Great place to stay- very clean facilities, friendly and helpful staff at front desk, friendly atmosphere. Staff helped us book our trip to do Tongariro Alpine Crossing with a great, reliable company- $55 for the return bus.
Super hostel, should have no worries about staying here.

Hostel is generally satisfactory and clean but was spoken to so rudely by staff member, I had never experienced anything like it. It felt like they were doing me a favour the whole time rather then treating me like a guest. there atte better options in taupo.

Great service from the last minute phonecall right through the stay, rooms were clean and well kept and the whole atmosphere is very relaxed and sociable.

Nice view of the Lake and it's walking distance from all the shops, I made many friends (we were all stuck inside due to the unusually poor weather NZ was experiencing in summer) and staff even laid on on a Lord of the Rings marathon (even the staff saw the irony of this!) for us.

Kitchen area / lounge area is vast and allows you space to chill out, there's even a small balcony you can lounge around on.

There's a shuttle service to the coach station and internet access is abundant for a reasonable and small fee.

You're treated like a member of family rather than a guest, can't work out why this place has got bad reviews!?

Would stay again.....

Good, newish facilities. Spacious kitchen and lounges, decent sized dorm, good heating. Everything was clean. The location keeps it quiet and out of the fray, but it's only a short walk to the town center. Good bathrooms. Some shower curtains and/or more hooks would have been nice, since anything you put on the ground would get splashed on. Biggest gripe, but also a source of entertainment was the Frenchman in my dorm that talked, laughed and blurted out trumpet sounds in his sleep.