Smoke Lake Hot Springs Lodge and Camp

Location: 60 Tarewa Road, Rotorua, 3010, Rotorua, NZ

Star Rating: 2 Stars

Property Type: Hostel/Backpacker accommodation

About this Property

Important Information

Policies

Check-in: 02:00 PM - 07:00 PM

Check-out: 10:00 AM

Amenities & Facilities

• Garden
• Luggage storage
• Express check-in/check-out
• Designated smoking area
• Concierge service
• Picnic area
• Conference space
• Breakfast available (surcharge)
• Front desk (limited hours)
• Express check-in
• Tours/ticket assistance
• Wheelchair accessible parking
• Access to nearby indoor pool
• Access to nearby outdoor pool
• Free self parking
• Wheelchair-accessible van parking

Rooms Available

• 4 Bed Chalet Ensuite

  1 Double Bed and 1 Twin Bunk Bed

  Features a private balcony/patio

  
  

  Internet - WiFi

  Food & Drink - Shared/communal kitchen access

  Sleep - Bed sheets

  Bathroom - Partially open bathroom, shower, and hydromassage showerhead

  Practical - Desk

  Need to Know - No housekeeping

  Non-Smoking

  Connecting/adjoining rooms can be requested, subject to availability

  Max Occupancy: 4 (4 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Desk
  • Interconnected room(s) available
  • Partially open bathroom
  • Balcony or patio
  • Hydromassage showerhead
  • Shared/communal kitchen access
  • Bedsheets provided
  • No housekeeping

• Triple Chalet Ensuite (1 Double and 1 Single beds)

  2 Large Twin Beds

  Internet - WiFi

  Food & Drink - Shared/communal kitchen access

  Sleep - Bed sheets

  Bathroom - Partially open bathroom, shower, and hydromassage showerhead

  Need to Know - No housekeeping

  Non-Smoking

  Connecting/adjoining rooms can be requested, subject to availability

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Interconnected room(s) available
  • Partially open bathroom
  • Hydromassage showerhead
  • Shared/communal kitchen access
  • Bedsheets provided
  • No housekeeping

• Twin Chalet

  2 Twin Beds

  Features a private balcony/patio

  
  

  Internet - WiFi

  Food & Drink - Shared/communal kitchen access

  Sleep - Bed sheets

  Bathroom - Partially open bathroom, shower, and hydromassage showerhead

  Practical - Desk

  Need to Know - No housekeeping

  Non-Smoking

  Connecting/adjoining rooms can be requested, subject to availability

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Desk
  • Interconnected room(s) available
  • Partially open bathroom
  • Balcony or patio
  • Hydromassage showerhead
  • Shared/communal kitchen access
  • Bedsheets provided
  • No housekeeping

• Double Chalet Ensuite

  1 Queen Bed

  Features a private balcony/patio

  
  

  Internet - WiFi

  Food & Drink - Shared/communal kitchen access

  Sleep - Bed sheets

  Bathroom - Partially open bathroom, shower, and hydromassage showerhead

  Practical - Desk

  Need to Know - No housekeeping

  Non-Smoking

  Connecting/adjoining rooms can be requested, subject to availability

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Desk
  • Interconnected room(s) available
  • Partially open bathroom
  • Balcony or patio
  • Hydromassage showerhead
  • Shared/communal kitchen access
  • Bedsheets provided
  • No housekeeping

• Triple Chalet Ensuite (3 Single beds)

  3 Twin Beds

  Features a private balcony/patio

  
  

  Internet - WiFi

  Food & Drink - Shared/communal kitchen access

  Sleep - Bed sheets

  Bathroom - Partially open bathroom, shower, and hydromassage showerhead

  Practical - Desk

  Need to Know - No housekeeping

  Non-Smoking

  Connecting/adjoining rooms can be requested, subject to availability

  Max Occupancy: 3 (3 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Desk
  • Interconnected room(s) available
  • Partially open bathroom
  • Balcony or patio
  • Hydromassage showerhead
  • Shared/communal kitchen access
  • Bedsheets provided
  • No housekeeping

• Single Lodge Room

  1 Twin Bed

  Internet - WiFi

  Food & Drink - Shared/communal kitchen access

  Sleep - Bed sheets

  Need to Know - No housekeeping

  Non-Smoking

  Connecting/adjoining rooms can be requested, subject to availability

  Max Occupancy: 1 (1 Adults)

