Utopia31 Hostel - formerly Frienz Backpacker

Location: 27 Victoria Street East, Auckland, nz

Star Rating: 3 Stars

Property Type: Hostel/Backpacker accommodation

About this Property

Important Information

Policies

Check-in: 02:00 PM - 09:00 PM

Check-out: 10:00 AM

Amenities & Facilities

• Nightclub
• Non-smoking rooms
• Room service
• Terrace
• BBQ facilities
• Lift / Elevator
• Luggage storage
• Fax/photocopying
• Shared lounge/TV area
• Shared kitchen
• Adult only
• Outdoor furniture
• Staff adhere to local safety protocols
• Guest rooms disinfected between stays
• Cleaning standards that are effective against Coronavirus
• Hand sanitizer in guest room and key areas
• Fire extinguishers
• First aid kit available
• Sanitized tableware & silverware
• Smoke alarms
• Shared stationery like menus, pens are removed
• Property cleaned by professional cleaning companies
• Key access
• Process in place to check health of guests
• Face masks for guests available
• 24-hour security
• Security alarm
• Thermometers for guests provided by property
• Shopping on site
• Television in common areas
• Nightclub
• Free wired internet
• Internet access
• Housekeeping on request
• Private picnics

Rooms Available

• Bed in 8-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Linen
  • Toilet paper
  • Socket near the bed
  • Lockers

• Small Single Room

  The single room includes a shared bathroom fitted with a bath, a shower and a hairdryer. The unit has 1 bed.

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Toilet paper

• Bed in 4-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Hair dryer

• Bed in 6-Bed Female Dormitory Room

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Toilet paper

• Standard Twin Room

  The twin room features shared bathroom equipped with a shower and a hairdryer. The unit offers 2 beds.

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Linen
  • Toilet paper
  • Socket near the bed

• Economy Single Room

  The unit has 1 bed.

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Linen
  • Upper floors accessible by elevator
  • Toilet paper
  • Trash cans
  • Socket near the bed
  • Accessible by lift

• Bed in 6-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room

  Rooms are 30 square yards.

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Linen
  • Upper floors accessible by elevator
  • Toilet paper
  • Trash cans
  • Socket near the bed
  • Accessible by lift
  • Lockers

• Double Room

  The double room features a shared bathroom equipped with a shower and a hairdryer. Rooms on the upper floors are reachable by elevator. The unit offers 1 bed.

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Linen
  • Upper floors accessible by elevator
  • Toilet paper
  • Trash cans
  • Socket near the bed
  • Accessible by lift

• Bed in 12-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room

  Rooms are 40 square yards.

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Terrace
  • Linen
  • Upper floors accessible by elevator
  • Toilet paper
  • Trash cans
  • Socket near the bed
  • Accessible by lift
  • Lockers

• Bed in 4-Bed Female Dormitory Room

  Rooms are 10 square yards.

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Hair dryer
  • Toilet
  • Linen
  • Toilet paper
  • Socket near the bed
  • Lockers

