Base Backpackers, Christchurch

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At base Christchurch I stayed in three different rooms, across two visits. The first was a 6-bed mixed dorm with no facilities (apart from a rattling window!), situated on the second floor next to the television room. The rooms are cleaned daily with bed sheets changed before arrival. There are communal bathrooms on all floors, which are available as either mixed or single-sex. These typically have three or four showers, three ...
...has to be noted that base Christchurch has some of the cleanest communal facilities I have experienced in a hostel.

The second room I stayed in, also a 6-share mixed dorm, had the added benefit of an en-suite (toilet, basin and shower), for just a small surcharge (approximately 2 NZD per night) and was without the rattling window. With six people in the room, however, there can be an availability problem if you don't want to use the ... more

Two days after Christmas, I was shortly due in New Zealand on 30 December on a flight from Sydney, where no beds were available. I needed to book a hostel in Christchurch to ease my worrying mind. No problem. Booking online at basebackpackers.com was easy. I entered my MasterCard details at the secure payment section of the website and settled my fears. Everything you would expect to be there, is there. Just enter your arrival date, number of nights and which hostel (they have a network across Australia and New Zealand), then it's a simple choice of which type of room you would like.

At base Christchurch I stayed in three different rooms, across two visits. The first was a 6-bed mixed dorm with no facilities (apart from a rattling window!), situated on the second floor next to the television room. The rooms are cleaned daily with bed sheets changed before arrival. There are communal bathrooms on all floors, which are available as either mixed or single-sex. These typically have three or four showers, three or four toilets and four washbasins and are regularly checked and cleaned. Having stayed in a number of different hostels across a period of a number of months, it has to be noted that base Christchurch has some of the cleanest communal facilities I have experienced in a hostel.

The second room I stayed in, also a 6-share mixed dorm, had the added benefit of an en-suite (toilet, basin and shower), for just a small surcharge (approximately 2 NZD per night) and was without the rattling window. With six people in the room, however, there can be an availability problem if you don't want to use the communal facilities (which are available for all guests). Something I found myself considering highly important whilst I was away, was the in-room availability of power points. The rooms at base Christchurch had typically between two and four power points, relatively generous compared with similar accommodation. Cleaners would sometimes disturb your sleep, should you not be checking out, as they can appear any time after (and sometimes before) the 10:00am checkout. Not a problem though, people can (and do) sleep whenever they want!

The third room was a bigger room, a 10-share mixed dorm - and the cheapest option for you budget travellers. The more people you share with, the higher the risk of being woken up by others - and possibly a higher perceived security risk of your personal possessions. Our 10-share was on the third floor, lots of stairs to climb each time you want to return to your room! There is also a service lift, so disabled access to the bedrooms (and bathrooms) is available.

There's a bar on the ground floor, close to the reception desk. This happens to be where I spent the last four hours of 2006. Two lagers are available on tap, Tui and Export (or as I called them, Red and Yellow, after the logo colours). As in Australia, beer on tap and wine are the cheapest alcoholic drinks, whereas spirits are considerably more expensive. It is notable that this bar has an extensive shot menu as well, although these are equivalent in price to a pint of Export! The barstaff are a friendly bunch, very welcoming and helpful (like the rest of the hostel staff) if you have any questions about the local area, for example what to do, where to go, where is the nearest supermarket?!

As stated earlier, staff attitude is good at this hostel. The main contact with staff is at reception (checking in and out), at the bar and sometimes in the rooms with the cleaners. The staff are usually travellers themselves, although occasionally the cleaning staff may be locals.

Kitchen facilities are standard for hostel accommodation - there are a number of cookers, fridges, kitchen worktops, cupboards, sinks and a good selection of utensils to help you prepare your own food if you don't want to eat out every meal. The kitchen itself is adjacent to a balcony area, which can be nice to enjoy a sneaky beer, or two, at. There's also a vending machine with a selection of chocolate in the inside seating area next to the kitchen.

There is a large open-plan television room on the second floor. This is my pet hate of the base Christchurch hostel! Typically between five and 20 people would watch tv at the same time. Noone changes the channel and what seems to happen is that you either get movies all day or sports all day - either way no variety! Also, if you happen to have a room which opens onto the tv lounge, as I did with my first room, every time you enter or exit your room, a room of eyes bears onto you, which can be very irritating!

The laundry facilities are on the first floor. There are approximately four dryers and four washers in a small, warm room, costing roughly 5 NZD in total for the separate wash and dry. Washing powder is available separately from reception, or alternatively from a supermarket.

Internet is on the first floor. As with other base hostels, the connection is not very good and the computers are slow and sometimes buggy. Costing 2 NZD for 30 minutes, with only about six computers in total, I found it easier to use the faster internet facilities at an internet centre around the corner from the hostel called netopia. However, should you wish to use the internet at 4a.m. for example, you could do so in the hostel (as long as there are free computers).

The location, all in all, is excellent. The hostel is right in the centre of Christchurch, about 30 metres from Christchurch Cathedral. Local facilities, aside from the previously-mentioned internet centre, include bars, fast food restaurants and souvenir shops. It is also a great location to get a taxi to the airport from, just make sure to book in advance from a recommended company!

In conclusion I would give this hostel the thumbs up. It doesn't necessarily make Christchurch worth visiting, but you can definitely do worse. 

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