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Panoramic views of Curio Bay from the balcony. See dolphins swimming in the surf, penguins nesting & seals basking in the sun. Split level accommodation. 2 kitchens & 2 common rooms - plenty of room to spread out. Minutes walk to petrified forest & penguin viewing platform. Private access to the beach. Friendly, helpful host. Double, Twin and Shared accommodation available. Great place to get some time out.
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Stop for one night at Catlins area we chose this lodge. It was really nice stay, very good spacious room with triple comfy beds, and very quiet at night for really decent sleep. The shared bathrooms and toilet were clean and good. The shared kitchen was OK with some kitchen stuff available, next to the dining table and living room with TV, sofa and some brochures and books, the deck outside is good for sitting and enjoy the landscape and the bay at the distance. Location is at walking distances to the CurioSpace and Petrified Forest, all good.
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Date of stay: December 2019
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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.
This hostel must have one of the best settings ever, overlooking the beach at Curio Bay where you can see dolphins playing in the waves in the morning. At night if you’re lucky you will see Yellow eyed penguins come up on another beach if you are lucky - I was.
The hostel itself has a very large kitchen/lounge area upstairs overlooking the beach and a balcony to sit out on. Very clean and hospitable. Wish I’d stayed longer.
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Date of stay: February 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.
Stayed here in 2011 and made a point of coming back 9 years later. Still the great place we remember. The manager now, Pushpinder, is a treasure. She keeps the place organized and clean, and is there if you need anything, but she's always inobtrusive, so you feel like you're in your own place. Always an interesting mix of people here too. An easy walk in the evening to see the penguins come ashore. Hope it's just the same the next time I visit, hopefully before 9 more years.
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Date of stay: February 2020
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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.
This is a large house which has been converted into a combination backpackers lodge and rooms to rent, with a large kitchen, dining area and lounge, but note that parking is an issue. Unload at the door, carry tour bags inside (removing footwear) and then go back and park on the road. Facilities were good: plenty of gear in the kitchen and nice lounge chairs. Showers worked well. The place was up for sale when we stayed, which might mean that the grumpy owner has now moved on. There’s not a lot of choice in accommodation in Curio Bay and this place was comfortable enough for a night or so.
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Date of stay: January 2021
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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.
Response from Pamela Yorke, Other at Lazy Dolphin Lodge
Responded 23 Feb 2021
Thanks John for your comments, but the grumpy owner wasn't there, as I wasn't there that day.
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Curio Bay is a great little spot and we were looking forward to staying here, but because there were others in the house, we were confined to the bottom floor only. The kitchen was dark (needing lights on during the day), an old cloth gave an awful smell to the place, and we had people traipsing up and down to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately the walls are a tad thin so we were kept awake by our neighbours and then woken up by the family upstairs. No view, no TV or games... It sounds like people love this place from the other reviews so I can only assume that the top level is lovely. It was a shame that we weren't allowed access, or our experience might have been very different.
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Date of stay: December 2013
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Cleanliness
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Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Ask to be upstairs if you can
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.
Awesome place to stay Right in the beach front Can enjoy a nice walk around the bay or a 2 minute drive to the petrified forest to see the penguins Decent price for a private room. Free wifi, works very well. Clean and tidy, everything you need to make a meal and clean up again. TV and DVDs all available as well as many board games. Balcony to enjoy watching the sunrise :)
Not a lot of water as it's caught from the rain. So you need to be very conservative.
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Date of stay: December 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.
Responded 4 Dec 2016
Thank you
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My daughter is backpacking in NZ and booked this hostel. She arrived at about 3.00 and there was a note saying the manager would be back at 5.00. Not convenient after a long journey but she hung around. By 7.00 there was still no sign. My daughter left 3 voicemail messages on the number on the notice. There was no one there at all, although my daughter could get in she could only access a dorm room. Luckily about an hour later another girl showed up. They found another unlocked bathroom and kitchen around the back. Still no sign of manager and no calls returned. About 9.00 a couple turned up. They all decided to sleep in the same dorm and lick the door as the door to the hostel was still open. The manager finally arrived after 9 the following morning! What a shambles. This is not what you expect from a business. There were a few apologies but no explanation and no offer of a partial refund. I would not advise anyone to book this place.
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Date of stay: September 2018Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Don’t book a room here
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 Pamela Y, Owner at Lazy Dolphin Lodge
Responded 6 Oct 2018
Hi, I sincerely apologise for this inconvenience. There is know way that this should have happened, and I will be having serious discussions with my staff, who were supposed to be working during the day. I hope the rest of your daughters trip around NZ went well. I thank you for bringing this to my attention.
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Located conveniently in Curio bay, this lodge caters to those that don’t mind sharing bathroom facilities. Double bed, comfortable, warm room, bedding ok but nothing more in the room. Bathroom is basic but functional. Communal cooking, common lounge area supplied with DVDs, books etc. Rustic and rough but adequate as there is limited selection in the area. Easy access to the beach, quiet (surroundings) and good location to star gaze.
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Date of stay: August 2018Trip 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.
Ok, so this place gets two stars only because the amenities are actually quite ok- the second floor kitchen and terrace were quite nice. However Lazy dolphin it is- there was Never anyone at the desk downstairs besides one guy who just told us to go up and the key was on the door of the room. He had vanished without trace in the 5 minutes it took us to drop our backpacks and come back with a few questions. None of the phone lines were picked up, but as there was generally no coverage in the area I guess that was to be expected. Could not find anyone in the evening either, when the manager was supposedly coming to check on things, so we had to park in the middle of some shrubs as the entire parking space was taken up by 3-4 cars with a meter left on each side of them. The wi-fi was a joke that was not explained properly on the site or the blackboard (which was basically the only means of communication we had with any staff). You can supposedly get it to work on a free trial, that you still have to sign up for and start paying when the clock hits 12. Luckily same wi-fi provider as the cafe nearby, so we managed to make it work with some codes from there. No storage space in the rooms at all (not even a small bedside table). To top it off, the walls are made out of paper- we had some bad weather during the night we were staying there and it was exactly like being outside. Maybe even worse, given that the wind had some nice rickety windows to make whooshing sounds through. Had to sleep with ear plugs the whole night and still woke up on multiple occasions. In the first half of March, when I imagine the wors of the weather hasn't even come around yet. Couldn't find anyone at the desk to notify we were leaving either. So overall the area is great but we would stay somewhere else if we could choose again, and were very happy to have booked for only one night.
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Date of stay: March 2018Trip 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.
Ended up staying here after re-arranging plans as there was no accommodation available in Dunedin. We were delighted with our discovery. The Lazy Dolphin is quite low key and functional, but well-equipped. Our room (downstairs) was clean and spacious. Excellent value. Ideal situation right by the ocean - beautiful views and walking distance to rare yellow eyed penguins.
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Date of stay: November 2015
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.
There are more places to choose from in the Curio Bay area.
LOCATION
New ZealandSouth IslandSouthland RegionCurio Bay
NUMBER OF ROOMS
7
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