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Reviews of Downtown Backpackers

2 out of 5
Downtown Backpackers
131 Bridge Street, Nelson

Reviews

6.0
Rating 10 - Excellent. 10 out of 62 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 15 out of 62 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 13 out of 62 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 13 out of 62 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 11 out of 62 reviews" "

6.8/10

Cleanliness

7.0/10

Staff & service

4.0/10

Amenities

6.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

4.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Ashok

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I don't know how Expedia could list such a property on its website. The property is indicated as a backpacker establishment but it is more a boarding house for the down and out. The premises were filthy and unsanitary, the carpet was solid with dirt and sticky, the sheets had blood stains on them, there was rubbish and boxes lying everywhere in the common areas. I felt unsafe. When I told the proprietor that I wanted to leave she insisted on taking a cancellation fee. There was nothing else available so I had to stay there. It spoilt my impression of Nelson. A thoroughly terrible experience. Please get this place off your website!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Patricia

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Patricia

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Good location
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Geoff

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness
Getting access to property. Late Friday night very loud music from nearby. Being woken up at 3.20am Saturday morning by slamming doors and loud arguments and unsavoury language between people with a limited vocabulary.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Paul

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Amenities
The shared kitchen was dirty, the entrance hall was untidy and the room was not clean. The curtains was half off the rail. Did not look like the internet photos. Left and booked at another place for the night. Would not reccomend this place for anybody.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

stephen

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

4/10 Poor

Sue

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

Katrina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Not the fanciest place and quite shabby in parts but it was clean, the bed was comfy and I slept well. Well priced and conveniently located with a very helpful friendly manager.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

4/10 Poor

Christopher

Travelled with group
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Review
Slow to get into the accommodation. The staff member was pleasant. Room was basic. Had a very poor mattress and a single bed that was too small for me. The night was interrupted was excessive coughing and hacking up of phlegm by one resident. Very load TVs at 02:30 by a guest. Managed to get 3 hours of sleep from shear fatigue.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2023

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Could not have been a more terrible experience if it tried
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020
Response from Lisa on 4 Nov 2020
Thanks for stay with downtown backpackers. Hope see you again in the future.

6/10 Okay

Shivraj

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Budget n good stay
This backpacker place is cheap to stay with good size queen room, which has tv, fridge, queen/double size bed, private bathroom and heater. The room is quite good in size n accomodating in that price. There is communal/sharing kitchen with all kitchenware n cookware things, also free breakfast included. The only problem is the club downstairs, on friday and saturday night the noise and bass effect of speakers shake the whole room. So if you planning to stay those night peacefully n relax, then sorry you must see other option. But if you keen on going clubs/bars downstairs on friday n saturday night like we did, then its best at that price n its cleaned n comfortable. Also the backapacker is right in the heart of the city.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Cheap place to stay in good location
Owner was friendly and very helpful. Room was cheap and wifi was good. Location is good with lots of eateries, shops. Close distance to Centre of Nelson, Queens Garden and Intercity bus terminal.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Party or no-party?
If you are going out on the town, it’s perfect. We were told there may be some nice as we are in the party-end of town but didn’t expect that the biggest club in town was downstairs. Spent the night trying to sleep through the booming bass from the club. Not at all a good sleep (until 3am) but if you are in town to party it would be fine
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

2/10 Terrible

Martin Rune Hassan

Disliked: Room comfort
Stay away if you want to be able to sleep
Hotel located on top of nightclub playing VERY loud techno music. Absolutely impossible to sleep, even using earplugs. Left for other hotel in middle of night. I am a sound sleeper and used to stay in simple hotels in developing countries, but this is the worst I have ever tried.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

6/10 Okay

Heike

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort
very loud
It's over a nightclub with no sound proofing. So its very loud and the base makes the doors rattle. The room also get very hot in summer.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

4/10 Poor

Don

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Place ok but noisy below
The backpackers itself was good but below was a nightclub and extreme vibrating noice due to loud music till 3am
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The worst nights sleep due to the nightclub directly below the accommodation. The room was literally shaking from the bass and music until 3am. Bed was awful as well. Do not stay here!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018

