards Hilde Dorset House Backpackers
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Having been very moved walking around a quiet, rainy Christchurch, Dorset House was the perfect place to return to contemplate the day. Probably the largest 5-bed dorm I have stayed in, all single beds (no bunks!), cosy and warm. Recently renovated showers and free use of hairdryers in the bathrooms. My favourite feature was the large, welcoming lounge, with a TV, free pool and a vending machine. Very easy to meet wonderful people and felt totally at home from the moment I checked in. Will definitely use again.
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Date of stay: June 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
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 as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from DorsetHouseChch, Manager at Dorset House Backpackers
Responded 16 Jun 2013
Hi there, Thank you very much for taking the time to leave us such a wonderful review. We are glad that you enjoyed your stay and that it was cosy and warm. We are indeed quite proud of our spacious lounge and are thrilled to hear this was your favourite feature. Thanks again for your review and we look forward to welcoming you again in the future. Enjoy the rest of your travels! Warm regards Hilde Dorset House
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Hi r0semaree,
Thank you for your message :-)
That is not a problem at all! Our reception closes at 5:00pm, if we don't see you before then we leave out a late-arrival envelope at reception with your room key and WiFi so you can check yourself in after-hours.
Once you've made a booking we will send your the door code in a confirmation email which you can use to enter the building.
The cheapest way to reach us at 1:00am would by by booking a shuttle, from the airport to Dorset House is $25.00 for one person (+$6 for any extra passengers). If you would like to secure a booking please send us an email with your flight number and expected flight arrival time and we will happily arrange this for you! :-)
You can contact us any time between 9am-5pm via phone or email if you have any further queries.
Warm Regards,
Lori
Dorset House Backpackers
Hi Juaymah,
Absolutely! please take note of the 4-digit security code sent in your confirmation email to enter the building after hours where we will have a late-arrival envelope arranged for you with your room key and instructions to connect to our free unlimited WiFi.
Have you sorted your transport options to get from the airport to Dorset House? we recommend booking a shuttle as they are much cheaper than a taxi and run 24/7- unfortunately the number 29 airport bus does not run after 11:00pm.
If you would like us to arrange you a shuttle please send us an email with your flight number- we would be more than happy to book that for you to ensure your arrival runs smoothly :-)
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can provide any further assistance- we look forward to welcoming you to Dorset House!
Warm Regards,
Lori
Dorset House Backpackers
We reached Christchurch at 1 am and we were still able to check-in without any problems whatsoever. Write an email to them with your flight details and they leave your room keys in an envelope. We took a Super Shuttle right outside the airport. I guess the hostel arranges a pickup as well. Have a good trip to NZ!
There are more places to choose from in the Christchurch area.
LOCATION
New ZealandSouth IslandCanterbury RegionChristchurch
NUMBER OF ROOMS
15
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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