Fish Tank Lodge Reviews

There was no staff available when we arrived despite having given an arrival time - we got sorted with a room by phoning staff but were unable to get a key for it until much later so had to leave it unsecured as we had already booked activities. Overall the hostel itself is nice - with a big deck, sitting room and good kitchen but they need to make sure there are staff available to check people in when they have bookings! We saw 4 other people arrive also and no staff to let them into rooms.

Hostel was well located. Clean and comfortable on checkin. During the night we were disturbed by 2 groups - one at around 1am, and next at 4am, making a huge amount of noise in the common areas. There were signs on the doors saying these facilities were locked past a certain time but this was not enforced. I enjoyed no sleep whosoever. We've been touring around NZ staying mainly in hostels, and mostly had excellent experiences - so it's not like we're expecting too much from hostel accommodation

In the center next to the intercity

The location is great. Bus stops right in front of it and its on the main road, right across from the beach. The kitchen was nice and large, but still got busy at peak times. The state of the bathrooms was disgusting. Definitely playing the "Don't let anything touch the floor" game when showering. And the room was never cleaned before we arrived. Gross trash and dirty floor. Would not stay there again.

Good location in kaikoura. Room was ok. Wasn't really clean but seems to be a problem in the most of the kaikoura. Kitchen was big enough

It was really not clean! The kitchen should be bigger- not enough space to make food

Bunks were not stable ( need attention ) but were comfortable enough. Kitchen in the morning was a tip. Needs regular cleaning staff as the type and age of guests don't care how they leave things. I think the main problem is cleanliness.

Only problem we experienced was loud people using the lounge and balcony until 3am. We were in room 1 and could hear every sound :(

This hostel gets great reviews on TripAdvisor & other similar websites. So I had high expectations. However, it was not as clean as I had hoped, which was a shame. Great location though.

Free parking in front of the hostel after 5pm, good location, kitchen is clean, bathrooms ok, staff nice. Facilities are good, with loundge with tv and balcony. Wi-fi isn't free...

The guy at check in was a deusch bag to us not at all friendly and plain rude. The kitchen the morning when I was leaving just needed a good wipe down but no one bothered to do it. But it's across the road from the beach and has bars, restaurants and shopping just outside he door.

When we came wasnt there any booking for us. And when we finally got our room was it a 6 bed room when we had paid for a 4 bed room... Very bad!

Excellent place and very helpful staff!! Also met very nice people there so it made my stay very pleasant! :)

Nice place and centrally located - short walk from train station and beach. Good atmosphere - the living area and balcony are nicely set up and quite social. Kitchen was a decent size though could do with more cutlery.

Just a quick stop in Kaikoura on the way to Wellington but it was quite nice. I loved the whole Fish Tank theme and the rooms were standard dorm rooms, which is OK for a night. On the night I stayed there I seemed to be one of the few English speakers so it was a bit strange but still alright. The common room and kitchen are quite good and the bathroom/toilet block was a good idea.

Beautiful hostel. A place to feel at home....

The hostel could have provided more electrical plugs for their guest. For a 4 bed room , 2 were only provided. There are only one plug in the tv room. The hostel could also have provided lockers for their guest . The hostel is not noisy and you will be able to have a good sleep. Quiet and peaceful. However , the reception seemed to be always empty. Staff is not at the counter and if you need to check things out , it could be inconvenient.

By far the best independent hostel I stayed in on my trip to NZ. Clean, tidy and the manager clearly takes pride in looking after his place.

The location is perfect, and the staff was very helpful!! The accent is stronger on the south island. I enjoyed that. :)

Good hostel, nice people. Too bad though that the warm water runs out quickly.