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Jailhouse Accommodation Reviews

338 Lincoln Rd, Addington, Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand

Reviews & Ratings Explained

85%Overall Rating

From 280 ratings
  • 92%Character
  • 89%Security
  • 74%Location
  • 85%Staff
  • 82%Atmosphere
  • 87%Cleanliness

The following reviews were submitted by customers who booked in the last 6 months.

The reviews and ratings in the rating box are based on all-time feedback and are the opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up to the minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is. Read our review guidelines »

We now classify our reviewers based on how well travelled they are.

  • Novice Nomad: 1-10 Reviews Added
  • Avid Traveller: 10-20 Reviews Added
  • Globetrotter : 20+ Reviews Added
  • Show Translated Reviews In A Specific Language
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20%

I arrived at jailhouse at approx 12:30am and could not gain access, I then had find alternative accommodation. I found out later that I had got an email explaining how to get in after hours but this email was sent after I had started my journey to nz therefore I could not access it prior to Arriving at the hostel

  • Novice Nomad
  • 17 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • New Zealand
  • Male, 18-24
  • (1 review)


87%

Cool hostel... My only complaints were the location, small toilet stalls, and no outlets in the bathroom. Otherwise I was in a six person room and it was really nice. Helpful staff, lotis of food places close by.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 16 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Female, 18-24
  • (4 reviews)


93%

This hostel is chill yet full of character! The staff was so friendly and helpful! I'm so glad this was the first place I stayed in New Zealand! Even though it is not in the center of town everything you need is right there. Grocery and shopping mall are walking distance away. Kitchen was not crowded, well equipped, and clean!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 14 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Female, 25-30
  • (1 review)


70%

A decent hostel that wasn't remarkably good or bad. The extra blankets and hot water bottles were a nice touch. Unlimited Wifi would have been nice. They give you one hour free for your entire stay so if you want more you have to check out and then check back in again.

  • Globetrotter
  • 13 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Canada
  • Female, 25-30
  • (24 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi, and thank you for taking the time to rate our hostel. We're glad that overall you enjoyed your stay with us. NZ is a little way behind the rest of the world and Wifi is not generally available for free country wide. We have been giving away one free hour internet voucher at check in as a special offer for the month of May. For the reasonable price of $3, extra hour vouchers available or you can purchase a 24 hour pass for $6.50. Kind regards The Jailhouse team

97%

Cool character and atmosphere.


80%

Only suitable for backpakers, stayed only one day with my mom in a pravite twin room, she was not very satisfied. Anyway, it's a goog experience. However, No free wifi. =_=\\\

  • Novice Nomad
  • 05 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • China
  • All Female Group, 25-30
  • (1 review)


73%

$35 is too much for a dorm room, had a guy snoring below me. also computers are terrible, Apple jobs, cannot download pics to put on facebook, and kept logging me out, why anybody bothers with CrApple comps is beyond me.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 04 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • New Zealand
  • Male, 41+
  • (3 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi and thank you for taking the time to rate our hostel. The room that you stayed in is not one of our regular dorm rooms. It was a private two bed bunk room that we had made into a dorm as we had already sold all our bigger dorms so it was a little more expensive due to you only sharing with one other person. Our computers do have security settings for downloading pics etc but they do normally permit you to load them onto facebook. Your comments have prompted us to look into this problem.

80%

There was a bit of confusion however in the signs saying where to put the keys. It said silver box under a stop sign with a picture of the stop sign but there was a silver panel under those directions with a slot on top. I put my key there and the realised where this key box was.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 03 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • England
  • Male, 18-24
  • (1 review)


60%

Kitchen consistently filthy. Very different from other backpackers in South Island. Some staff very disconnected from guests - as if the job was tedious.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 03 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • New Zealand
  • Male, 25-30
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi, thank you for rating our hostel and we're sorry to hear that you encountered an unclean kitchen. We have very high standards and our kitchen is given a very intensive clean daily and then it is checked at intervals during the day and then again last thing at night. We do find that despite our best cleaning efforts that it can become messy very quickly at peak cooking times. Your comments regarding staff have prompted us to do some more customer service training with our team.

