Name: Empire Backpackers
Address: 13 Thames Street, Oamaru, Oamaru, Oamaru, 9495, New Zealand
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

Heating

No elevators

Reception desk

General

Non-smoking rooms

Rooms

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Common kitchen

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Free parking

Free Parking on Premises

Parking

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hostel

Empire Backpackers

Oamaru

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Came up to Oamaru to visit my friend and stayed here for three nights. Stayed in the dorm which I ended having all to myself as no one else showed up. The room was cozy, bed was comfy and the staff were wonderful, I would highly recommend staying here

Lovely place

Friendly service, spotlessly clean, comfortable rooms, although an extra heater maybe needed when the weather is freezing. The bed was comfy and had an electric blanket. The bathroom was clean, shower was great.

Central and affordable

Despite a problem with my booking (3rd party agent had booked Empire despite the hostel being closed for winter break) Empire honoured the booking anyway. Staying in a closed hostel in midwinter with only the custodian sounds like The Shining but it was actually a great holiday. Great location downtown Oamaru in the Victorian quarter, only a few minutes walk from Steampunk HQ and only about 5 mins walk from Intercity bus stop. 
It's a historic building, built before the days of central heating and energy efficient homes, so the building itself was a little chilly but the rooms are well supplied with bedding and electric blankets so I was toasty warm. Really comfortable, and well worth a stay.

Highly recommended

Cheap, warm and right in town. Knowledgeable Lovely staff. 2 kitchens and dining tv rooms. Great warm water pressure. Clean and tidy.  Music instruments to use down stairs to party with in the basement.

Recommend

A lovely good value venue in a great location. The staff treated us with real warmth and the 2 kitchens make it very easy to cook and dine. Close to Countdown and great onsite parking, room was small but bed was warm.Lovely log fire downstairs, good vibes.

Upstairs Downstairs

Pretty standard hostel. Use the upstairs kitchen. We used the downstairs which was a mistake because the fridge was jam packed with the owner's and staff food. But upstairs looked fine. Good shower. Good location.

It was fine

Stayed here a couple of weeks ago. With it being the shoulder season at the moment, the hostel was very quiet but still inviting. Great set up in both kitchens, clean bathrooms with an extraordinarily warm shower (A+++) and comfortable shared dorm room. Wifi included for each day of your stay. Great value as it is 10 GB per day, excellent connection. 
If you're keen to do some walking around this is the best spot. Super accessible to the Victorian Precint, Steampunk Headquarters and the gardens on the other side of town. If you're looking for a bite to eat, there are also plenty of restaurants and cafes nearby. I stopped in at Steam for a cuppa and had dinner at the Star and Garter just around the corner. Also conveniently located right near the iSite for any inquiries you may have. For the bookshop junkies you can walk to 'Adventure Books' from the hostel, as well as 'Crafted,' a gallery full of beautiful art works by various craftswomen and craftsmen. 
Friendly, helpful host at the hostel and great hospitality. Definitely stay here for a night or two, you won't be disappointed. As an added bonus, the building itself has some neat history behind it!

Comfortable and convenient

We stayed in a twin room for $70. The beds were confortable, the bedroom is a bit small but ok. The kitchen and bathroom were clean. The receptionist was friendly and the location perfect. We would have no pb coming back :)

A confortable place

Stayed here in July and it was a massive mistake. Rooms are cold, the bathroom is not heated was like walking into a freezer and floors were ice cold. Unfriendly staff and the laundry was expensive,had broken dryers and no lights. Heating in the rooms was a fail, you had to get up and turn it on again and again every 20 ish minutes even though it says 45 minuts and it didn't heat the room. 

Heating:epic fail
Laundry:epic fail
Bathroom:epic fail
Staff:epic fail
Friendly:epic fail

Empire Backpackers

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