If you are on a tight budget this hotel offers good price for the location in the middle of the city. There is no parking lot and you have to pay or, as we did, park on the street for free but it is a fair walk from the hotel (we found a place about 20-30 min walk away). The hotel itself, however, is just terrible. For $80/night, which is what we paid, we expected something at least a little bit cleaner. It was OK when we checked in but after spending 9 nights there (constant rain almost every day) and not having the room serviced ONCE, it was very moldy, our towels could not get dry because of the humidity and the bathroom was filthy from the start. The sink is so tiny that I had to turn my head sideways not to spill water everywhere when washing my face. Overall we tried not to spend time there other than just sleeping and I was crying at night by the end I was so sick of the dirt.

My partner and I stayed at Base Backpackers in Auckland in January 2008. The hostel is centrally located, but if you have a car, there is no parking. You have to park in pay lot down the street or at the mall. Upon arriving, reception was very chaotic and it took a while to check in. This was our first time staying at Base, but as we discovered travelling around New Zealand, Base Backpackers are typically all big and busy. Our double room was very basic, but clean and had a fridge. Unfortunately the airconditioning was not working, so it was a bit hot in the room. The bathrooms and showers where clean and the huge kitchen was well stocked and clean.

I stayed at Base Auckland Fort St for 3 nites in the Sanctuary (girls-only rooms) and I was very happy

Good Points:
* Very clean, large rooms with big lock up spaces in each room.
* Very clean bathrooms / shower area
* Heaps of shower cubicles meaning you never have to wait, even in the busy times of the morning.
* Light and Airy 6-bed dorm rooms in the Sanctuary
* On 4th floor so can't hear the sound from the nightclub
* Secure
* TV Lounge, Internet Area, Cafe, Bar and Kitchen are all large and spacious
* Activities in the Bar mean there's lots of opportunities to socialise if you're there by yourself.
* Close to Queen St and the harbour
* There's even a TV in the bathroom so u can watch tv while brushing your teeth!
* Friendly staff

Bad Points:
* The receptionists are overworked so usually you'll have to wait for about 15 mins in a queue if you need to talk to them (eg. to top up internet time)
* The internet isn't stable, it went down for an entire night once - but there's another place close by
* The cafe claims to be open late but closes early which means u cant get dinner from the cafe unless you're there during the small opening hours
* The lift takes ages - so you have to walk up the 4 flights of stairs to/from the sanctuary most of the time.

We stayed at Base Auckland for one night in July in a twin room.
Unfortunately we seemed to be next to the room that was having a rave all night. Finally at 12.30am i could stand it no longer and went to complain only for it to start again 15mins later. A bit unlucky you may think but this is the kind of people that stay there! Also the cleaners just let themselves into our room without even knocking.

The kitchen is very dirty and not very well equipped too.

However on the plus side it is in a very good location and although understaffed the reception were very friendly and helpful.

Base is very basic and i wouldn't stay here again.