Wild Kea Lodge Franz Josef

Greeted by a lovely young woman who was so kind and welcoming. We had a large suite on the third floor (no elevator, but our bags were brought up to us) which was well worth the price for the extra room. Full kitchen, living space with 2 twin beds, separate bedroom and bathroom. It had a rustic feel to it, but was very clean and well equipped. Bed was very comfortable and wi-fi worked fine. Bathroom a bit worn, but very clean, no odors, great shower, so perfectly acceptable for our 2 night stay. There is a common dining hall with a big community kitchen and many tables and booths. It was fun chatting with fellow guests while munching on complimentary popcorn. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely stay.

It’s a great blend between hostel and air bnb. The place was clean with heaps of amenities available which far exceeded some of the air bnbs we have stayed in. Loads of space to cook and so well set up for walkers/ travellers passing through en route up or down the west coast. Loved the retro games available too! Staff were knowledgeable when asking their advice on hikes too. You can walk to the local bars and cafes in minutes too :)

Because renovations were in progress the room we booked was not available, however the property arranged for alternative rooms for us, refunded the money for our booking and provided us with vouchers for local restaurants by way of compensation for the changes. The staff also carried our bags up the stairs for us - something you don't often experience! There was also free popcorn provided in the common dining area, which was a nice touch.

Clean rooms, staff were brilliant. Good common and kitchen areas with lots of facilities - e.g. free popcorn and coffee machine, pool tables, bikes, games, bbq area, weights and cardio areas. Also 10% discounts at 3x cafe/bar/restaurants locally. Staff were so helpful. There’s a fire stick in each room and ours wasn’t working when we arrived, as we were heading out they changed us rooms to a different one straight away. They also helped immediately when we locked ourselves out… Great view from our window of the mountains and a short walk to a great sunset and glow worms in the evening. Would definitely recommend and would stay again.

You are greeted on arrival with a free scone with butter & jam, you are shown the incredible common area where there is free coffee, hot chocolate (with marshmallows), free fresh popcorn & a large fully equipped kitchen & very comfortable dining area, with lots of atmosphere. An amazing experience. The sizable quiet double room (with shared bathroom) that we had was very comfortable & only 3 double rooms accessed the separate toilet & bathroom. The room had a fridge, sink, microwave (no microwave cooking equipment), kettle, toaster & some cutlery & crockery (a full selection of the later is available from the common area). The bed was comfortable, pillows were OK, the fan/heater was excellent (no airconditioning) and the corner room had reasonable airflow from the 2 unscreened windows (there are a few sandflies & mosquitoes around). The blockout blinds with privacy screens were good. The free carparking was available directly outside our room which made life a little easier, especially as it was raining (for 3 days continuously in Feb). The Lodge’s location was excellent being in the centre & within walking distance of everything that you might want. Apparently it is a local family owned business. We would highly recommend the Wild Kea Lodge. As a tip, book early, as most of the accommodation in late February was full and the few that weren’t were very expensive compared to our early booking price that we paid.