Tongariro River Retreat

A hostel with very friendly and welcoming staff. The room was ok, in line with the description and photos. They have large available kitchen for guests, and also room for chilling out. 20 minutes drive from parking where you can get bus at the start of Tongariro Alpine crossing hike.

Dirty beds, creepy owner, cobwebbed rooms. Highly disturbing, unclean, uncomfortable and somewhat strange. The entrance is locked/not easily findable after dark. There was a man sitting in the shadows that saw us lost and advised us to use a back entrance to ‘get in’. The owner suggested he called us as we were late (******* check in says until 10pm, we arrived at 9pm and didnt receive a call either). The kitchen was nothing like the pictures - it was cluttered and filthy with empty food cans all over the place when we arrived. Our room was even worse - it was cluttered with a folding bed, the sheets had body hairs all over them, we saw spider webs along the ceiling and the window looked like it hadn't been washed in its life - it was disgusting. The room had a stuffy undesirable stench to it too. There are no sockets near the beds to charge your devices either, just one on the opposite side (for our private room was the case anyway). The creepiest thing was, on our 2nd morning, the owner let himself into our private room whilst my female partner was in bed, without seeking permission or with any reason. She could have been changing or asleep, it was 8:30am and checkout wasn't until 10am. We decided to leave straight after this final straw, and having read other reviews by females, its happened to others to. Wish we’d spent whatever it cost to stay elsewhere as this was an eye opening disturbing few nights. No working heater in the cold room either.

Fantastic Experience! Firstly, a huge thank you to Ian for all your help! You are a great guy, and it was a pleasure to meet you. Your assistance with the Tongariro Track made a world of difference, and we had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people along the way. The lodge itself was a lot of fun, with plenty of games and a well-equipped kitchen that made our stay even more enjoyable. The rooms were comfortable and welcoming. We had an unforgettable experience and can't recommend this place enough!