Criterion Art Deco Hotel

Good sized room. Shower was excellent. We arrived and the receptionist was not at the desk which was disappointing bcs our car was downstairs in the 10 min loading bay. To he honest, there should be at least 2 staff to check in guests, and it's good practice to tell the guests where the parking is to avoid any parking issues. The room was okay but noisy in the day due to building work. The location is central but I wouldn't recommend.

AMAZING! Ignore previous reviews as this prior to the refurbishment. Everything is brand new and finished to a high standard. Very stylish rooms with an art deco touch. We had a corner room overlooking the high street. Very spacious with a kitchenette and lounge area. Comfortable beds too. I felt ef underpaid as the upgrade is very decent. Very very cental right in the middle of the city, great bars and cafes nearby. Opposite is the iconic Masonic Hotel with a great restaurant and bar downstairs. Definitely will return on our next visit to Napier

Beautiful hotel! Recently upgraded with everything new including a built in elevator and grand stair case. The interior is excellent- designed to a high quality with new carpets, wall coverings, bathrooms and furnishings. Ideal location right in the middle of tnr city. The reception area is striking with the stunning art deco windows. We loved our stay here. Worth every dollar paid. Thank you

Stunning hotel! Beautifully restored. Lovely rooms and great location. Can't wait to return again soon

I stayed a little longer at this hostel and it was unfortunately mostly a bad experience. But first of, the room I stayed in was fine, the beds were clean and comfy - therefore the bathrooms were okay and the Showers were big. But to begin with the contra points: The drains of the showers were blocked and it ended up with you standing in a disgusting mixture of water and hair - really not comfortable. Also I was told that they don’t use the vacuum cleaner every day, which is fair enough, but during my longer stay there I never saw anything of that and also - if our room was vacuum cleaned, I never noticed it. The floor was just dirty, the carpet smelled strange and there were dead insects laying around. Therefore it appears that some people might basically live in this hostel and there were also many people making me feel uncomfortable around them occasionally when I was in the kitchen or just in the lobby for example. The Wi-Fi is useless in the rooms, it only worked occasionally and the connection was really poor. The kitchen was partly really a bit dirty - with dried sauces or other liquids such as water or something else on the surfaces. It’s not the hostel‘s fault, but also many people just carelessly leaving their dishes in the sink and waiting for somebody to wash it for them - which is absolutely unacceptable and disrespectful behavior! The staff was friendly though, asking me how I was doing and occasionally having nice talks. Also the location was perfect there - directly in the city centre. Apart from that though I sadly can’t say much good about this hostel. Wouldn’t recommend it.

Awesome location at a good price point. This is a heritage building with lots of charm and vibe. That said the room interiors could do with a bit of uplift to improve the overall experience - our room has a non functional kitchen sink which might as well be removed, random cupboards etc. Also onsite laundry facilities might be nice for travelers (complimentary would be awesome, otherwise pay to use). All in all there's potential to make this hostel a top class accommodation if it is renovated a little while keeping the art deco style.

Beautiful hostel, great service and staff. The owner is very friendly and you can see that he really take care of the place and all the details. The kitchen is clean all day and the bathrooms too. We payed $60 per day for a double private room which is a very good price for what you get. The location is excellent, in the Main Street, one block from the beach. I totally recommend this hostel.

I stayed here after the Christmas holiday for one night. The mattresses on all the beds in my room had a severe 'dip' in the middle. Normally hostel mattresses aren't the greatest, but when you can actually see the 2-3" drop in the middle with the sheets on, you know it's bad. I struggled to sleep that night. My friend was in the room next door and the room had a terrible stench in it, like a guy's gym locker. The common rooms used to have class (I think this was an old hotel), but now they are just sad and dingy. The free pool table that they advertise is pretty bad - duct table holds down the cloth on top (maybe they meant that they got the table for free??). The guy checking us in (older male, possibly the owner) was pretty unfriendly and unhelpful when we asked about parking the car.||||The showers were actually a really nice setup, and the water pressure was decent. Don't stay here for the free breakfast....it's just bread, milk, and cereal. I did like that my room had sink in it. Bring ear plugs though....they pick up the bottles from the bar on the street below at 4:30am and it'd be hard to sleep through that - I definitely didn't. This hostel is best if you don't have a car - figuring out parking is tricky.

It's a really excellent location, but the rooms are only okay. That said, the kitchen is pretty well stocked and they give you toast and cereal in the mornings.

Avoid! We chose this backpacker because of its amazing location and it being in an Art Deco building. It should be so great but we immediately noticed that our $100 per night double room with bath had obviously not been vacuumed recently. Then in the middle of the night I woke up to numerous itchy bug bites, by morning we counted over 30 red bumps on my shoulders, chest and lower legs! Then we went to the included breakfast and the few bowls and spoons were all being used by other guests so we had to wait for others to finish. Others we also waiting. We also found the kitchen dirty and disorganized and there was no staff around in the morning to address concerns. The icing on the cake was when we were leaving and let the man at reception know about my bites and the kitchen issues, instead of a polite apology, he argued with me about there being enough spoons and bowls. Whomever is running this hotel should not be in the hospitality industry. Also, for $100 you don't get a bar of soap, any bedside table or lamp, or any level surface in the room to set anything, just a dirty room. Worst night in 3 months in NZ!