  • Interconnected room(s) available
  • Partially open bathroom
  • Shared/communal kitchen access
  • Bedsheets provided
  • No housekeeping

Guest Reviews

• Verified traveler (6/5): - The staff where nice but the actual place was quit dirty and lots of un friendly people that seem to actually live on site...
• Verified traveler (8/5): - It was just very average, provided coffee and tea however no milk or fridge, very small rooms Lovely staff
• Dimitri (6/5): Ideal for backpackers but not couples - For backpacker or group of friends this is the perfect accommodatio. BBut for couple it's a bit too root :)
• Verified traveler (6/5): - Everything was adequate and fairly clean. I suppose you get what you pay for and this place was very cheap.
• Verified traveler (6/5): Back yard Inn stay - n reference to the amount that was paid for the accommodation the rooms were ok, the budget rooms contain two beds and an table and chair, there is heating but no cooling. You can open the window but there is not much of a breeze and no fans in the room. The rooms get quite warm, the female communal showers had no locks on the door. the pillows were low quality and there were no extra pillows available in the room and no towels were provided in the room, and it does not mention on the website that for these room s you will be required to provide your own towel. I will think twice before booking this place again if I was travelling through Rotorua.
• Verified traveler (8/5): - For the price point, this did the trick. Friendly people, great pool. Clean facilities! Thanks for having us
• Chi Ming (10/5): - We feel like at home during our stay! It was lovely! Thanks!
• Verified traveler (8/5): - Quite and friendly staff
• Paul (10/5): All fine :-) - no problems at all. A very simple room, but that’s all I needed. Thank you!
• Verified traveler (10/5): - Clean. Good service. Close to public transport. Lovely room. Nice and warm.
• Brent (8/5): - Good heated swimming pool
• Verified traveler (6/5): - Room was OK but overpriced for what it was. Restaurant offered good basic food an affordable prices
• Verified traveler (10/5): - Great staff, warm central accommodation with great hot pools. Enjoyed immensely.
• Verified traveler (10/5): - Great rates, clean linen, comfortable bed. Great coffee from the restaurant and although I didn't purchase any food I could see the prices were very reasonable
• Aaron (10/5): Nice Stay in Rotorua - Had a nice, comfortable stay at The Backyard Inn. It was convenient to the attractions in Rotorua as long as you have a rental car. Also, the geothermal pool was a cool feature!
• Verified traveler (6/5): - What I paid and asked for considering the place was fully booked out was quite good.
• Syd (10/5): - We had the ensuite room and it was great! Very comfy bed and everything was clean. There’s a hot pool and a cafe/bar. In the room there’s not a microwave or small fridge, everything is in the big communal kitchen. Parking was a problem for us as all the spaces were taken.
• Buzz (2/5): - Bed sheets weren’t clean and had cockroaches crawling on me when I was laying on the bed reading. This along with what sounded like a boiler on the roof of the room didn’t make for a good night.
• Verified traveler (8/5): - comfortable 4 night stay, helpful staff. good quality food and drinks. would happily stay there again.
• Yogesh (4/5): - Too noisy, not clean.
• Hardeep (8/5): - good service and well maintained good for staying
• Delz (6/5): - nice basic accommodation, one power socket only, it was a shame the pool was not heated and the neighbors were pretty noisy, we could hear every move that happened in the room above us, other than that good accommodation for summer stay
• Catstales2 (8/5): Overnight MTB trip with the girls - We were literally staying a few hours before we hit the MTB trails the next morning. The inn chalet accommodation was a great choice for our group of 3. Staff were helpful and friendly, had breakfast at the cafe and our bikes were locked up safe that night.
• Jennifer (4/5): Oversell - The website oversells it and it wasn't what was expected. Also the "hotpool" was ice cold on a hot day so I never got a swim in
• Verified traveler (6/5): - great stay. pity the pool was not hot due to a problem with the pipes
• Verified traveler (6/5): Basic but centrally located - Rooms are basic but clean and centrally located. We had dinner in the restaurant and found the food good and reasonabley priced. The staff were friendly and efficient.
