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Reviews of Chateau Backpacker & Motels

3 out of 5
Chateau Backpacker & Motels
8 Cron Street, Franz Josef Glacier

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 62 out of 228 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 89 out of 228 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 51 out of 228 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 18 out of 228 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 8 out of 228 reviews" "

7.4/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

7.4/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Emily

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Adequate budget accommodation
This place was adequate for our two-night stay. Strong backpacker vibe, with free breakfast (waffles, cereal, toast) and evening soup. Helpful staff. The location was great. The room itself was dated and pretty small. I'd say this is a case of you get what you pay for. It was very affordable and great if you're looking to connect with other travelers, but I think I would personally spring for a place a bit more modern with more amenities next time.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Gordon

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Had everything we needed
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Mrinali

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service
I liked that there was free hot soup in the evenings and a free breakfast. We arrived an hour early but weren't allowed to check-in. Also the rooms were not clean, there were bed bugs, the hot water tap wasn't functional and there were spiders in the room. I probably would look for a cleaner accomodation next time.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

8/10 Good

Callum

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Really good size private room with comfortable bed which also had a mini fridge and little sofa. Decent bathroom. Staff were friendly and helpful. Free parking on site. Two good size kitchens and plenty of communal space but no atmosphere really so not great for solo travellers. Would not recommend using the hot tub - was filthy. Disappointed with laundry facilities - washing machine didn’t drain properly leaving my clothes soaking, dryer did not dry fully, and one of my T-shirts was stolen from the clothesline.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

LONG

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Malcolm, Auckland

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
It was we expected from previous reviews. The motel room was smaller than expected. There were no places to hang clothes
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

shani

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
everything was great! nice and comfortable room. from the room you can see the mountain. kitchen have all you need for cooking. breakfast was nice and simple - crepe, tost with butter and jam, and cornflaks. The place close to resturants. the guy that work in the reception was super nice and helpful. thanks
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Sarah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great spot to stay in Franz Josef.
We booked an ensuite room for 2 nights and it was perhaps the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on. Chris, the manager, was friendly and helpful, making soup every night which was free for the guests, as was the breakfast of waffles, pancakes, yoghurt, toast and cereals. Great place to stay and great value.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

Matt

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was a nice hostel with friendly staff. Some younger people stayed up past the quiet time, drank and partied. The electric socket made some noise next to my bed. Other than that no complaints. Cheap with free breakfast and soup for dinner.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Cherith

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Brilliant place to stay, right under the mountain. Free soup and amazing free breakfast every morning. Lovely atmosphere all handled by the superstar owner/manager/bed maker, Chris. We loved it.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2023

10/10 Excellent

Rob

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2023

10/10 Excellent

Naila

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Cool place to stay for a short visit. Everything is at a walkable distance.

10/10 Excellent

Amy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good little base for exploring Franz Josef with free soup and breakfast. The studio was quite spacious but a little dated. The bed was comfortable, however.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2022

10/10 Excellent

fraser

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great price
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Four night stay
stayed for four nights, the accomodation is conveniently accessible to the centre of Franz Josef. The bed was comfortable and appropriately sized. Breakfast, albeit simple, was provided. Highly recommend for any one thinking of travelling on a budget.
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2022

10/10 Excellent

Magdalena

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved the Hospitality &Staff very informative &helpfull..Awsome Stay looking forward &happily recommend this Motel/Hotel/Backpackers...
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

rod

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We loved having the soup on arrival, being able to have a continental breakfast included with pancakes and waffles. We like the undercover walking as it was raining and we were able to load and unload the car without getting too wet. The service was excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

David, Lower HUtt

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Shared kitchen, pancakes included for breakfast and soup for dinner included
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2021

10/10 Excellent

Trish, Auckland

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
very helpful and obliging owner.great spacious room
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020

10/10 Excellent

Susan

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I am going to say surprised. I was expecting this place to be rough. We had comfortable rooms with shared clean clean washrooms. The staff was very friendly helpful and happy. The chateau was quirky looking but a fun place with interesting people of all ages and nationalities Very close to restaurants bars and
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2020

6/10 Okay

Carol

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Eclectic place
We had a shared bathroom type room the first night and it was super tiny. We upgraded to an en suite which was much more comfortable. Nice to have the free breakfast and soup in the evening. Staff was great
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We really enjoyed the free breakfast (pancakes/waffles, cereals, roasts and jams), the number of shared washrooms/showers was limited but we didn’t run into any issues. The hostel is well located, you can easily walk to the grocery store or restaurants.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2020

