the owners were really nice when i first moved in but that all changed not long after. the male co owner was very rude and judgmental towards me and would tell people not to talk/hangout with me because "i was a very troubled person" and would" drag people into my problems." which was not true. he would then be rude to my face but lie to others and say that i was over reacting and he was worried for my mental health. Marie was a very kind lady who generally was a caring person.

My partner and I were guests at Planet Backpackers for nearly three months. Initially Luke, the owner, was extremely kind and helpful. Everything was great. It was clean, huge fully equipped kitchen, Netflix, wifi, pool table, holiday celebrations, etc. But the longer we stayed, the more it became apparent that things were not as they seemed. Luke became very distant, no longer speaking with us, completely ignoring us, yet acting extremely friendly with other guests. When we spoke to him he was often quitr rude and inconsiderate. After several weeks, we felt so uncomfortable we rarely left our room to socialize for fear of bumping into him. We felt unwelcome, misunderstood, and judged for no apparent reason. The longer we stayed, the more stories we heard from other guests that this sort of treatment was not unique to us and others had experienced similar and even worse treatment. It was simply not the way to run a good business or treat people. It is really a shame as it is a lovely place and has helped a lot of travelers. When we first arrived, the owners even offered us jobs in exchange for accommodation as we were in a tight spot, for which we were very grateful. If you do plan on visiting I would definitely recommend only short term stays. We were thoroughly disappointed as Rotorua was our introduction to NZ and turned out to be an unpleasant experience.

The manager seemed nice enuf at lest he did explain before he actually charged me which is the only bonus. The crew few and the creepy guy observing made my decision not to stay . Or recommend it to anyone i know but that's only my opinion .

Stayed there yesterday and I was actually scared. I had a weird feeling already when reserving a room since the person on the phone was very vague with the available rooms and prices. I am a girl and when I got there there were only men, none of them seemed to be fellow backpackers and the whole vibe was weird (there was one other girl but she was gone most of the time). When I went to sleep I got woken by someone rattling on the (thankfully locked) door and heard drunken voice outside. Basically bolted the next morning. I heard that some hostels got turned into shelters but if that was the case here why would they not tell me that when I called?? Not to mention that everything seemed really unkept.

writing my experience from 2009 august when this place was called wairaki house i was just out of curiosity reading about this place n found planet backpackers i do not know if this place under same management and that Philippian lady(that monster) with that awesome husband (the polite n good humble natured guy) still there ! but this lady was horrible to me to a levvel where she literally tried to do mentally harm me first my father passed away i was on phone grieving about it with my family overseas n next min she tried to kick me out same hour when asked y all of a sudden she is doing that her reply to me was now that ur father died u cannot pay future rent so u must leave now n i told here what about i payed 3 months rent in advance already ? she told me since m being evicted i dont get refund ? i had to go to my school to file a written report for the school to get involved then i got my money back with few cuts n cost . i went for funeral n came back to continue my study n my friends were living in wairaiki house but i took accommodation outside n 2 days after my mates invited me for dinner at there place (wairaki house) that lady mary or nancy something her name came to the table when i took my first bite of food n she said IN front of every one pointing at me said since u have a dead father now u like eating other people food for free ! this happened in august 2009. that day was the last day i ever went there. if that lady monster still working there ill not recommend u to stay there in starting they act soooo friendly but 1 month or 2 there true color pop out .But disregard my review if that monster is not there anymore as i dont know Planet Backpackers Rotorua is run by same people anymore.

Photos and reviews do not accurately represent Planet Backpackers. Very poor standard of cleanliness. Cobwebs in the rooms and no soap in the bathrooms. The place desperately needs some upkeep. Would not stay again or recommend to anyone.

For the last seven months, I've had the pleasure staying at Planet Backpackers run by Vinay Kumar, the manager. During this time, Vinny as he prefered to be called, was solely responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the backpackers, ensuring the safety and comfort of all guests, and making sure that the property was kept clean and maintained. While my stay was longer than expected, Vinay was always nice to me and I thank him for his kindness.

It was perfect for me. The price is okay. Vinay was just so kind and helpful. Thank you for welcoming me here

I'll remember from my night there the lovely welcome of Vinny, kind and welcoming as I've never seen in a hostel!