• wendy (2/5): We didn't stay! - We acknowledge that checking in on Christmas Day may have some impact on the availability of some facilities, however, the room was extremely basic. To get a drink of water meant either going downstairs, to the bar, or drinking from the tap. There were no cups or glasses in the room. There was no TV or fridge in the room, and I was not able to find any power points to recharge our camera batteries or our phones. The shower screen was not, as I first thought frosted glass, but rather stained with either soap scum or by the quality of the water. (The same water in the tap I would be drinking from?) Although the room could sleep three people, there was only one chair. The staircase to the room was narrow and had loose carpet. The path around the back of the building to the stairs was narrow and cluttered by chairs. We found other accomodation for only $10 more that had all the amenities that were not available at the Backyard Inn. The manager became aggressive when told of the cancellation and shouted to me there would be no refund as they could not let the room. He said that they purposefully do not state the amenities in the advert and that I had no reason to expect them to be included. With a rating of 3.5 I expected more than a bed and a room.
• Katie (8/5): - We had a very nice time there. They had more facilities available to everyone than we expected. The food was great and we loved the hotel. We would definitely stay there again, it was very close to the town which was even better. Lovely staff, very friendly and we will be going back next year.
• Verified traveler (4/5): - Unfortunately wasn't the quietest place I have stayed at, as a backpackers I wasn't expecting there to be groups of school children staying.
• Dell (6/5): Close to attraction's - Suited our needs for 3 people for one night stay in 3 bed room chalet with bathroom facilities, clean and tidy. Staff very friendly, community kitchen well set out with heaps of room for everyone.
• Verified traveler (6/5): - Ok for a bed and shower. Bring your own towel, soap, togs. Wish I had known that.
• Gord (6/5): Nice hotel - Short stay to await the ferry. Room had the necessities, and extras like wifi were available for a fee. Parking was an issue when we arrived as the venue had an event which took the prime parking.
• Douglas (6/5): Stayin in Rotarua - Having a private bath was nice. Lots of parking. Liked the bar/cafe and pool to jump in.
• Leanne (8/5): Overnight Stay - Really nice helpful staff. Was fine for an overnight stay. The room was little but fine for late arrival & early departure. Thought we'd need out own linen but turned out we didn't. Unfortunately the kids on site were running up & down early in the morning & there wasn't much to block out the sound. Depending on the situation I was in Rotorua I would look to stay here again.
• Verified traveler (2/5): - The site I booked on gave no indication it was a backpackers place....staff great accommodation dreadful
• Ams (4/5): Community - Good -The staff at the information where very polite with their guest. -Good parking -pool was relaxing ( but should be improved) Bad -The duvet, inner and the outer cover of the bed where dirty smells not washed as well as the pillows/pillow cases -Their internet are not free unlike other hotels
• Bec (4/5): Basic cheap stay - You get what you pay for at this place. We had stains on our sheets, half eaten biscuit and cherry left behind by the person who stayed before us. The beds had a permanent dip in the middle from long time use and I come out of the shower feeling dirtier than when I went in. That being said it was cheap and close enough to the city centre.
• Verified traveler (8/5): Nice people but beds could be better - Overall it's a good place. Close to a park, aquatic Center and town in general. Wifi is not included and therir packages are not suitable for travellers who are there only a few hours per day.
• Tariq (6/5): Basic & cheap - It's a hostel... basic and cheap. You get what you pay for. It was ok... great natural heated pool.
• Graham (8/5): Great value for money - The Backyard Inn was better than I expected for a few reasons. The complex was well set out and all amenities were very easy to access with car parking also close to our sleeping quarters. Considering it was a very busy weekend staff went out of their way to store a mountain bike and the atmosphere was great when the Lean To Bar became the ideal meeting place to watch the All Blacks. The area was quiet considering the Inn is so close to the city, and easy to find at that. Highly recommended
• Ashley (4/5): Dingy hotel - The room was very dingy and I could feel the bedsprings when lying down. The toilet was dirty and the curtains, linen and carpet were very old and faded. Would not recommend this place. It did have decent parking however.
• Branda (6/5): Very nice staff but bad rooms - The staff is amazing and helped us change rooms because of the very (!) loud laundry room next to ours (starting at 6 am till 11 PM). My backpack broke so they helped me fix it and as we realized we wouldn't make the bus in time (backpackers is about 20 minutes away from the i-site) they gave us a ride. Veeery nice people. The condition of the backpackers itself was not very good.