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
No hot water during my shower. Claimed to have free breakfast, it was 3 round bowel of low grade cereal left on table and nothing else. No staff present. Office was still closed when we leave about 9 am. We just leave the key on the door. Worst paying stay I ever had.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The room was not very clean. The Breakfast was not available as the staff didn't turn up. The price much too high.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

David

Travelled with group
Liked: Room comfort
Could do better
We spent 3 weeks in NZ and stayed in diffrent places most nights, it think it is fair to say that the worst shower of the trip was in this Backpackers. No presure and either scolding or freezing. The kitchen was also one of the worst equipt of the stay with only one sauspan to share round between the guests! For a place of this size the limited hours of the front desk were also suprising, lots of rules about noise, etc, but knobody to enforce them. Appart from the shower the room was generally comfortable and had a small fridge too. Everything in the town was within walking distance.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Well set up and helpful staff v comfortable for motel backpacker units. Just a shame there was no hot water in the morning for a shower.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very expensive for what it is and the condition of the place. The staff are great and very helpful but the place is run down and desperate for a good cleanup.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Nicola

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Our Alps Cavern
Wonderful stay very cosy and warm in room. Owner /manager looks after guests by providing breakfast in the morning, pancakes toast jams syrup coffee tea, and soup at night too keep you warm plenty of vegetables and barley mmmmm yummy. Staff and owner very friendly. We enjoyed our short stay.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, amenities
The. Young lady, she said her name was a Maori name, was great checking us in and helpful with questions. Soup was good and there was a nice selection for breakfast and both meals were complimentary. Beds were comfortable and room was pretty clean but everything needs a real good cleaning as in walkways and light fixtures above entries
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great friendly staff. Breakfast was good but as I’m not a morning person leaving out a little later would be good.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Came here during shoulder season so hostel wasn't full. Booked two double rooms and was given a unit of three rooms with full access which was nice that we could leave our food in the fridge etc. The bed was comfortable, heater in the room to take the edge off the temperature and good shower. Breakfast provided including pancakes if you are up in time! Main kitchen lacked a lot of basic cooking facilities (can opener, grater) but you make do.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

8/10 Good

Deirdre

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable and Friendly
Although it was a backpacker place our room was very comfortable and we had an ensuite. Because it was a backpacker place there was free soup at night and breakfast in the morning
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Having a breakfast and soup for dinner included was a surprise, a great bonus. The room was just okay.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

4/10 Poor

LonelyPlanet, Global

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Difficult to move luggages to second floor as there is no elevator and the road is not smooth for wheels. Room and common area were not clean.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Christian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Cozy Spot
Got stranded in Franz Josef Glacier when the bridge collapsed, it was a cozy, chill place to hang for a few rainy day# complete with a fireplace. The kitchen is large, but I was initially quite stumped by the induction oven.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Convenient location, on the quieter side of the small city. It is within walking distance to most of Franz Josef Glacier. Stayed in the individual room with its own bathroom, and got the corner room. The place is a bit outdated, with dead insects. The wi-fi worked but it was not very good. The place is as clean as it can be, except the carpets weren't that great. Beyond that, the amenities are ok and the bed was comfortable. The free breakfast was decent. It was an ok place to stay for the price and convenience.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Quieter than we thought it would be. Pleasant ground floor room with good facilities. Parking easy.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Rosemarie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location for The Franz and Fox
Bed was a bit narrow for two people WiFi rubbish....total hot and miss Took ages to eventually log on....but zero in room Breakfast....first in Best Dressed. Seating is very limited
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location. Room was clean and very spacious although I did have an issue with bugs (black fly??) in the night time. I woke up a few times having been bitten on my arms, legs and around my waist. If you’re driving there is free parking but it’s very tight. Overall I think the place is an ok spot. Ideal for a night or two. Just have earplugs. The walls are thin and you can hear conversations and doors closing in the next room.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Terence

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
One night stopover on the west coast
This place caters to backpackers and budget conscious travellers, it's definitely good if that's what you want. We had a double room with shared bathroom which was no frills but was fine for a night and clean and comfortable. The breakfast (pancake mix and waffle maker too) was a bonus and this was a quiet place to stay with no issues with late night noise. Franz Josef is tiny so it's easy to walk around the corner to the shop/cafes and restaurants etc. Visit from the fire engine was a bonus ;)
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to town, walk to attractions. Good breakfast, friendly staff and guests
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Easy going staff, very comfortable rooms, close to everything, great breakfast and soup as well!!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019