Very nice backpacking place in the center of Rotorua, close to supermarkets and other stores. The only negative thing was that not everything was working in the kitchen, had some problems with the stove, but otherwise very good! The staff makes it look clean and nice and the lounge area on the last level is a nice hangout spot 🤗 Lots of information about activities and the staff is helpful to provide all the information you need 😊

I don’t normally leave reviews. However, I felt compelled to write one because I stayed here based on the reviews, and they felt like false advertising. This was truly the worst experience I’ve had at a hostel to date. The rooms were UNBEARABLY hot and dusty. 6 person shared dorm room with a tiny little fan. No AC. In the height of summer. Rooms with only one outlet. The bathrooms and kitchen were truly disgusting. Unkempt. Cobwebs and grime everywhere. And no paper towels or hand dryers anywhere? Only small washcloths that fall on the floor and remain there for days. I am also seeing lots of replies from Rock Solid claiming understaffing is to blame. With the affects of covid taken into account…there are changes that need to be made that have nothing to do with staffing. If you are understaffed, sell fewer bookings. Otherwise you are putting everyone in a bad position. I would not recommend staying here.

My brother and me are living in a campervan and we needed to take a shower very badly. So we just asked the receptionist if we can take a shower in exchange for a five star rating. It obviously worked! The showers looked also very clean the people were friendly and we had a short and pleasant stay! Thanks!

A good hostel with great facilities in a central location. I stayed in the group dorm so the common room, kitchen and dining areas were all separated from the main hostel which made a big positive impact for new groups wanting to socialise in one area. The only issue I experienced was the need to have windows (if you had them) open to stay cool which ordinarily is fine but in Rotorua the smell can be a little strong. A/c would have been amazing.

5 stars goes to this hostel and to this amazing housekeeping duo who were always in a social mood and having fun. I can’t remember their names but they made my stay so fun and they were very helpful. Thank you again you two for the clean space and amazing service.

The power outlets in the rooms are not practical to use. The kitchen doesn't have windows nor ventilation. It is really hot in there and it get worse if you cook after the other guests. There was only 6 forks and not enough cups for the breakfast time.

Great location right in the CBD, close to everything you could possibly need. Rooms are cozy, but nice large beds with quality feel. Kitchen services are decent.

Average stay at this hostel where I expected better! - The staff are super friendly and helpful. - The location is quite good and the rooms have lockers. - The wifi connection is poor throughout the whole hostel. - The kitchen had only 1 cooking frying pan 🍳 which is annoying. - The beds do not have a charging point or electricity socket next to them. - The bunk beds are high and do not have a railing on the side to hold too in case you fall so didn’t feel so safe up high on them.

Great hostel to stay at! We stayed in the room with the private ensuite and it was very nice. The shower was elevated from the ground. The check in process is easy. They have ramps to get to the floors. It feels very secure and is in a central part of Rotorua. And apparently staying there gets you discount at the rock climbing wall

The hospitality industry (esp. for backpackers) is still recovering from covid, which should be taken into account! Very clean. Sound carries very well in the building. The 6-bed dorm room I was sleeping in had a bunk bed right next to the door on its opening (not on its hinge side), causing your face to be flooded with light whenever someone opens the door. The hallways and after-hours lounge have quite a cold atmosphere due to the way the sound travels. There's hard flooring (carpet on concrete? not sure) and a lack of sound-absorbing furniture. There's a little echo to every sound made as all the surfaces reflect it quite well, which detracts from the social and warm vibes you'd be hoping for. It's all a little chilly. More paintings and/or soft or wooden furniture could improve the situation. The non-after-hours lounge/reception feels significantly more pleasant to be in. Saw some boxes with furniture arriving at the reception on one of my days & Rotorua has had it pretty rough the past couple years, so I believe it'll be getting better! 💪

Private room is OK. The bathroom had broken tiles and the bath mat was very grungy: I wouldn't touch it. You can hear everything even while wearing earplugs. Literally heard the person on the other end of a call outside room due to acoustics. Doors slam all night. Laundry machines have seen better days. Detergent machine broken, no soap at front desk. The staff was very nice, however. Pay few more dollars if you have them and stay somewhere else if you need sleep

Private room was big with good facilities. Nice comfortable bed. Hostel itself is huge and has good common areas including a very big kitchen. Staff were friendly. In good location walking distance to bars, cafes etc.

