The Palace Backpackers

As above bug.

The guy was rude, i was there and checked in and had to wait 10/15 minutes just to be shown my room as he was showing people who got there after me to there rooms first and when he did get to me was not welcoming. One of the guys when i was there said he had bed bugs so gave his room key to the guy to sort but did not get his key back easily. It is very dated and probably the worst hostel i stayed at in NZ

Dave and his bed bugs.

we really enjoyed our stay here. it feels very homely and the beds are nice. the floor of ourour room was very dirty and we had seen recent reviews of bed bug so we sprayed our beds with bug spray and didnt have any issues with bites. the kitchen is pretty good and there is lots of space to relax indoors and outdoors. nice showers too. our 4 bed mixed dorm had 2 single beds and 1 double bed so im not sure what thats all about... i stayed with my partner so it was fine haha

BED BUGS + INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR do not stay here, this place is riddled with bed bugs, it's filthy and bad attitudes from the manager. Woman if you are traveling alone or with another female...DO NOT STAY HERE. This guy will open your doors at 2am while you are sleeping and check on you and see what you are up to without any knocking or reason....this is absolutely unhinged inappropriate behavior from someone who owns a place like this and I'm sure illegal.....which we are looking into. This whole experience was terrible and terrifying. And I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE STAYING HERE.

BED BUGS!!! My daughter stayed here and there were bed bugs in her bed. When she notified the owner he accused the guests of bringing them with them and was extremely rude, no compensation for laundry as they will now have to was everything.

Bedbugs and rude owner!! Do not go

Would give service a zero if I could. Owner was terrible and rude. Came into our room without knocking to yell at us. On the morning of our check out we found a bedbug on my girlfriends bed. Told the owner about it and he came in to look said oh well and left. Didn't come back until one of the female staff (she was very nice) went to get him. We asked for some kind of compensation as wed have to wash all our stuff (8 people) and he said we probably brought it with us, even though we came straight from home. I've seen other reviews were he's treated female backpackers especially badly. Do not stay here.

Stayed for two nights, on the morning of our checkout I saw a BEDBUG crawling across my pillow! Brought it up with the staff and owner and asked for some kind of compensation as we’d have to wash absolutely everything (a lot becuase we had 8 people) and was offered nothing and he said we probably brought it with us (impossible because we came straight from home). Owner is rude, the two ladies were lovely though. Nice location at least.

I had the incredible opportunity to spend a night at the palace in November. Hands down, it was the most unique experience I've ever had regarding hostels. This accommodation is an oasis, a time machine, A museum, and an extraordinary place filled with history. You can feel the memories in the decorations and the souvenirs adorning the walls. I can't imagine how amazing this place must have been in the late 2000s. The owner is a living legend—a last crusader, I'd say—who strives to preserve something original and exquisite. Thank god, they aren't following modern trends. Yes, the house is getting old, just like the owner, but both still have their charm. This is not a trendy, hipster, modern social hostel; it's a piece of art. Come and Explore!, because that's why you came to New Zealand and make sure to book this fantastic hostel. P.S. The beds are super comfy, there are no bedbugs, the location is great—close to everything—and the accommodation is even cheaper if you visit in person without any bookings.

The entire vibe was very strange and felt like staying in a halfway house. Most of the occupants seem to be semi-permanent older people with no fixed abode. The place is filthy and smells like stale cigarettes, weed and body odour. The bathrooms and showers always smells like urine. The room probably hasn’t had a vacuum in 6 months. No sheets are used, so you’re essentially sleeping in an old duvet - and I’m pretty sure there are bed bugs. Had an elderly lady banging on my door at 630am for no apparent reason. Wasn’t around during the day to comment on the kitchen or lounge, but certainly didn’t feel comfortable using it. Expectation: Alice in wonderland whimsical, reality: trainspotting.

I hesitate to give this 5 as then more people will go and there won't be a space next time I'm in Nelson as it will always be my 'go to' place. What a find! Books, art and very friendly welcoming staff, including the owner. For me it was a throwback to my younger travelling days finding quirky unusual places to work and meet people - in Nelson this must be it, can't imagine anywhere better. It has huge rooms, high ceilings, charm, balconies to sit out on. Downside would be you can hear the traffic below, but for a friendly place to stay to base yourself in Nelson, my vote goes here. And there were definitely no bed bugs, beds were comfortable.

Unfortunately i got bedbugs from the hostel. Its a bit of a dirty hostel aswell, lots of flies around and the matrasses are really really old.

Building is about to collapse, very old. Amongst the most uncomfortable beds I've ever slept on and pretty sure they have bed bugs. The hostel have a cool vibe tho, all ruined by the owner who yelled at a girl for turning on a heater in the morning. When the girl apologized and told her there was no need to yell she replied with: "it's f*** obvious you don't turn heather on in summer (it was literally 10° that morning) and that the place is hers so she can bloody say whatever the hell she wants. For several reasons I don't think this hostel should even be open, let alone available on booking.com. The guy at reception was super kind and helpful

BED BUGS - Not a great stay. Place is pretty run down and dirty. Stayed in a private room that was uncomfortable and dated. Friend stayed in a shared dorm and got eaten by bed bugs. Staff didn’t do anything until the second day. Communal kitchen is disgusting. The building is cool but really needs to be updated and deep cleaned. Pretty disappointing.

BED BUGS! This property is dirty, run down and there was a bed bug infestation while we stayed there. Several guests talked about the bed bugs but staff didn’t do anything until a day later. Kitchen is disgusting. Beds uncomfortable and decor tired. Good location but that’s about it unfortunately…

Küche war sehr dreckig und es gab Bettwanzen… muss ich noch mehr sagen?!

The property is absolutely filthy. My personal standards of clean/tidiness aren’t high generally, and I definitely don’t expect much from hostels, but there were flies everywhere in the kitchen, including in the fridges, and no wonder given there was mess and grime everywhere (including in the fridges) and no lid for the kitchen bin. I could only see one tea-towel and most of the pots/pans etc are broken and grimy/not washed properly (though there were a few that were usable). Many of the soft furnishings were sticky/stained/smelt/were ripped and I felt reluctant to sit down. There was a smell of weed being smoked in the courtyard. My bedroom itself was pretty, large, had a balcony and single (not bunk) beds which looked nice. I thought I’d just keep to the bedroom (I was only due to stay one night) but I lifted up the sheets to find evidence of bedbugs on the mattress (tell-tale tiny black dots, my photos have since been confirmed by a pest controller). Whether they were historic or current, I don’t know, but I couldn’t risk getting bedbugs (they are incredibly difficult to get rid of) so I left. Without me even asking, the kind member of staff spontaneously refunded me. The unfortunate consequence of not feeling able to stay however was that availability of other accommodation at such short notice was extremely limited due to it being peak season and I paid 6x times the price for the cheapest alternative accommodation within an hour radius. I know “you get what you pay for” but I had stayed at another hostel in Nelson the previous night for the exact same price that was a totally different standard of experience. I rarely leave bad reviews (I appreciate that these are small businesses) but I wouldn’t want others to have this experience which incurred me money and stress.

Because of the rain we sat with a lot of people packed in the living room, it's quite small. You can't use the kitchen from 10 am till 11.30 am because they are cleaning. Our room was big but smelly and the ceiling was covered with spiderwebs. My friend discovered the next day that she was bitten by bedbugs.