Tongariro River Retreat

The room was small and warmed up quickly, bed very comfortable, kitchen well stocked and showers hot. Would definitely stay here again!

A brilliant place to stay in the charming little town of Turangi. Very peaceful and calm, with plenty of facilities. Lovely and well-equipped kitchen with a large dining area and plenty of space to relax including a great TV room. Plenty of toilets and showers too. Rooms are nice and beds comfy. The place is very clean and all the staff are lovely. The owner is a great guy and really nice to chat to. This place is a haven and easily the best place I have stayed in New Zealand. Thank you to all!

OK, but not great It was OK, but not the best experience I have had with this type of backpackers-style accommodation. Manager is quite nice and helpful. But I agree with the review below pointing out that the photos are very misleading. They seem to have all been taken on a day when the place was empty and all tidied up. In reality, the common areas are very cluttered and cramped, and not terrifically clean. Kitchen is very well equipped, but kind of a mess most of the time, because quests are not all considerate about cleaning up after themselves. I saw people come in and just leave dirty dishes on the counter. One morning I found a stove burner on, apparently overnight. WiFi is OK. Parking lot is usually full, but the street parking is no problem. Great location close to shops, restuarants and some nice walks. My room was dark and somewhat bleak, but this is not a place to stay if you are going to hang out in your room.

Dirty beds, creepy owner, cobwebbed rooms. Highly disturbing, unclean, uncomfortable and somewhat strange. The entrance is locked/not easily findable after dark. There was a man sitting in the shadows that saw us lost and advised us to use a back entrance to ‘get in’. The owner suggested he called us as we were late (******* check in says until 10pm, we arrived at 9pm and didnt receive a call either). The kitchen was nothing like the pictures - it was cluttered and filthy with empty food cans all over the place when we arrived. Our room was even worse - it was cluttered with a folding bed, the sheets had body hairs all over them, we saw spider webs along the ceiling and the window looked like it hadn't been washed in its life - it was disgusting. The room had a stuffy undesirable stench to it too. There are no sockets near the beds to charge your devices either, just one on the opposite side (for our private room was the case anyway). The creepiest thing was, on our 2nd morning, the owner let himself into our private room whilst my female partner was in bed, without seeking permission or with any reason. She could have been changing or asleep, it was 8:30am and checkout wasn't until 10am. We decided to leave straight after this final straw, and having read other reviews by females, its happened to others to. Wish we’d spent whatever it cost to stay elsewhere as this was an eye opening disturbing few nights. No working heater in the cold room either.

Well people was helpful and it was nice place to stay

Fantastic Experience! Firstly, a huge thank you to Ian for all your help! You are a great guy, and it was a pleasure to meet you. Your assistance with the Tongariro Track made a world of difference, and we had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people along the way. The lodge itself was a lot of fun, with plenty of games and a well-equipped kitchen that made our stay even more enjoyable. The rooms were comfortable and welcoming. We had an unforgettable experience and can't recommend this place enough!