• Verified traveler (6/5): Good, convenient, basic backpackers. - Good basic backpackers. Met expectations EXCEPT that I was expecting free wifi ($5 per day these days is a bit steep). Also rather noisy -- people seemed to be talking (loudly) to all hours of the night and my room was too close to that. Again, decent value and met expectations.
• mary (8/5): - 1st visit we had a room with a bed small desk & chair it was good cos we were only in it to sleep, basic shared amenities were OK & clean, kitchen tends to get very over crowded, it's 1st in 1st served. 2nd stay we had a chalet 4 single beds, shower,& toilet.I felt it was over priced for both stays
• Morgan (2/5): A tragedy of accommodation - A gentle mist envelops you in the luxurious shower, which may or may not actually get you wet enough in order to wash out the feeling that you've made a terrible mistake in staying at this lodge. We stayed in a double room that was crumbling, the bed was about 15 years passed needing replacement and our $85/night didn't include wifi. For these reasons and more, avoid this place.
• Nick (2/5): At least I've got my health - Alright. So I'm not some American tourist who's gonna complain about the meat being too red. I'm one of those Australians who actually never complains. Ever. Except just this one time. I'll try and keep it to dot points. Arrived - lady at the counter was super rude and sent us to the wrong room Tried to nicely inform her there was a mistake so she then printed my itinerary and waved it in my face until I proved her wrong Room was small and infested with bugs The towels provided were wet Pool wasn't working/also infested with bugs Caught the other guy working checking out my girlfriend through the window while she was getting changed Got bed bugs. Yep. Oh and the wifi was $5 and didn't work. You couldn't pay me to go back Well you probably could but you get the idea. Don't stay here.
• Bryony (6/5): For a backpackers, it was great. - Never stayed in a backpackers before but as I was alone and really just needed somewhere to sleep, it is was perfect for the price. Plenty of utensils and crockery available and loads of cooking spaces, and big fridges. The on site bar was great, and lovely to have a heated pool also. For a couple of nights, the bed was comfy enough, and surprisingly the whole place was quiet much earlier than I thought it would be. I had no trouble sleeping and I was right opposite the bar. The shower and toilet facilities were absolutely fine, and were nicely decorated. A very positive experience, which I would be happy to repeat next time I need to travel solo.
• Verified traveler (2/5): Only as a Last Resort :| - We didn't enjoy our stay very much due to the room cleanliness. At first impressions the room had a smell, the sheets still had other peoples hair attached and decor from the late 80's. We had to pay for internet (which rarely could open google, not worth the cost) and beg for a second set of towels during a week long stay. The positive, the kitchen was big a had enough equipment and the place forces you to stay out of the room and enjoy what Rotorua has to offer. If you need to stay, don't be longer than a night or 2.
• Bret (4/5): Only for backpackers - Twin chalet: Dirty sheets, no fridge no soap no shampoo, no ac or heater, lots of mosquitos outside
• Verified traveler (4/5): - Very chlosterphobic, Ned covers not in good condition and cud hear ever thing all night.
• Matthew (6/5): - basic room, tidy facilities. overall average for the price you pay.
• Verified traveler (6/5): - Bit disappointed that there were people drinking and fighting in the outside areas until about 4am without the inn staff doing anything about it. Other than that, the staff were nice and very helpful, the facilities were as expected for the price and it was overall a reasonable stay.
• Kaz (4/5): Okay-ish place to overnight - TV didnt work. Not enough blankets. Basic stay. Extremely noisy!! Very rough area so lots of stereo noise, doof doof music all night, swearing and cussing from neighbour houses, not safe after dark as little street lighting and very rough area. Manager refused to change tv or get it working. Not very impressed...
• Verified traveler (8/5): Nice stay - It was a nice stay
• Anna (6/5): You get what you pay for - The inn was ok. It was very cheap, but you did not get anything but a bed. Also he internet didnt work and there was a lot of noise in the evening. The staff was nice and helpfull though.
• shailesh (4/5): - central location, quiet neighbourhood holiday camp environment bit rooms lacking in amenities compared to similar priced facilities in town
• Verified traveler (8/5): - You can tell this is a ski resort in the winter, has a very alpine feel to it. We stayed in summer and took advantage of their shuttle bus to the Tongariro crossing. It was clean and comfortable. Has a kitchen to do your own cooking should you desire. Breakfast and dinner can be booked in advance and cook by the helpful staff. Only downside is there is quite poor noise insulation. If you're on the bottom floor, you hear every floor board creak when someone upstairs walks around and you can hear when everyone walk by your door. Luckily, (when we were at the beginning of summer, off season) there weren't many other guests and they were generally quite and went to bed early.
