Name: The White Elephant Accommodation - Hostel
Address: 55, Whakarewa Street, Motueka, Motueka, Motueka, 7120, New Zealand
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

Heating

Ticket assistance

Garden

Terrace

General

Non-smoking rooms

Rooms

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Microwave oven

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Library

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Picnic area

Barbeque

Sun Deck

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hostel

Nelson Airport

The White Elephant Accommodation - Hostel

Motueka

Very friendly proprietor. Great welcome. My cabin was very clean and comfortable with a small toilet and shower but perfect for my short stay. Beautiful gardens and the only noise came from the birds. Great location to town. There was even a banana tree outside my room.

Two Night Stay

This is a great peaceful setting.  We stay in many motels around the country and this was more comfortable at a fraction of the price than most. 
Thoughly recommend and will stay there again. 
The gardens were beautiful and the backpackers staying there were all very friendly. 

Friendly place

Don't go there , especially if you are a night shift worker or just a late eater... the kitchen is closed from 9:30 pm and the tenant ( the women) will come and check that all the dishes are done at 9:30 and not 9:35, and will kick you off the kitchen !!! Really not the friendliest tenants! 
She likes drama and gossip and i had the feeling she doesn't really like backpackers which is quite a paradoxe ! 
Even if the backpackers there are mostly really nice ,would definitly not recommend because of the management ! 
I spend all the lockdown and more at the tasman Motor camp , between mapua and motueka, which  had no kitchen restrictions, lovely tenants , and was much more nicer than the white elephant .

Don't go there

We have stayed in many hostels throughout NZ and the world (pre covid). This is a very old run down hostel with poor management. It was probably reasonable many years ago but has been exploited well beyond its years and not been upgraded by the management for a long time. 
We had friends staying in the dorm and we stayed in the private cabins. 
All the rooms were dirty... Very dirty... Imagine cobwebs everywhere and dirt all over the floors, curtains falling off the rails. All things that can be rectified quite easily if the owners were actually interested in customers. 
There are only 3 toilets & showers to share between approximately 30 people in the main house which were also very dirty with significant mold and mildew everywhere. 
These and also the kitchen facilities are shared with the private garden rooms which adds another 30ish guests. 
There are also additional people camping in the grass areas in the backyard. Alongside multiple camper vans (with people staying in them too!) which adds yet more people onto the numbers above. 
In my opinion there simply is not enough facilities for the volume of people they are pushing through them.
The managers appear to be very aggressive and unhelpful to all guests irrespective of whether they are a long term tenant or short term guest... 
I passed a girl in the hallway wanting to ask the manager/owner a question at 805pm. The owner was incredibly rude and told her that her question would have to wait until tomorrow at 9am as the office was closed at 8pm.
On another occasion another guest tried to tell the manager that her shoes had gone missing and the manager was not interested at all and told her that it was her problem. 
Everytime we ran into the owners we were made to feel unwelcome and a hindrance when any question was asked of them. 
Even something as simple as where to put dirty tea towels was met with sarcastic responses and made us feel very unwelcome. 
We chose this hostel based on the reviews on TripAdvisor and there were no obvious alarm bells from what I read before booking... 
Please take this as a warning and stay away from the White Elephant. There are many better hostels in New Zealand and Motueka and I would suggest ANY other would be better.

Terrible

Lovely self contained cabins in a spacious garden setting. Nice touch of milk in a glass bottle on arrival. Great base between tramping trips very accommodating when plans changed due to the weather. Lovely hosts will definitely come again.

Nice Spot

Second visit here. Stayed in garden room which had two beds and en-suite and fridge. Slightly noisy next door when they used their bathroom but otherwise great. Very well priced and super clean. Lovely setting, beautiful building and everything we needed. 

Excellent value and room

White Elephant backpacker hostel has been for me like a home. I spent here two months meeting lovely people. The facilities are very good and the garden is just beautiful. The price is very good as well. Here I've learnt how to play the guitar on the veranda, I've so many things about life and relationships. Also while staying here I had a serious ingiury on my knees and the owners, Pam and Rex, looked after me for a whole week providing crutches and medicines as I couldn't move from my bed. I'll be grateful for that for the rest of my life. Both the owners are very nice and relaxed people, they put love in keeping the house tidy and they provide everything is necessary for the guest to better enjoy their stay. Highly recommended!! 
Enjoy :)

Peaceful and cozy

I can't describe how much I enjoyed to stay at this lovely place the past few weeks. Rex and Pam are such kind host's and always there if you need anything. The kitchen is very well equipped, the rooms are clean and cosy and as soon as it got colder we got nice heating blankets to be have a nice and warm bed in the evening. The garden area is big and a beautiful place to just rest, have breakfast in the Sun or read a book. Toilets and showers are clean and even if the hostel is full it was never too busy because there are plenty available.  Thank you so much for making this place like a second home for the past few weeks. I will come back here as soon as I can. Can only recommend this hostel to everyone who is passing through or staying longer.

Home on the other side of the world 

My partner and I stayed here 2 nights in December in 2018. We stayed in one of the self contained units in the garden. Beautiful spot and beautiful garden. The staff were very friendly and helpful. It was a nice place to have a cup of tea out on the little deck or in the garden in the afternoon.

Wonderful place to stay

my first spot at southern island , not far from abel Tasman park , a good and descent hostel with nice stuff and fine equipment for cooking.

the yard is absolutely charming with grill area and a  chilling spots

The White Elephant Accommodation - Hostel

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