Reviews of Centabay Lodge and Backpackers 3 stars

Wonderful stay. Clean bathroom and huge kitchen. Bring your food to cook and there’s complimentary condiments and cooking oils they don’t mind sharing with you. Free parking on premises and host was kind enough to allow us to leave the car a few hours after check out so we could do the Bay of Islands tour. Great location next to shops and Paihia wharf where the tours meet. You can rent a kayak all day for $15 too.

Clean place, and the receptionist was very friendly.

The light bulb in the room I stayed was not bright enough, I think the light from the street illuminated the room waaaay more when the curtains were opened. Also I think there should be reminders on the doors of each room to lock the doors when leaving (especially for the shared rooms), I know, it's something hard to control but reminders could reduce the likelihood of people leaving the doors unlocked. ( I found my room unlocked three times and there were no body inside. Other than that everything was as expected.

Scottish staff amazing!! Seasonal staff ALWAYS helpful and supportive.

N/a

Close to everything

Location, spacious room.

The unpolite big bald man at the reception.

Good location in paihia. Staff were friendly.

No barrier on top bunks to stop people falling out. Place was quite run down

Studio unit Close to town

Excellent location and well priced to allow vacation budget to be used for excursions in this popular resort location. Convenient walking access to restaurants, grocery store, i-site, shuttle service to Waitangi and ferries to Russell.

No specific 'dislikes'.

Booked a bed in a dorm of 6 and to my pleasure it was only me and another girl. Super nice and clean, the staff was also really nice. Only thing would be that it was a bit noisy as construction was prob going on next to our room. Would recommend !

Feel like a home local, very welcome

Close to activities

The only thing good about this property is the location. Short walk to beach / bars / restaurants etc. We did not like this place for SEVERAL reasons. We booked a private double with shared bathrooms. The room was TINY and dull. The fire alarm went off 3 times in the middle of the night with no explanation as to why or any apology from the staff. The place overall just felt very unloved and cared for. Kitchen was ok in size but again, very old and outdated furniture and rotting food in fridge. We found the staff to be moody and not welcoming at all. The smoking area is outside all of the ground floor bedrooms, and as someone who doesn’t smoke, it wasn’t pleasant walking out of the room everyday to smokers. It also meant we couldn’t open our window as cigarette smoke would come in. Bathrooms were small and dirty. No separate female / male bathrooms.

Great location, nice feel, friendly staff

Bed uncomfortable, not super clean

The place of the hostel the kitchen and lounge

The very basic and tiny room. We have to pay for towels.