2/10 Terrible

James

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very noisy
This backpackers is above the craziest night club in Nelson. Only stay there if you wanna party or you will not get any sleep.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018

8/10 Good

Kevin, Waipu

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Week Day Stay Only
Room was clean tidy with good shower. Kitchen was very well equipped. Just BEWARE of the fact you are above a nightclub. Friday night was VERY loud till 3am.
Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018

10/10 Excellent

Claire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018

8/10 Good

Kim

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
good location & staff
good accommodation at a reasonable price and convenient.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2018

10/10 Excellent

Jett, Hamilton, NZ

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location. Just be mindful that the parking is located at the back of the bar.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018
Response from Manager on 18 Apr 2018
Thanks for your review Jett, we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us.

2/10 Terrible

Christopher

Disliked: Staff & service
Review of Downtown Backpackers Nelson New Zealand
A location in the centre of the very, very noisy heart of Nelson Town. Discos immediately below thumped out music from 10pm till 3am on Fri & Sat. The whole building & my bedroom floor vibrated. Impossible to sleep. Rooms were advertised as being serviced daily but mine was only serviced on 4 occasions in my 11 day stay. I queried this with the Manager and he advised that the relevant member of staff "was in Auckland". I had to ask for toilet rolls, and complementary milk and tea top ups all the time. Returning to an untidy and not made up room on many occasions is not satisfactory and unacceptable and is in breach of the Terms and conditions under which I booked the accommodation. As they have been not complied with in respect of daily serviced accommodation I believe I am entitled to a partial refund. Please advise on how I can make a claim.
Response from Manager on 12 Apr 2018
Hello Christopher, Sorry about your confusion with the services, if you email us directly we can most definitely look into this for you. Thanks for your review.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Not bad overall for a one night stay, room was a little dirty in the corners but overall not a bad experience
Response from Manager on 5 Apr 2018
Thank you for your review! We will be sure to look into your issue. We are glad that you enjoyed your stay as hope to see you again.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Average accom
Had pre- booked a bed for $20.... 3 weeks prior but upon arrival had to move out because other people didn't won't a male kiwi in there. Ended up having to pay TREBLE the cost for only free room at 8pm. Very un accommodating and unhelpful staff could've been more approachable.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018
Response from Manager on 2 May 2018
Thanks for your review.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
I wouldn't stay here again personally...
My stay was from mon 19/2/18-wed 21/2/18. Please note before booking whilst the hostel address on any booking site states 131 Bridge Street, Nelson, 7010 New Zealand the actual entrance for the hostel is "31 new street" which is in a car park. Also if you have heavy luggage the entrance is up a very steep walk. My stay was good, the man at reception who checked me in was very pleasant, helped me carry my case up the steep walk, explained the layout of the hostel. The room I was in was a four bed dorm , it was okay but the bathroom was very tiny and the room itself was also very small. The beds were very creeky. Every time you moved in bed the whole bunk moved a lot which was annoying. The kitchen was big and had the essentials. There was a small terrace upon entering the hostel which was nice although the view was of the car park. Personally I wouldn't stay there again because the room was tiny and the location was not so good and the fact that the entrance was in a weird location in a car park and from a different street than the address advertised on the booking site.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Thanks for your review, were glad you enjoyed your stay here. Sorry for the confusion with entering the building but this is the address we are have to provide as it is the address for the building we have here for the backpackers, any other address belows to another building which does not belong to Downtown Backpackers. We hope to see you again.

10/10 Excellent

Lynda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very friendly
Great, friendly owner (who lives on-site) and staff. We stayed for two nights and had such a good time that we booked for a further two!
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Thanks for your review Lynda, we are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us and hope to see you again soon!

10/10 Excellent

Lynda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018

10/10 Excellent

wenling

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
my best backpacking experience
I booked this place simple because it is the cheapest for a bed in 4-bed room. My experience of living there is superb: 2 min's walk to the main street; supermarket named fresh-choice is a few minutes away and countdown is like 10 minutes away by walk; the receptionist and the owner is pretty helpful; the kitchen is spacious with sufficient cooking utensils, the highlight of my trip is--they offered any backpacker free use of their bikes. I rode a brand-new mountain bike for 2 days, leisurely wondering around the city and the coastline...for a regular solo traveler like me, it is perfect: great location, cheap accommodation, free bike. someone mentioned in the review list saying it is noisy because it is close to a night club. I am a dead sleeper, so I heard no noise, nor did i hear my roommates complain about it. I gave this stay a 5 star-rating. high recommended!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Thank you for your review Wenling! We are so glad that we could provide such sufficient service throughout your stay, hope to see you again soon.

