Hekerua Lodge

I have been visiting Waiheke Island several times for the last three years. Hekerua lodge became my favorite place in Waiheke not only for its convenient location, but also for it's friendly and community vibes. During my last visit, even though the island was not busy and the lodge was quiet, the vibe was a bit different. Some of the lodge rules were not clear and not followed by some guests, a couple nights were a bit noisy until the next morning, making some guests to feel uncomfortable.

A warm friendly welcome 🤗 Very friendly staf residents and guests. Very relaxing. Great spa and Hot tub 😄 Kauri room was very clean and great location with french doors to the pool and deck area. Great deal.

Stayed here for 3 nights with kids 7 and 10 and mother. I mistakenly booked for 1 person but the friendly guests and owners helped us out, and we stayed together. Being spring the pool was empty (it's getting a repaint soon) and I was grateful (too cold) as my 2 boys had plenty to keep them occupied withe the hula hoops, board games, exploring the grounds and they made a friend in the owners son. All guests were friendly and the place has a very chill vibe. There was a birthday party on the 1st night but we had no trouble with noise in rimus 1 room. Would definitely reccommend for backpackers or people looking for cheap accommodation who aren't afraid of communal living.

I never write reviews, but this is one of the worst places I’ve ever stayed.||||There is a mix of long term backpackers/people living there & short term as well. It is hard to tell who is staying there, and although management happened to be there when we arrived, was not seen & unable to be contacted for the duration of our stay. ||||I am writing this at 2am, yet to sleep due to the persistent noise / shouting / guitar sounds that seem present every evening. If you want a party until the early hours, this might be the place for you! ||||They enforce the no shoes rule inside, which is fine but not when the floor is wet, covered in pee & also brown sludge?! You are allowed a two minute shower due to water shortages, but showers (2 of them) were gross & the two toilets also in need of a clean. ||||The kitchen was inaccessible with only some hobs to cook on / always very busy & I felt very intimidated when entering any shared area on my own. On the first morning there was just someone sleeping on the couch in the kitchen area with a sheet over them. ||||After our first night, my friend had his bunk bed stolen- with someone else’s stuff all over it and no spare bed in the room- I emailed management to contact them as advised, with zero response||||Will be checking out and paying for accommodation elsewhere for our final night of our stay… AVOID IF YOU CAN||||summary: dirty, busy, smelly & had our bed stolen!

Best Hostel I‘ve ever been to. Wanted to stay for a weekend and bow it‘s already more than am month. Living in the Hostel feels like renting a house with friends and family. I would recommend it!

The best place to stay in Waiheke! Really comfortable, facilities and shared spaces are always clean & tidy thanks to their fantastic woofers. Very nice people from all over the world to share a talk or a glass of wine if you want. And if you want to relax, there is a hot tube to be used and if you need to rest, rooms are very quiet and comfortable. Best PIZZAS in the island!! Will miss pizza nights. 100% recommended!

My first impression of Hekerua Lodge was a good one, we arrived later and it looked cute all lit up. There was a nice pool and a spa and the room was on par with other backpackers I have stayed at. The kitchen was quite dirty, but not the worst I have seen staying at hostels and the general cleanliness wasn’t great, with dirty underwear under one of our beds, filthy hand towels and no dishwashing liquid. The septic tank must have been quite close to our room because there was a sewerage smell every time we went outside (although growing up living with a septic system, I know this does happen). They also have a “no shoes” rule, which is a nice idea in principle, but not when the bathrooms are filthy and covered in piss. However, the location was beautiful and this would have been an average review of a backpackers I may have considered returning to if it wasn’t for the horrific behaviour of the male owner (the female owner was helpful and friendly).||||When we arrived back on our second night staying there we were subjected to several hours of the owner continuously harassing us and telling us off over minor things. He appeared intoxicated and was acting very erratically. We were told off things like having the lights on in our room as this would “attract mosquitos”. When we tried to inform him that mosquitos are not attracted to light, but rather carbon dioxide he proceeded to tell us that he had lived there long enough and would know, and then turned our light off (with us still in the room on our bunks). He was also making rude comments about other guests. These were just little things, but when you are being told off for something every 5 minutes by someone acting the way he was you start to get very uncomfortable. It got to the point we’re we considered leaving and getting the ferry back to Auckland that night as we were so uncomfortable. However, the owner then left to go to a party so we stayed. ||||During this time there was also a Stag Party at the lodge, which the owner had some kind of connection to. While the majority of the guys were fine, we spent the rest of the night being intimidated by a few extremely intoxicated and drugged-up members of the group. They would not leave us alone and groped one of my friends.||||Some final points:||- The wiring in the rooms needs to be checked, two of our phones overheated while charging to the point they started malfunctioning (luckily we were not charging them at night!) – my phone has never done this before.||- Sort out the rude, elderly long term guest. I see her mentioned in previous reviews. She should not be telling people off, if she has an issue with something she should be going through management. And maybe ask he to use the path instead of constantly walking past the rooms when she doesn’t need to.

I found this place quite loud and cold. Not my idea of a peaceful island retreat. If you want a young party hostel, this is the place to go. At 36, I felt too old to be here. Sound carries horribly into the upstairs private rooms. I feel there is no privacy or escape from the noise. You’re either a part of the party or you better have good earplugs. No heat in room, no extra blankets. Office closes at 6pm. Not terribly impressed with this place. Wouldn’t book again or recommend.