Guest Reviews

• Robert (9/5): Would stay again highly recommended - Clean, quiet, central location. Great staff. Park across the road.
• David (10/5): - Overall good vibe. Very clean and renovated . Good staff and kitchen clean . Has balcony too. Would highly recommend Showers bit old but fine
• David (1/5): Watch out Erik manager maniac - Nothing The manager is a maniac ,like literally. I witnessed him physically grabbing a skinny girl and throwing her out of the building . He threatens staff and for some reason thinks he's a tough person due to his lack of friendship or interaction with men. Spends most of his time just with reception girls ,even offered one a visa to be with him.
• Barbora (6/5): - Poloha blízko centra mesta Pevná sprcha, okná rovno do cesty a oproti parkovaciemu domu.
• Vásquez (10/5): - Me gusto la atención de personal, siempre fueron muy amables y simpáticos, te hacían sentir en casa.
• Elias (7/5): -
• SHENG (6/5): Great location but not very clean toilet. You get what you pay for - It was the last day of 2025. It's difficult to book a place to stay in Auckland. I'm happy to find a place to stay in the hostel. The price was surging so I paid a much higher price for 12 people room but got grateful cuz they upgraded me to a better room with 8 people. The toilet is not very clean because some guests don't have good manners to keep it clean. There's a bar downstairs but I suppose you get what you paid for. I expect that it would be a bit noisy on such a day.
• Haydn (7/5): Great location, good value for money, tidy dorms. - Great location, tidy and spacious dorm rooms. Bathrooms were a bit tired and need renovation.
• kulkham (10/5): -
• Lionel (6/5): slept well and close to where I needed to be - close to were I needed to be. Nice coffee and restaurants close by. People smoking in the building. Shower did not work well and when I checked out no one was at the counter waited for 10 min and left
• Lazar (2/5): Couldn't wait to leave. The top floor was smelly, dirty (someone was smoking in the next door). - excellent location filthy, smelly and grubby common areas and rooms
• Alistair (1/5): Double booked my room. - Nothing I booked and paid on booking.com for a private room with a double bed for $129.. I received a confirmation from the owner and a 'agreed to your request' email within 2 mins. Great. But when I arrived, on time as per the booking, I was told that my room had been rented to someone else who had already moved in. I was asked to use an empty bunk room instead which would mean I didn't have the double bed I'd booked. I explained that I needed the room and bed I booked due to back issues but this was refused. I asked for a substantial discount twice, but they refused. I was by this time late for the NZSO concert and had no choice than to let them put me in the bunk room. It was a terrible experience. Cold room with no heater and metal bunks that squeaked at every tiny movement. Disgusting toilets and dingy everything. Light in the hallway outside room didn't work. Deadlock on my door didn't work so I worried all night that they'd sell the bunks in the room as well after someone tried to come in. Bad smell of old cigarette smoke in the hall ways. This was the worst place I've ever stayed with booking.com. zero stars
• Bruce (8/5): -
• Bruce (7/5): Doom Dorm - CBD Location, Clean Facilities, Few unpleasant guests
• Mikaela (5/5): Passable - It is conveniently located It's a little creepy looking from the outside, and that carries through inside. The room itself was fine but the beds were not very comfortable, you could feel the springs. The bathrooms were a little dirty, and the shower was hard to work (the handle system was strange). It was fine for a night but I wouldn't stay there longer, I feel like you can find better in Auckland for not that much more money.
• Bruce (4/5): Poor Customer Service - Central CBD Location Mistaken ID Told to leave Backpackers
• Bruce (6/5): Poor Customer Service - Central CBD location Mistaken ID Told to leave Backpackers
• Bruce (7/5): Good - Quiet, Central location Kitchen has open top rubbish Bins Swam of fruit flies
• Daunhauer (7/5): Good -
• Linda (6/5): Central low-budget option, not for the faint hearted - Excellent location but premises are very run down. Mixed clientele with suggestion some are down at heel locals, not travellers. Inadequate security resulted in a ‘stray’ sleeping on the sofa in the common space.
• Ruby (10/5): Exceptional - Got my own room No windows in room only door
• Fjmnz (8/5): Very good -
• Jarvis (8/5): Very good - Location Busy noisy traffic but close to everything
• Jessica (5/5): Alright for low cost last min option and short stay - Big kitchen Slept well No garlic or fish ruel. Drab communal area
• Kylie (8/5): Very good -
• Michelle (7/5): Good - Location was great. Room could have been cleaner. Generally it was okay and convenient. Staff were lovely.
