Shirley Ecolodge Hostel Accommodation, Christchurch

My suspicions as to the quality of this establishment were first aroused upon arrival at the reception office which instead of being open was locked and filled with an upturned bathtub, beer keg and assorted junk. My partner and I then wandered to the front door where a woman let us in and told us to call up the owner on the phone, we were then given instructions to unlock a locker and retrieve our key whilst a drunk man entered the building mumbling at us. As we entered the place a slightly demented older lady in a nightie strode to the front door and mumbled something and then walked briskly back down the hall while the drunk man tried to explain how the television in the dingy common room was working by clicking the various buttons. We unlocked the door to our room and were less than impressed, there was a dirty double bed with about a foot of room between it's bottom and the small bench at the other end of the room. The back yard appeared to be a dumping ground for refuse. We then locked the door to our room, returned the key to the locker and left in search of a more pleasant place to stay. I've never seen a worse hostel in my life although my partner had to admit she has seen worse during her travels in Peru. This establishment appears to be a halfway house for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, there was even a mountain bike outside with a dayglo orange safety vest draped over it, the standard transport of the convicted drink driver.

This is the worst accommodation in newzealand, we arrived to a dirty smelly run down place, it was so bad we refused to even check in but we were still charged