Clearly more shelter than hostel, post-covid. Vibe is strange for sure. Bathroom is pretty moldy, sleeping on my own sheets out of caution. Glad it's just one night

A well affordable accomodation, if only i booked earlier, this would've been just enough. Place ain't perfect, heard a lot about it's history but it was under control which is why they had curfew hours for a reason, plus the additional fines which i managed to avoid. Some local long tenants were here, all friendly, even the staff. There are always better places, you just get what you paid for.

Rotorua accommodation was very hard to find on my travels here so bookings are essential. This backpackers was a worry at first. It has a lot of locals permanently living in here. It's quite rundown and a few unwanted 😕 addicts taken away by police during my stay. Service was good 👍and price was reasonable. The Polynesians Spa was just up the road and great restaurants in close proximity.

Lovely place. Very clean and nice staff. Many locals there too

Location is very good but somtimes the atmosphere was a bit strange. I had a single room as I ask and she was clean. Not really the same for the kitchen, and the bathroom I will not talk about it... Resident are more locals and not really backpackers. Unfortunately, some of them doesn't know hygien and the respect for others. But I would like to thank Vinny because he was always very kind with me and he help me a lot for many thing.

Planet backpackers, rotorua. Home away from home. Luke and marie made it that way. It has been the best place to live at for almost a year and a half. A year and a half later luke and marie had to sell off the place for some personal reasons. We were scared because we had no idea what the new owners were going to be like. Upsetting for us but wasnt a surprise, these new owners turned out to be terrible. We were being taken away from home from our home, mentally. The new owners are abusive, torturing and disrespectful. We were bombarded with rules. The doors of our rooms were pushed. Our rents were massively increased and biasness was shown to different communities. I have also been given a trespass notice for "obstructive behavior" where as I had even broken one glass during my stay of qlmost 2 years along with a few other people at the backpackers because I stood for what is right. This notice is technically not been served as I havent been give a copy of it. The owners try and make your stay impossible if they have personal issues with you. Where as when it comes to the stay at planet backpackers, we have had issues with some theives, druggies and criminals. A guy who had just come out of the jail was allowed to stay only on the basis of a paper from the jail that he had just gotten out of. There have been alot more issues here but I can not mention all of them here. A few of my friend did also get a call from the owner himself and abused them terribly. Also, the cleanliness quality here is terrible. The kitchen never had any tissue papers nor cleaning towels, I do get that there were alot of long term tenants who did their best to keep the house clean but when it comes to cleaning the kitchen or the showers everyday it is supposed to be the owners responsibility to do so. At least the previous owners kept it that way. All in all, the old owners had kept the place clean, tidy and homely. Where as it all changed after the new owners. I definitely would not recommend this place, especially for long term guests. And it wouldnt even be a great place for backpackers as you would be unable to enjoy your stay here, will be overcharged and will be bombarded by rules.

Perfect place! Good facilities, amazing staff, pool table, darts, Netflix, nice people around, great location. Edit: wrote this review five days ago, we planned on staying here for a night and we're still here. The owner Luke is literally the nicest person ever, and the place is amazing. Feels more like a huge flatshare than a hostel. If I'm ever 200km around this place again, I will definitely go there!

Everyone staying there and the staff were so friendly the vibe was great. It was clean and tidy, ample parking at night. Heaps of activities like a pool table, Foosball, darts. Great communal areas, and a large communal kitchen

Good place. Feel like “Home”. People are nice. This place close to my heart. I never forgot 6 month. Wonderful days in my life. I lived here my family moments and enjoyed every culture festivals with fun!! Room location is so perfect. I will definitely come again and stay.

One of the best hostel ever I've been😍 the staff is absolutely great and helpful anytime with anything. There isn't any single word which can describe the experience here in this hostel. You have to come, stay and then you will see how great is this place :-)

I give this place zero stars, the backpackers smelt horrible from the lobby up to our room. Was grotty and disgusting in our our room, bed was broken also! The mens bathroom was disgusting too. We are very disappointed to the point we didn’t even want to stay for the night we booked in for and decided to go home. Very ashamed and such a poorly place. Definitely don’t recommend