• Lucy (3/5): Felt unsafe and dirty - Location and lots of space in rooms Broken lift, place is run down, birds flying around the kitchen facilities and landing on all the surfaces, not enough cutlery, water leaking from the fridges and in the fridges, outside and inside of the building is seriously run down, the dorm I was in was next to the balcony where people smoked and chatted till the early hours. No where to hang your towels in room, needs lamps per bed. Way too pricey for facilities that were provided.
• Kieran (3/5): Poor - The price and the kitchen facilities The place needs some money spending on it. The beds squeak like crazy and feel like they are about to fall apart. Was expecting hostel.vibes but there was no atmosphere and there was a significant proportion of the people staying there that made it feel like this was a half way house
• Zain (5/5): Thank you for keeping me safe - Location If drinking glass was available to use
• Aaron (5/5): Passable -
• Guri (7/5): Good -
• Nwlnd (5/5): Passable -
• Khurram (1/5): Got multiple scam messages from their orginal booking.com system - Got multiple scam messages, there need to focus on cybersecurity
• Zain (5/5): Stay is quite comfortable and bed sheet, pillow is clean. - I seem to like almost everything due to it's age. It's not to my standard i still like the place for it's age no complain, I feel comfortable.
• Grayson (8/5): Very good -
• Paulina (5/5): Passable - The location was good Very noisy, the doors could only close when you banged them hard. Walls are paper-thin
• Haydn (7/5): Well located hostel with good facilities. - Tidy well presented rooms and facilities with plenty of space Very noisy outside (loud music) late into the night and early morning on Saturday night
• Jenny (3/5): Never again, approach with care or desperation - Location near park and art gallery not too far from harbour or sky tower Where do I start, people always seemed to be blocking the small doorway sitting on the steps making entrance difficult. At night not sure if a club to the right as it goes down stairs, so may be why people there at night. Reception on 1st floor I couldn’t see the directions easily. Lift to 4th floor only, my room on 5th floor next to roof terrace. No toilet/bathroom facilities on 5th floor, no security door to rooms other than room door. Although are security doors on other floors, I know this as had to use bathroom facilities on 4th floor and door is close at night so you have to use a code to gain entrance. Not the easiest thing to do in the early hours when your desperate for the toilet! Room consisted of a small metal bed, a side table and what looked like a small book case. One door may have lead to the terrace but it was locked. 3 temporary hooks on the door. Window cracked, could open but then you got the smoke from the terrace. Room not very clean, although bedding was. Ceiling light had the electric cover off!
• Janet (10/5): Exceptional - The location is perfect! I had a private single room which was tiny but clean and nice, with a great city view. Shared bath areas were clean. Loved the rooftop deck. Check-in smooth and easy. Overall great vibes!
• Grace (1/5): Waste of money - I wasn’t allowed to enter due to an invalid ID. I had only an 18+ card which is normally accepted but here I was turned away. I wasted $100 on money I couldn’t afford to spend to be turned away. If it wasn’t for the kindness of a friend I would’ve been homeless. No refund either. Disappointed and dismayed.
• Scott (1/5): Private room was grotty and way overpriced. Pay the extra and get a hotel instead. - Location was okay. Private room was vile. I paid $140 for essentially a prison cell. I could have paid $40 more and gotten a nice hotel room in a similar location.
• Dabin (7/5): It was generally good and well organised, but there is room to improve. - Kind staffs, well organised kitchen and bathroom No fly screen or air-conditioning in the private room, very noisy from the balcony
• Verve (8/5): Very good -
• Oliv. (8/5): Very good - Friendly staff, just in Downtown. Near everywhere - ferry, restaurants, Art gallery
• Hannah (1/5): Avoid at all costs - The place was so gross that it encouraged me to spend as much time out and in the city as possible. This place is horrible! Easily the very worst hostel and definitely the grossest I have ever stayed in. There was black mold down the walls and on the ceiling, so much so I had an asthma attack and was having trouble breathing. The worker at the front desk was very sweet and apologized for the excessive rain they had received in Auckland. She moved me to another room that seemed to be mold free, and it was private which was very sweet. Still, the mold and whatever else in the hostel was so bad my nose was stuffy and i was wheezing, so I left the hostel for as long as humanly possible. When I returned, a large piece of taped up wall paper had fallen down, exposing a massive hole in the cinderblock filled with dirt. There were little bugs in the room, I’m not sure if it was from the hole. I went back to the desk, again, the