8/10 Good

Steph

Liked: Staff & service
I enjoyed my stay much appreciated thanks.
I enjoyed my stay in the back packers hotel.Apart from the mattress was abit 2 soft i stil got my sleep.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

6/10 Okay

alface, JPN

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
Convenience place but terribly noisy
Downstairs is the bar... they had DJ party until 3 o'clock. The noise disturbed our sleep...

4/10 Poor

MINGYU

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A place to send your Mother In Law
On arrival I wanted to check in and get out and see the beautiful city. The manager on reception was "busy working"... meaning talking to a friend on the balcony. When I gently asked him if we could move things along - he told me his country of birth and then explained "things had not started well".... where I come from we say "hello". I was not the only one who thought his behaviour was odd, rude, confrontational... take your pick As for the room, well if you want to live above a nightclub with loud music which makes the floors and walls vibrate to "doof doof doof" until 3am every night and be at the rough end of the bar street in this beautiful city, then this is the place for you. Only a place to send your mother in law.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Central but very noisy
Disappointing stay. The hostel is above a nightclub which plays very loud music from 11pm - 3am. The whole place shakes and it is very difficult to sleep. It's a pity because the room was nice and clean. Unless you want to party, I woudn't stay here.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful owner
The hotel owner is a wonderful host. The location is great

4/10 Poor

Mirva

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Noisy
One could sleep even the noice was terrible, but when the base was resonating in the furniture and door, one woke up...

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to everything
Very good, close to restaurant and bars, would recommend downtown packers to friends and family

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Great location, friendly staff, good wifi
It took me a while to find the entrance (back of the building). And notice that there are some clubs nearby so it can get noisy at night. Entrance was a bit dirty with rubbish on the ground and it wasn't really pleasant when there was people smoking right in front of the door, but after that I really enjoyed my stay. Staff was super friendly and informative, they made sure everything was fine and working. The room was a bit small and the bathroom could use some upgrading but everything was working and I did get a good night sleep. Good common areas and great wifi! I would stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Hostellet hadde veldig fine fellesområder og hyggelig ansatte som var veldig behjelpelig med informasjon og aktiviteter. På den andre siden var ikke renholdet noe særlig.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Worst kitchen i have ever seen on any hostel
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Sorry that you have experienced this. We do try our best to encourage our guest to clean up after themselves although our cleaners do a great job to clean up either way. We hope to see you again soon. Thanks for your review.

2/10 Terrible

B

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
眠れない
部屋が振動するくらい、音楽がうるさくて眠れません。キッチンもキレイではなく、調理器具も揃ってませんでした。
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Thanks for your review, we are always sure to let our guest know of the noisey weekends. We hope to see you again soon, thanks for your review.

4/10 Poor

Heiko

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Finger weg! Auch der Sparpreis ist zu viel!
Lieblos geführtes Hostel, dreckige Gemeinschaftsküche, Zimmer winzig, Matratze viel zu weich, am Wochenende superlaut, da es direkt über einem Club liegt. War ein Preisbrecher, aber ich würde nächstes Mal ein paar Euro mehr in die Hand nehmen und das Downtown Backpackers definitiv nicht nochmal buchen.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Hello, Thanks for your review. We do try our best to encourage our guest to clean up after themselves although our cleaners do a great job either way! Rooms are suitable to the amount of tenants per room. All our guest are warned of the musical weekend and as for the mattresses we have found a solution for this problem :) We do hope to see you again soon.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
安くて、良いです。週末は下のクラブの音がうるさいです。キッチンや必要なものは全てあります。街中にあるので便利です。
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Manager on 3 Apr 2018
Thanks for your review, we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay with Downtown Backpackers and we hope to see you again sometime soon.