Akaroa Hotel Tips by Kate-Me

Our stay at Bon Accord was very enjoyable and relaxing, even though we were there less than a day (would have loved to stay our intended 2 days there, but whole town booked out for Harley Davidson conference).
The place just had a nice ambience to it, but I'll describe it a bit more fully to give you an idea.
It was my favourite accommodation of the holiday, (but I'm a bit biased because I loved the French atmosphere of the town and it lived up to my wildest dreams.) It was certainly value for money, for a start, at $55 per double.

Unique Qualities: There were 2 sections to the Backpackers: Part 1 was in what looked to be a fairly large Victorian house with a front garden, and part 2, next door, which I was really pleased to be in, was more European in style and more cottage cosy (not exactly French, but it had ambience).

There was a little outhouse style laundry, then into a main big room which was the kitchen, with a toilet room at the back of it and 1 shower and handbasin next door to it which could be closed off with a sliding door.
Back into the kitchen, a little passage led to a curtain, so I went to check it out. Amazing, but this was the dorm area, maybe beds for about 8 or 9 people, but all the time, the atmosphere of the house was as though we had the place to ourselves.
Though there were often 5 of us either in the lounge or kitchen at once, it never felt crowded.
If I hadn't gone exploring, I would have thought our room was the only one there!

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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Address: Rue Lavaud
Directions: right in the middle of town, next to the Shell Petrol Service Station

Unique Qualities: Here is a photo taken outside the lounge room window, from the garden, where our room was attached on the end of the house, just a few steps away, with the little garden courtyard right outside. Nice and quiet and private.

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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Address: Rue Lavaud

Here is a pic of our little bedroom, very tastefully decorated compared to almost all of the backpackers we stayed in, comfortable or not.
(Many had very loud colour schemes, and it wasn't unusual to have 3 or 4 different wall colours in the one room. )
This one was positively peaceful in comparison.
My husband said the bed could have been a bit more comfortable, but in a fairly expensive town, I think we got a good deal here, and anyway, when you travel several hours a day and walk and wander for the rest of it, sleep tends to come pretty quickly.

Unique Qualities: I liked the decor of our room - it was the only one on the trip to have extra special little touches like a bottle of water on the dresser and 2 cups (plastic but seaside themed with moulded shells pattern) plus the usual tea and coffee.
Nice towels also included in the room rate.

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Theme: Hostel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Address: Rue Lavaud

Unique Qualities: I'm not positive it was meant to be this way, but I like to think that our room was themed - the pinkish red colour and blue walls, and the white ceiling, representing the Tricolour flag of France.

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Unique Qualities: The kitchen is very clean and nice and bright - (maybe it gets away with the loud colours because we're so close to water)

Good cond plates and cutlery (probably better than in some people's real homes!) and plenty of pots. Kitchen stove full size and good cond. Good microwave, full size fridge. Sink with all necessary cleaners - basically all the comforts of home.

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Unique Qualities: There are nice pictures on the bright walls of the little dining room, with yellow placemats for the table, adding a homely touch.
The 2nd time we went back, December 2005, we discovered the dining room had been reduced in size, and it's now just one large table to sit at in there (not quite as good as before, I thought but now they've got a bigger dorm room on the other side. )

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Unique Qualities: The dining room is bright too, as you can see, with dark blue covers on the chairs and couch. No tv like at some, but since our room was almost right next door to this room, that was a good point.

There’s a good CD/stereo portable system though, and even a guitar in one corner.
It looks homely (and that’s also the comment from 2 people we met who'd been staying there a few days already).

Another good point: one guy who'd been there a while, said that every afternoon, the owner (quite young) would bake a cake and bring it over for a free treat for the guests, and every day a different cake.
I can vouch that the banana cake she brought over the afternoon we were there was very nice!
Another special, personal touch we enjoyed.
The lounge was a nice, friendly place to meet people.
I guess part of the good ambience in the house (and it felt like a home away from home) is that nobody was extremely messy, noisy, or neglected to do their dishes, so all went well.

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Unique Qualities: This photo was taken outside the Victorian cottage side of the Backpackers, where on the front verandas there are also easy chairs for guests to relax in and admire the garden, or watch the people go by in the main street.
Another nice touch.

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I didn't actually stay there, but I went and took a look at the place, perhaps for a future visit.

Unique Qualities: Location is great, just like Bon Accord (indeed they are right across the street from each other);
From the street, Chez La Mer looks more cottage-like, and perhaps more French (or a bit cottage-english garden).

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Address: Rue Lavaud, Akaroa

Unique Qualities: Chez La Mer's back courtyard garden was very impressive indeed, with its many flowers and even little symmetrical fountain.
Would be a lovely spot for backpacker guests to relax.

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Theme: Hostel