person working was very sweet and told me I could speak to the manager in the morning about my stay. SHE IS A HEINOUS PERSON! I feel so bad for the staff for having to work for her. She looked me in the eyes and lied about there being mold in the hotel. Straight up said “no there isn’t” when it is very visible in the rooms and she said it while looking at ME in disgust. A girl two floors above me said her ceiling was covered in it. Anyways, the manager here is a frigid and rude woman. She said I couldn’t complain because “I received an upgrade” but i’m not sure what kind of upgrade a room with a massive dirt filled hole is. She said “We put tape on it?” and then said we never put people in this room… again, proving my point it was an unsatisfactory stay. She has 0 customer service skills and I walked away in shock that someone could be so awful, but her employees are sweet as can be. She had lots of nice things on, I have a feeling she scams people with this place to find her lavish lifestyle. Avoid this place at all costs, everything was disgusting about it. From the common area to the rooms to the bathroom. Yikes.
• Nico (9/5): Superb -
• Feng (10/5): perfe - all good
• Yanqi (10/5): Exceptional - Great location, most valuable choice.
• Roisin (8/5): Very good -
• Cagle (5/5): Passable -
• Ruby (1/5): Bad -
• Anonymous (1/5): Bad -
• Wallace (10/5): Exceptional - Had a blast staying here! Met a bunch of cool people from all over the place. We were pretty much playing poker and board games every night, super fun vibes. Place was clean, in a good spot, and the staff working there were super chill. Everything felt easy and relaxed. If you’re down for a good place to sleep and meeting some awesome people, this is the spot. 10/10 would recommend.
• Scott (10/5): Exceptional - I had an incredible stay at Frienz. The room was spotless, and the kitchen was equally clean, making it comfortable for me to use. The TV room was my favorite. I had the opportunity to watch the Women’s World Cup on TV alongside a group of new friends, creating an atmosphere full of great vibes. Also, the hostel surprised us with free ice cream and snacks on one of the days during my stay.
• Nico (10/5): Top-notch location, awesome staff, and a cozy vibe - The location was super convenient for getting around. Big thanks to the staff for helping out with storing my luggage, that was a lifesaver. The place was very clean and the beds are super comfy.
• William (9/5): Superb - I met so many friends here who are from Europe. There is a little bit mould on the ceiling.
• Robin (10/5): Exceptional -
• Ying (9/5): Superb - The location is perfect and there is a big TV room people can watch Netflix movie together at every night. The building is a little bit old but it is tidy and clean.
• Emma (5/5): Great if you're on a budget! -
• Rémy (10/5): will be back in future and recommend to my friends. - best location, atmosphere and friendly receptionist. thank you free upgrading my bed, which is perfect.
• Matthew (4/5): Uncomfortable, cramped, sleep deprived. - Price, location, TV area. Sociable. Loud, uncomfortable, creaky beds. Small, cramped - rooms and the whole facility. Not relaxing.
• Cozzerrose (5/5): Passable - Quick to answer messages and location nice and central in Auckland CBD Mattress very thin and bed squeaky. Not the most comfortable night sleep but for only all good!
• Rob (10/5): Exceptional -
• Théo (2/5): I don’t want to come back at this place - Nothing I dont know where to begin: - no facilities (no dishes, the kitchen was small and dirty) - no shared room to meet the others backpackers - 1 bathroom for an entire level
• Tomáš (3/5): Poor -
• Andrei (5/5): Passable - No No good clean window and bad
• Anonymous (7/5): Good -
• Hyeon (1/5): Good for sleeping - Location Shower facility
• Brian (5/5): Passable -
• Jenifer (5/5): D-rated accommodation but acceptable to those who know Auckland and what to expect - I did not expect the accommodation to be more than "fair" due to its location - there was a man lying in the doorway. I was pleased that I was able to be taken up to the 4th floor via lift even though it was after 6pm as I would not have managed the stairs. There was no towel offered or other facilities such as crockery/cutlery in the kitchen - or I couldn't find them! I had to call reception to locate the stairs down which I would come to leave the hostel at 8.30am - the operator was very helpful. There's a lot that could be better but that would increase the cost to the client and I don't think it would bring in more customers due to its location, the basic furnishings, walls, bathroom, kitchen, etc As I said earlier, I did not expect more as I only wanted a 'cheap' night's accommodation so long as the premises were safe and certainly the lock on the bedroom door was very efficient.
• Rémy (10/5): Will be back in future - Location is perfect. Wifi without delay. Bed and bathroom are clean and tidy. Kind receptionists and helpful. None

Photos