There was a small miscommunication that caused my food to be thrown away. Normally, that's it, but this hostel managed to brilliantly compensate me for it. The hostel itself has many lounge areas, which are both good and bad (most areas end up empty'ish, might be the time of year). The kitchen was very large and cooking was great, yet the pans have seen better days. Reasonably social hostel. The only main downside is that the electrical sockets aren't near each bed, instead they're centralized at one or two locations in the room (which is a bit annoying if you have an alarm and want to instantly dismiss it).

Perfect location spot. Really central to all the Hotspots. Only 10 min walk to the lakefront and restaurants. Staff are really friendly and helpful. Rooms are okay. Could be Curtains for more privacy but other than that I would definitely return to this backpackers.

This could be a great place if there was more thought in what they are doing. Me and my friend booked 2 beds for 5 nights. We booked our first night seperatelly from our additional 4 nights. The lady at the check in said to us we had to move rooms after the first night, what we understood and had no problems with. Only the next morning we had to check out and couldn't go to our new room after 2 pm, which we found quite annoying. The beds on our first night were amazing, nice and comfy. However The beds on the rest of the nights were giving us backpain. With every movement we could feel and hear the springs moving. The showerfloors were full with hairs and sand. Later in the stay it did get better. The sanitary bins were overflowing and did not get emptied which resulted in used product on the floor, gross. The kitchen was being cleaned between 12 and 2 and the laundry machine made stains in our clothes. This could be a great place. The hostel is spacious, central in town and nicely equipped, the kitchen was big and clean. But for now we wouldn't wanna stay here again.

I stayed in Rock Solid Backpackers for seven weeks while I worked in Rotorua and had a fantastic time. The hostel is located in the city centre which is ideal. The rooms were clean and spacious with lockable closets for everyone, there was a huge lounge with tables, armchairs and a Netflix tv, the kitchen was almost always clean and the staff was super friendly. The receptionists had a great overview about activities and sights around the area, were always happy to give you tips and even could give you discounts on many activities in the area. The rooms per night are not expensive and get even cheaper when you are a member of The Backpackers Group (20$ membership per YEAR and you get 20% of every night at Rock Solid Backpackers - and there are many other discounts on hostels all over NZ). So big recommendation!!! I stayed a few nights in other hostels in Rotorua, too and Rock Solid Backpackers was definitely the best AND the cheapest.

The location was great and it was cool that the hostel had an indoor rock climbing area. One of the rooms we stayed in smelled of sweat and the curtains were too small to cover the entire window in the other room. The sheets and pillows were pretty awful - worn-out and scratchy. They really need to be replaced. One could wish that the electrical outlets would be more conveniently located next to everyone's beds. It was an OK stay, but I personally would not stay at this hostel again.

My daughter and I stayed here last month - January. Lovely staff, friendly. There is rock climbing here and a movie theater We loved it here. We had a room with 2 bunks and 2 single beds, a window and fan. We would come back to our room and crash on our beds for a cat nap. It was just great. Cheaper accommodation too. If you want to have more money for attractions. Thanks for a great time.

Great location, close to supermarket. Clean room with no windows, you can hear other people through walls. Staff were unfriendly, unhelpful. I arrived after office hours and didn't get any email about how to check in because they forgot. Wifi doesn't works.

I would not recommend this hostel to anyone. First of all they only work till 6pm with reception and common area closed then. Do they not realise they cater for backpackers? We arrived at 11.30am and were told check in was 2pm, this was perfectly fine so we waited. At 13.52 I went up to check in and the lady said check in only at 2pm…..you must be kidding me right? I thought she was joking but she was 100% serious. So we waited another 8 minutes. There was heavy heavy rain all day that day. The window in our room was leaking heavily from the top ceiling. The floor was completely wet and damp. By the time we noticed it was 6.30pm and reception was already gone home. We were not told about any supervisor or night staff so didn’t know who to contact. We had to place a bowl on the window sill to gather the water. Luckily for us the rain stopped around mindnight. The room smelt damp for the whole night. When we went to check out my friend realised he left his water bottle in the reception area the afternoon before, we went to reception area at 8.35am and saw a lady sitting at the reception desk. We asked could we get something we left yesterday, she said no we only open the doors at 9am, we could literally see the item but she refused to let us in just to get it. The lady was so rude about it. These people need to understand they aren’t running a prison but a hostel. There is also zero atmosphere in the hostel and I mean zero. It literally feels like every one is on edge in this place. Would not recommend this hostel to anyone.

