Rowena's Lodge

"Great accommodation. Very helpful staff. I enjoyed my stay at Rowena’s Lodge!"

"The lodge admin were very responsive. Hygiene was maintained, including regular vacuming of the corridors, cleaning of restrooms. The rent is reasonable. Also the location is close to CBD and shopping market. It was a nice experience for me during my long stay here."

"As a backpacker I actually really love this place. It’s very homely, not super fancy but an awesome vibe. A lot of reviews say the reception guy is rude - he’s not. He’s actually super kind, just quick to the point. He gave us a huge discount on our room and they offer cheap weekly rates here as well. Amenities are clean enough and the staff are helpful. Wellington is beautiful and it’s not a far walk to the city’s centre. Honestly I think a lot of bad reviews are from Kiwis who were expecting some beautiful motel. This is a Backpackers hostel, not the ritz Carlton. Don’t like that they close the kitchen at 10.30pm, but this seems to be common in NZ hostels. I don’t usually write reviews but all the bad reviews on this place are uncalled for, it’s pretty sick here. Conclusion: come here if you’re a backpacker, if you’re not, don’t waste everybody’s time please."

"Gunna be very honest here. I stayed a month at Rowena's and while the facilities were quite subpar(small crowded kitchen, half the fridges barely work, no freezer, no oven, cheap spring beds, cloth dryers barely dry at all, paid wifi for $5 a gb, and some room doors dont lock properly although when notified the older guy at the front desk had it fixed the next day), this place has a lot of character. You really have to try hard not to make any friends here, and some of the staff are pretty funny too. Its also pretty clean for a Hostel in this price range as its cleaned every night (during the middle of the night, which is nice because that means toilets are pretty much always available). Overall I enjoyed my experience here, and its pretty cheap too at $20 a night for a room, $10 a night for camping. They also have more than 50+ rooms and its in walking distance to downtown Wellington."

"This is not a five-star hotel nor does it pretend to be. It's a quirky, centrally-located, inexpensive guest house. If you're on a tight budget and have kids this is ideal. We stayed here with our four (under 12) grand-daughters and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd go again without question. The showers are clean and well-maintained and the building has survived many an earthquake. What more can you ask if you want to stay in the capital and don't have a heavy wallet?"