Wānaka Bakpaka Hostel

I made a mistake and did not realize this lovely place is in another town and not in Queenstown. The owner was understanding, gracious and flexible enough to accommodate my situation at the last minute. What a pleasant surprise. It is my loss I would not get to experince the charming place first-hand. Comminication has been timely and most excellent reflecting the owner’s dedication to the guest service (and the pleasant attitude).

Stayed here in 2017. Such a vivid place. The wanaka tree was enchanted with great sounds and the mountains offered great ways to hike and explore. Even tried to swim in the lake at night, however it was to cold. One night we just ordered a delicious pizza. Had a great stay. So sad they stopped running this place.

Don't rent a bike and try and cycle around the lake you may get picked up by great people and get involved in a free night out, this was 2017 however, times have changed. Wanaka your amazing 👏

Reaaly good kitchen, clean and good cooking utensils.staff nice and helpful, and bedrooms really clean and confortable

We stayed three nights in total in the double en-suite cabin with a fantastic view of the lake and two great seats to enjoy the view from. Room had a small fridge too which was useful to store our stuff while using main kitchen. Found latter well equipped - particularly liked the constant hot water boiler for tea/coffee. Nice plates, bowls etc. Fantastic large comfortable lounge. Used the laundry no problem. Staff friendly and helpful. No noise issues during our stay. Easy walking access to town. Good parking. Would definitely recommend and would stay again.

Our experience with this backpacker was mixed. Positive side - They upgraded us from a dorm to a double bedroom for free, even though we did not ask for anything. - The common areas are pretty nice, the kitchen is well equiped, the view is amazing on a clear day. - The atmosphere is pretty nice, it's easy to meet people. - It's not cheap but it's Wanaka... Negative side - We initially stayed 3 nights, but also had a 1-week booking about a month later. About 4 weeks before our second stay, we received an email letting us know that our booking was cancelled as they messed up with a large group of ski instructors and forgot to assign them a room. Therefore, even though it was clearly their mistake, our booking got cancelled with no prior discussion. It was obviously impossible to find a backpacker in June for the same price. - They told us that we will be refunded on the same day, but it took two weeks to receive the money back. Overall, great first stay, but quite disappointed with the decision to cancel our room with no warning.

The view and location of this hostel is amazing. Loved sitting on the couch to watch sunrise on the lake and mountains! Easy and pretty walk into town. Nice, large kitchen and clean rooms. The staff was super kind and flexible when weather mixed up our plans. Only negative was that long term guests were quite rude to everyone, but that’s not on the hostel. Just beware if you’re staying! Defintely recommend to anyone visiting wanaka!

Definitely the best hostel experience of my life! Ian is an amazing host and owner on reception! The kitchen is very homey, lots to use to cook or bake anything you like, a nice walk into town to all the shops and lakefront and some restaurants! The living room has amazing views as always and very spacious for eating and socializing. The dorm room I stayed in was great, the bed was very comfortable and had a sink in the room and lots of toilets and showers around to use. Overall 11/10 experience Thank you for everything Ian, making it a home for me there during my whole stay.