97%

I HAD TOO SPEND A FEW NIGHTTS IN THE POKEY BACK IN THE DRINKING DAYS SO WAKING UP IN A CELL KINDA FREAKED ME OUT

  • Novice Nomad
  • 03 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Canada
  • Male, 41+
  • (1 review)


83%

Squeeky metal bunk beds are cheap and annoying. Also it might be an idea to install some kind of desk lamp or floor/wall lamp so you dont have to find your way to bed in the dark. The white daylight colour of the cell lighting is not nice either, a more yellow light is more cosy and welcoming. You can get yellow or 'tungsten' coloured tubes from any good lighting shop. Great building though, and cool to have lots of different spaces to hang out, nice staff too. Cheers.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 01 May 2013
  • Anonymous
  • New Zealand
  • Male, 25-30
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi and thanks for taking the time to rate our hostel. Our beds are really high quality and very robust. They were designed and used by the athletes in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and we generally get really great feedback about them and how amazingly comfortable they are. We're sorry to hear that yours had a squeak which must have been annoying for you. Your comments have prompted us to check all our bunks and carry out maintenance if required. Thanks also for the lighting suggestions.

80%

Awesome hostel... loved that I spent the night in Jail without being arrested!!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 23 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • England
  • Female, 18-24
  • (3 reviews)


100%

Staff very accommodating, checked in and out outside of reception hours without any problems, they also booked my free shuttle to the train station all done via emails with staff. Beds were comfy and warm. The place was clean. Very easy to get to with Super Shuttles. from the airport. Would stay there again!


83%

Great place to stay. Loved that it was in an old jail. A little bit of a walk into town but a nice walk through the gardens

  • Novice Nomad
  • 22 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Australia
  • Female, 31-40
  • (3 reviews)


77%

i had very good time at the jail. i was a little bit scary at night after that it was a very good place to stay i would recommended to my friends!!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 21 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Colombia
  • Male, 41+
  • (1 review)


57%

Men's toilet upstairs was smelly. Staff needed reminding that loo roll was running out and it took another day to be replaced. Quite noisy, especially as staff chose to socialise outside of our room and plug into the electricity in the jail room next to us. On our 1st night there were people sitting outside of our room until gone 0130. Generally very echoey, needed to wear ear defenders.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 20 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • England
  • Couple, 41+
  • (1 review)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to rate our hostel. We're really sorry to hear that you encountered some problems during your stay. Our bathrooms are given a daily intensive clean and they are then checked again in the evening. They are then cleaned again if necessary. Supplies are also restocked if required. Occasionally when the hostel is very busy, bathroom supplies can run down quickly. We expect our staff to act upon a guests request as quickly as possible, your experience has therefore prompted us to provide extra staff training to highlight the importance of this. We'd also like to apologise for the noise issues. The acoustics of the building mean that noise does carry through our our atrium area because of the high ceiling. We have a very strict no noise policy after 9pm, and have signs on the doors and tables to bring everyone's attention to the rule. This has been pointed out to the staff members but occasionally some guests do not adhere to it. they sometimes perhaps don't realize how noisy it is. Thank you for your valuable feedback, and we hoe to see you in Jail again in the future. Kind regards The Jailhouse Team.

80%

Very organized and the atmosphere is excellent. The place is clean and staff was very nice.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 19 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • Brazil
  • Female, 25-30
  • (3 reviews)


100%

Great place, fun group and great staff. Can get a little loud at night. Great location with a 10 minute walk to most things you would want to see.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 17 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • USA
  • Female, 25-30
  • (3 reviews)


97%

I stayed with my teenage son for a night. Check out was at 10am but we left our luggage in a secure locker and were able to use the TV room and kitchen until our flight later in the evening. Very friendly and helpful staff and a great location.

  • Novice Nomad
  • 16 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • New Zealand
  • Female, 41+
  • (1 review)


90%

We had a double room and barely had enough space for a couple of small bags - the dorms were actually roomier! Although the location and facilities were pretty good, the price was a little steep for a hostel. Staff were really nice although super strict about check out time!

  • Novice Nomad
  • 14 Apr 2013
  • Anonymous
  • India
  • Female, 31-40
  • (6 reviews)

Owner Comment (Show)
Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to rate our hostel. We're sorry to hear that you didn't have enough space in the room for your bags. Our guest rooms are original Jail cells and we do agree that they are quite compact but we have provided a set of drawers with room to put a large bag or suitcase on top and in for guests who have lots of luggage there are extra lockers on the ground floor of the hostel. For a small fee you can lock away items and take the key. We have to be quite strict with our 10am check out time so that we can give all our rooms a really intensive clean in preparation for our incoming guests but we always welcome our departing inmates to stay for as long as they need to whilst waiting for taxi's, coaches, shuttles etc. They can use the hostel communal areas and facilities or store luggage whilst exploring the city. Once again thank you for your valuable feedback. We hope to see you in Jail again very soon. Kind regards The Jailhouse team

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