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.

The only thing I found wanting, was no microwave in the kitchen, but that's a minor issue.

Clean and comfortable. Very close to town - everything within walking distance including a restraunt and one of the glacier tours. Decent sized room and could see a glimpse of the glacier/snow top mountain from the window. Lots of amenities! Didn't use most of them but there was an available kitchen, BBQ area, hot tub, exercise area, baked goods + soup in the evening, etc. We checked in after hours and hassle free self check in. Would definitely stay again and highly recommend.

Bathroom a bit small and walls are thin (but it was quite at night)

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 :)

Not a lot. It is on the more old school in regards to the kitchen and not so modern in decor, but when it s spotlessly clean and has everything you need who cares? Coffee beans were old and didn’t taste great but there’s a local coffee shop super close, and given that they have so many other freebies it’s an easy thing to look over, I’m just being picky!

This place had everything. For a cheap lodge, I was just in shock at how well this place looks and is equipped. The kitchen has everything, pizza ovens, regular ovens, air fryers, gas hobs, electric hobs, heaps of pans and cutlery. Free popcorn, free vegetable soup, free assortment of tea's, coffee, sugar, hot chocolate with marshmallows! The room was modern, clean, comfortable, with free hot cross buns on arrival. A fridge in the room, with kettle and more tea with milk. Heaters in the room were great. Multiple showers/toilets meant you never had to wait, were hot and powerful. Shared spaced has heaps of huge TVs, seating and games, with a computer to use too. Theres a gym area, big chess area, free bicycles. We didn't use the spa or BBQ area, but had a look and it look very clean. Heaps of off street parking. There was literally nothing bad about this place. It's the best place we've stayed in.

Nothing, it was perfect.

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.

It was unfortunate that renovations were occurring during our stay, but the contractors were polite and tried to not to get in the guests' way.

We felt this was an amazing place to stay and would definitely recommend. We would also stay there again if we revisit the area. We wish there was more to do in Franz Josef so we could have stayed longer! Staff were all very pleasant and helpful and being treated to a warmed muffin on arrival was perfect and beyond expectations. Our en-suite room was very comfortable, however being a triple room it may have been a little snug for 3 guests, it was just two of us staying. The en-suite was small, but adequate for our 2 night stay, just got very steamy and due to colder weather we found it difficult to get anything dry. Staff however were very helpful and on request provided us with fresh towels and freshened the room for our second nights stay. They also provided a good plug in heater for us as it was just turning cold. Free coffee machine, hot chocolate and popcorn - what a special touch! And this made our stay wonderful. …and a clean and inviting hottub! Was well maintained and under cover, so we still enjoyed on a rainy evening. Only issue was that it was set to 40 degrees which was just a little too hot I felt. Discount for restaurants was also so lovely and we made use of these to help the cost of our trip

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.

Spa was having work done when we were there… A bonus for anyone stopping in the future!

A beautiful hostel that didn’t even feel like a hostel! Everything looked new and modern. The staff was incredibly helpful and kind, and we were even welcomed with cupcakes. The spacious kitchen was well-equipped with appliances like a rice cooker, plenty of pans, pots, cutlery, and dishes, plus a free coffee machine, complimentary vegetable soup, and free popcorn. There was also a grill area, a jacuzzi, a gym for workouts, and free bicycle rentals. A fantastic stay!

The room was a bit small, but given the price and the great amenities the hostel provides, it was absolutely fine.

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.

The only negative was that although stated on the information in the room, the room was not serviced daily. As we were only there for 2 nights, this was not an issue at all.

We loved our stay at the Wild Kea, where we were greeted with fresh scones, butter and jam. Our room was comfortable with a fan and bottles of water. It was a lively scene, but when we closed our windows, it was quiet enough for undisturbed sleep. The decor is exotic, and the location with a view of the glacier can't be beat. We also met a very "cheeky" kea out front in the morning, who we observed eating apples from a neighbor's trees, trying to get into trash cans that had been put out for pick-up and chewing the rubber on the sports equipment on top of someone's car.

Wish we had known we could have seen some glowworms in Franz Josef.