Backpackers Central 846 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central, Hamilton, Waikato 3204

"I’ve stayed in many hostels and this by far was the worst. Not even worth the price we paid in our opinion. Firstly the reception area smelled like straight up BO and we watched the guy fold some linens on the floor… the hostel almost seems like it has two different area. Downstairs rooms had a secure entrance after being in the entrance and it was bright and pretty decent from what we could tell. Unfortunately we were placed upstairs. The hallways were narrow, dirty, very smelly and pretty dark too. Kind of creepy actually. Our room looked nothing like the add (which ok I know it wouldn’t be the same but like it was WAY off). It was so dirty. There was broken and nasty furniture in there. It smelled. The window was covered in like dirt or mole. The AC made a terrible noise, and I took one look at those remotes for the tv and ac And NASTY. There were also missing baseboards all around the room which made us wonder if the place had a nasty bed bug problem at some point. The bathrooms had no TP. One stall was locked because it was broken but it continued to just leak water all over the place. Showers were icky too… We looked for hours for a different place to stay with no luck. We inquired about moving to a rom downstairs and the guy at reception was pretty rude and just gave us a “no”. I’ll give location a bonus because it wasn’t far from the bus station and stuff but overall would not recommend this place to anyone."

"Stayed for a week in this hostel, I noticed when I arrived that the two fridges were completely full, probably with expired food. After several days I ask if they will be emptied, I am told that it will be done later, but that was never the case. Not great for hygiene... The beds in the rooms are too small for those over 1m80 and dorms are dusty with one electrical outlet and one coat rack for 4 people. Otherwise quiet hostel and free wifi so it corresponds to the price paid."

"Don't go here!!! Even if it's cheap! It's dirty, noisy, slow WiFi, our room didn't even have curtains and we lived right to the entry so everyone looked straight into our bed. Asked to get som sheets or something to hang up infront and they gave us nothing. They where to no help. It smells awfull. It's definetly mold in the walls by the smell of it. Just no, don' go here. !!"

"We stayed last night, private room with attached small bathroom. It was fine, beds were comfy, wifi was good. Nice looking kitchen and lounge that we didn't use, though it smelled odd, maybe some type of cleaning fluid? Half the price of a regular hotel, decent coffee shop across the street."

"Very different from the photos on Google maps. If you get a nice picture with a garden and fountain... definitely not it. It is just false advertising. The building is very run down, and doesn't feel clean. The bathrooms were okay I guess. The carpet in the room had spot marks, so you want to wear shoes on at all times. It has private parking in the back of building. The establishment didn't have a bar nor allowed alcohol on premises according to their house rules. Which may be a plus for some, but not for us. Didn't see any other travelers like us, besides some that seemed to live there for a long time. Closest restaurant worth eating on, was at least close enough (4 blocks). All in all, we like to stay in hostels due to the environment that most have. We like meeting other travelers, sit down to chat with them, exchange stories, and have beer or two. This place had none of the atmosphere that you find in other hostels. Would not come back or recommend."