Great seperate group accommodation wing. Modern, clean and centrally located. Rock climbing next door.

Good and clean hostel with nice facilities. Located right in the town centre. Very friendly and welcoming owner.

I booked this hostel, because I was excited, that it was supposed to be clean an central situated. Well, thats about it. At first when i booked via phone, the staff was rather unfriendly and unhelpful, but the information required was not on their homepage. Secondly, after she got even more angry because i wouldn't give my whole CC-details on the phone, there was some miscommunication about the price, because she charged more than what was told on the homepage (just 6 $ but still) When i arrived finally at the hostel, it was clean, which was nice, but had a charme of a parking garage or maybe an aircraft hangar. It was cold, and the heater in the room couldn't be used because there was no plug nearby. Additionally the free wifi didn't work either on any of my devices. All in all it was sadly one of my worst hostel expierences on the northern island.

City Centre Location, 5 minutes walk from InterCity Bus Stop and Town Hall, is making this hostel a best choice. A cultured staff at reception, Spacious Lobby, Well equipped kitchen with free Coffee Tea Chocolate, Room heating, neat and clean ambience, everything makes it a Wonderful stay. Moreover it has cinema in basement and adjoining wall climbing school and restaurant. What a nice combination for backpackers or family. My choice forever.

Room was nice, small and simple. Staff were fantastic and helpful. Location is in the middle of everything and also has a rock climbing gym attached. Only negative was the noise from other grouped guests. Not their fault persay but was a dampener on an otherwise great experience

The location is perfect. Right in the center of town, everything is quite walkable. The private 2 person room we stayed in had a small kitchen area with kettle including 2 mugs, tea, coffee etc. and a bathroom - with Complimentary towels. Was clean, comfortable and the staff were so amazing, very friendly and happy to help with whatever you need - special shout out to dale who checked us in. Highly recommend as a place that is affordable and within good walking distance to many tourist attractions and eateries.

Friendly reception. Good facilities. Easy to deal with staff. Great value for money. Very open to feedback.

Love it here.. the location is on point. Not too far from lake front. Literally 2min walk. And the Customer service was really welcoming and definitely made us wanna stay another night... DALE ur Customer service was awesome bro. I told u I was gonna make a review 😂. Keep up ur good work and positive attitude.. definitely see uz in the new year

Good value for money but bed was uncomfortable. Central location gives u a lot if noises such as drank singing people around and the worst glass bottle collector at 5 am!

Amazing staff & great location. Very nice greeting by the staff on receptionist and also super positive and helpful. Toilets & laundry are clean and tidy.

I had a very bad experience when I was staying in this backpacker😒 The whole hostel was super Hot 🥵! The hostel only put ONE little fan in the room..ALL other areas has NO fan what so ever...The kitchen\ dinning room was the WORST! The whole area just no fan...no window!! There was NO air flow what so ever... SUPER HOT 🔥😠 THE WHOLE hostel feels like a giant OVEN ! It was really ridiculous!! I can't wait to leave this hostel... this is how bad this backpacker was😱 I will NEVER go back to stay there ever again! Highly disappointed!😑😑😑🙄☹️

Rooms and facilities were decent enough. Kept pretty clean and tidy. Night time can be pretty noise with the alley behind. You'd have to keep the window open otherwise the rooms can be pretty warm in the summer nights. The free wifi is only 1gb/day by Zenbu which is also annoying.

Stay was all round good. Staff were definitely very helpful and had a nice positive attitude which was the best part about it. The backpackers was clean, and looked very professional to a backpackers standard. Kitchen was 5/5. Unfortunately our room didn't have a window but if that's an issue, it may pay to ask if your window does in fact have a window or not. Will definitely recommend and be back here. If you're checking in during the day/afternoon, it might be hard to find a parking spot as they are in the towns central, so keep that in mind, plenty of parking after 6 pm! Dale was a great host.