• Verified traveler (6/5): Great if you are just there to sleep - No frills room, but friendly service at the counter
• Aurélie (8/5): Good value for money - One night stay in this room. We took a twin room in the backpacker building, so shared bathroom facilities. The room was tiny, but had two single beds and a desk. Since we were just sleeping there it was fine. The shared bathroom was a good size, with enough toilets and showers. It was quite noisy in the morning though, with a school group staying upstairs and running around! Breakfast was basic but tasty. Good value for money but in that room I wouldn't stay more than two nights.
• Lee (10/5): Enjoyable stay - Nice place. The rooms are small, but clean. Shared showers and toilets are fine, although they could do with bigger doors on each cubicle. The hot pool was nice to relax in.
• George (6/5): Good price doesnt mean you will have a good stay. - I stayed in Backyard inn for a night. Price is so cheap. $56 for 2 person. but wifi not included have to pay $5 for 100 gb. I stayed at room number 9, i check in at 2 pm but when i take a nap for half an hour i can feel foot steps on top of my room and it was so noisy. i went to reception to swap my room but it couldn't cause reception couldn't find any vacant room. Well i have to go upstairs to tell person to go slow on foot steps. And again noisy is happened at 9 pm when i started close my eyes. Well the the rest of facilities is fine.
• Verified traveler (6/5): backpackers close to town - this backpackers served its purpose; cheap and handy to all amenities. Staff were pleasant on arrival, the room was as expected and perfectly adequate. WiFi was $25 for the week, which I was OK with. My only criticism is the noise. There seems to be no sound protection between rooms and to be woken by snoring from next door was disconcerting. To have to overhear (couldn't avoid it) the lady next door on her phone for AN HOUR was rather annoying. I expect large group noises; that is the nature of these types of accommodation, so no complaints there. Despite what may seem to be negative comments, I would stay again as it was exactly as expected. I did not mix with others, did not use the pool or other hotel facilities so can't comment on those.
• Melissa (10/5): Nice - The facilities were nice and it was in an easy location. The beds were comfy, the bathrooms were clean and there was a nice big kitchen area.
• Verified traveler (6/5): Nice Stay - It was a nice stay however had a rather unpleasant welcoming from the hotel staff. Good for the price but little things could have been better - such as providing two towels for the two adults that were staying.
• Dolin (4/5): Ok, but they meesed up and couldnt bother to fix i - They messed up the booking which we had made over a month early. They couldnt provide the room as booked and the alternatives were unacceptable. We had to remind them the following day to fix itm they did not remember and offer themselves and no form of apology or compensation was offered. Further, the was an incident later with carparking and one of the hotel managers beign extremely rude.
• Verified traveler (8/5): Good facilities close to city centre. - Stayed 3 nights. Chose this facility for thermally heated rooms,pool,conveniences and price.
• Narry (8/5): budget stay with clean and tiday facilities - neat and tidy, and affordable, you can't go wrong with The Backyard Inn
• Alix (8/5): Basic but good value for money - The room had the heater on when we arrived, which was perfect as it's been freezing and was a nice touch. The bedding was a bit thin but plenty warm enough with the heater. The staff were friendly and efficient. It was during school holidays and there were children shouting and playing outside our room early in the morning - that wasn't ideal, but not the inn's fault.
• Verified traveler (10/5): A tidy wee spot - A tidy wee spot, no TV or kettle in our chalet, which was a bummer but it certainly covered the basics. A comfortable night's accommodation in Rotorua with the bonus of a nice, heated outdoor pool. Set for renovation in the near future, so watch this space!
• Erick (8/5): Always a pleasure to stay here - Always a pleasure to stay here with great staff and facilities. Very warm especially for this time of year. Would definitely stay again!
• Rebecca (10/5): -
• GrAnt (10/5): - Facilities: Home away from home; Value: Great deal; Service: Go the extra mile; Cleanliness: Beautiful;
• Connor (10/5): - Everything is so close by at this location
• Stefanie (10/5): -
• Sally (8/5): - Facilities: Unpretentious; Value: Economical; Service: Go the extra mile; Cleanliness: Hygienic ; Overall just fine

Photos