Name: A Plus Samurai Lodge Backpackers
Address: 41 Iwiheke Place, Turangi, Turangi, Turangi, 3334, New Zealand
Rating: 8

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Heating

Garden

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Locker

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Common kitchen

Meals

Internet access

Internet

Barbecue grill(s)

Billiards

Mini golf

Hiking

Picnic area

Fishing

Ping-Pong

Recreation

Parking

Cycling

Sports

Playroom

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Ski storage

Skiing Off-site

Winter sports

Location

At the hostel

Taupo Airport

A Plus Samurai Lodge Backpackers

Turangi

If your a real cleanliness and tidiness freak maybe its not for you but I love places like this. Looks like a collection of tumble down shacks but rooms ok and clean and tidy enough. Owner helpful, quite talkative but likeable. All sorts of interesting stuff on the walls. Would definitely stay again.

Loads of character. Nice relaxed atmosphere.

My stay at the A Plus Lodge left me feeling unwelcome and uncomfortable, to say the least. I arrived in Wellington on November 2nd and met up with my parents, who have been living in Gore in the South Island for the past year. I have been to New Zealand a couple times before, living in Wellington for 6 months and Auckland for 3, while doing extensive travels around both islands during my work and travel, and I’ve had all around great experiences with all different types of hostels along the way: some were solo, some were with friends, but I had no complaints about NZ hostels until I experienced this one.

Just to give people a little understanding of me, the reviewer, I would like to emphasize that I am no stranger to budget backpacking. I lived in the northeastern region of Thailand for almost a year as a teacher, traveling around many different regions of Southeast Asia on weekends and breaks from school (sometimes alone, sometimes with friends). I learned how to scuba dive on a small Thai island, where I slept on a no-frills bunk with 7 other people in the room and sandy floors, but I didn’t mind because I knew what I signed up for. I also lived in Australia for a year, and traveled across Europe for 3 months on a budget. I’ve experienced everywhere from room service in a big en-suite to, certainly much more often, a bunk in a dorm room, in just about every country I’ve traveled to (including NZ), and I just want to take the time to say that my experiences overall have been overwhelmingly positive. 

With that being said, I would not recommend A Plus Backpackers to anyone traveling through Turangi or the surrounding Tongariro area. My guess is that you’d be coming to the region in order to have an easy commute to the Alpine Crossing, like I did, but I have had the privilege of visiting this area more than once, and there are so many other hostels in the area that could give you better service and a better night’s rest for equal or similar money. When I was studying abroad in Wellington 6 years ago, I did the Crossing with a friend, and we stayed in a hostel in National Park that was exactly what we needed. I don’t think it exists anymore, because the owner at the time told us he would be shutting down in a few years, but he was super helpful with all of our questions and very welcoming despite the fact that it took us a while to find our way to the hostel that day (I really wish I could remember the name of that place!) In contrast, my stay at A Plus Backpackers made me feel more like a burden than a paying customer. 

Since this is my first time doing a big trip with my parents, who are not super tech savvy, as opposed to friends in their 20s like me, I understand that the booking and communication on my day of arrival happened a little differently than it would have if I made my reservation, rather than my mom doing it before I arrived in NZ as a favor. However, she used Google to find the top 5 rated hostels in the area, and this one came up as number 4, so she chose to get me a private room for 2 nights while my parents stayed in an Airbnb nearby (the Airbnb was quite small so it was mostly to give me my own space at this location). Since I kind of jumped on my parents already planned trip pretty late in the game, my mom was restricted in her choices for places that I could stay in Turangi. She chose this hostel based on price and a quick google search, and I was happy to have a couple nights to myself. She didn’t mention to me that she had written our arrival time at the hostel between 5 and 6pm, but that’s an easy thing to slip your mind when you book 3 weeks in advance, and she doesn’t exactly know “hostel etiquette,” so when she got a text from the owner of the hostel at around 745pm that night I asked her about it. I thought, maybe the owner is concerned that I’m lost and wants to make sure I get there. So I texted him back from my mom’s phone to say I’d be there in about an hour. My mom’s friend met us at the Airbnb from out of town, and meeting up with her took a little longer than planned. My mom got an angry call from the hostel owner just before 9, saying “where are you? I want to go to bed.” So she explained the situation and apologized (which I honestly don’t think she should’ve had to) and I ended up arriving at the hostel at around 925pm. From there, things just got weird:

The entirety of the hostel grounds were so dark when we parked the car that my dad and I couldn’t make out where reception was, even though it was right next to our car (haha). We walked around the entire building looking for this grumpy man, but he was nowhere to be found, so I called my mom and had her call him back to say we were there. The grounds themselves were pretty creepy, especially in the dark, with lots of strange statues and things that could make you jump a bit if you arrived after dark like I did, especially without any motion-detected lighting or anything to help you find your way. So once we knew where reception was, my dad and I waited a few more minutes before Ian, the owner, emerged from the dark wooden space/hallway in front of us. We both greeted him with a hello and a smile, and he angrily responded by saying, “Where have you been?” ... I have never been greeted that way at a hostel in my life, and I’ve probably stayed at over 100 different ones at this point, so this entire experience came as quite a shock. Again, I understand that my mom wrote 5-6 as our arrival time, but I think most hostels consider that more of a guideline than a strict requirement, and A Plus Lodge had it’s check-in hours on the website going all the way until 11:30pm. I also understand that it was probably a bit inconvenient for Ian that we showed up later than planned, but I didn’t like being made to feel like a burden or as if I did this horrible thing, when we arrived at 925pm (I wouldn’t consider that super late) on a Wednesday night, because he “wants to go to bed.” His initial text left no indication that we should feel rushed to arrive, and his customer service skills are certainly subpar. From that moment, he proceeded to angrily ask if there were two of us staying in the hostel instead of one, because my dad was there to drop me off and help me with my bag, but I assured him that it would only be me. He led us through a series of dark hallways and doors, before we arrived at my room, where he unlocked the door and plopped the key in my hand without a word. Then, my dad genuinely apologized for keeping him awake, as it was not our intention to inconvenience him, and I also apologized while explaining that I had never experienced this type of situation with a hostel before. In all my past experiences, if the owner is unavailable after a certain time in the night, they will usually leave a code for a lockbox or gate, so that late arrivals can still get in. I didn’t expect anything earlier than 10pm to be considered late, so I didn’t think it would be a big issue to show up when we did. With that being said, I know that we could have avoided this grumpy exchange if we had checked in when we first arrived in Turangi, around 6pm, instead of going to dinner and meeting up with my mom’s friend after that, but again, I’ve never had such a negative experience with a hostel in my life.

As Ian left the room with my dad (because my dad needed help navigating back to the car after all those dark turns in the hostel, haha), I waved goodbye and just had a pit in my stomach. I get that this hostel is a 2 star resort, so I didn’t expect anything fancy by any means, but the vibe of the place in general was killed for me after such an unwelcome arrival. The room didn’t feel very clean, and the bathrooms had a pretty gross sediment on the floor that surprised me a bit when I went to brush my teeth with bare feet, but I could have easily looked passed those two things if the service itself was better. Needless to say, I didn’t end up staying for a second night, but rather chose to take the $30 hit and sleep on the wooden floor at my parents Airbnb, because it was a much nicer atmosphere. My one and only night at A Plus Lodge was spent quieting my mind in a tiny room, while reading my book and telling myself I just had to stay here for one night. Had I been traveling solo with this experience, I probably wouldn’t have stayed at all, but I didn’t want my parents to worry about me (despite them being a few minutes’ drive away). My dad texted me that night to see if I was okay, and the next day we discussed how uncomfortable the whole situation was. He said he felt bad leaving me there, and he was actually a little concerned, but he knew I’d contact him if I needed anything. Never again, people. We drove by so many other hostels in the area, and had my mom not made this booking in advance, I would have happily walked away and tried to find something else for a little more money. 

Good luck with your future customers, Ian. I hope they all show up exactly when they say they will. ;)

Not a nice place, inaccurate marketing

I was traveling across the north island, and I needed to rest for one night and found this backpacker lodge. The place was almost empty, and I thought it was abandoned, but finally found the guy in charge and he told me that it was low season, so eventually, it was almost empty. The place was OK, not much comfort, shared bathrooms and showers (which did not look clean), but you get what you pay.

Was OK for one night

It was one of the cheapest we found in the area and the truth is that it's worth it.You have to have a car to move around as there are plenty of things to visit, or they can always arrange a transfer for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.The community kitchen is very well equipped.Towels are not included!

A cheap and pleasant place.

Stayed at this hostel for 5 nights and it was great!
  Ian is a great host and knows almost everything about thing to do in Taupo area and Mount Tongariro. He could also help you to book attractions such as skydiving, speedboat and a shuttle for Tongariro Alpine crossing. 
The showers, the bed, and the bathroom were all clean and the kitchen was well equipped for proper cooking. 
The only bad thing is that the WIFI was weak (but free).

Great accommodation !

A Plus Samurai Lodge is a very friendly hostel located on the outskirts of Turangi. It is run by a lovely couple who are able to supply a wealth of information & advice about the local area, especially local hikes & the Tongariro Crossing .The whole place has a family atmosphere.There is a large well equipped kitchen & the lounge is very  cosy with its log burning stove.

Very friendly hostel

Luckily, not only did the hostel smell bad, but we felt that the night manager was very rude in some of his comments about our country of origin. one of the worst places we stayed in NZ. yes it had a good bathroom, and the pieces were nice.

No, I would not repeat it.

A wunderful hostel and with very nice hostes they are so friendly funy and helpful you feel directly at home and you feel as a part of the family. They gave me a lot of tips what to see where to go and helped finding a lift or helped me to get a DOC Hutpass eventough the i-site center told me that they don't have any left and they can't help me Ian could. Can definitly recommand that hostel. And i want to come back again if i have enough time. Thanks a lot for everything.

A-Plus experience

The wifi didn't work, the dryer didn't dry even after 3 uses, and the boss's wife is more than unpleasant, and I don't understand how she can work in a social place, but the hostel was very warm, so it's great to have a good night afterwards.

I'm afraid I won't be back.

As soon as we arrived, we immediately had a bad impression, perhaps because everything is colorful and there are a number of houses/cottages. Our room was in a stable, comfortable but not very clean room, especially the laundry room. The bathroom was unisex but fortunately we always found it clean. The kitchen is a little messy but with many tools available to do whatever you want.

A Plus Samurai Lodge Backpackers

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