What more can we ask?...
I have stayed in many backpackers and this place is definitely one of my favorite!
I am quite a clean freak but our room was definitely spotless! In fact, I have never seen a backpacker so clean before!
However, I don’t know how the dorm rooms looks like. My boyfriend and I stayed in a double room and we also had our own ensuite. Unfortunately we stayed there for a night only.
We paid 72$; I guess it was a very good deal for this type of accomodation in peak season. We just walked- in and we got this rate. Don’t hesitate to tell them you want to find something cheaper when they give you the price. They wanted to sharge us 92$ at first but we did not want to pay that price.
You get kitchenwares, tea and coffea, , soap, towels in your room... The room is big, nice and bright. You can park your car right in front of the door ( we stayed on the ground floor )
Maybe you can ask for a room on the first floor so you would get a nice balcony.
We will definitely go back to this place again! The backpacker is one minute walk from the beach and the staff is very friendly!

An ok hostel, probably a lot nicer before Base took it over anyway. I stayed in an 8 bed ensuite room, which unfortunately meant no other shower facilities on site. So you’ll find yourself being number 8 out of 8 people queuing for the bathroom sometimes. However, outdoor hot tub is a nice touch.

Has a lively bar attached which we had many a good night in. Kitchen was small but did the job. The TV and communal areas were all comfy, but they shut at 10pm which meant you couldn't stay up late to watch TV or films or internet, or do anything apart from sit in the bar at night. Fine if you're there on the lash, like I was, not so fine if you want a night off to chill out.

However, this hostel is home to one of the rudest members of staff I’ve ever encountered while travelling. This is probably down to the hostel employing mostly backpackers for its staff, which isn’t always great for the customer service side of things – and with most of the backpacker buses (Kiwi Exp / Stray) dropping off here, the turn over of guests is high. Therefore…the staff (aside from the older guy and woman mostly on reception) basically couldn’t give a rats about whether you have a good time or not. They’re there to do the minimum and get their free accommodation. The bar staff glass collector from Washington DC, given the job of asking people to finish their drinks at the end of one particular night, told us and some (well behaved, polite) NZ locals we were drinking with to ‘f--- off and finish your drinks’, ‘f---ing hurry up’. When it was suggested that she tone down her language, she replied ‘Yeah I’m a c—t, and I don’t give a s—t, now finish your drinks’. Not the best way to talk to paying customers, or the locals of the country you’re staying in. But I think that about sums the place up. Oh, and the $12 BBQ everyone's raving about is pretty overpriced IMO..as really, it's probably the cheapest cardboard meat you'll ever eat. The vegetarians get a potato and some salad for their option. Steer clear or DIY. Overall, fine for a couple of nights, a good laugh if you're up for partying.

(As a side note, there are other rooms which are nicer than the standard 8 bed mixed jobbies they put all the bus passengers in. Heard rumours of TVs and such. Go see)

This is pretty excellent accommodation. I was in Paihia for 4 nights and I spent 2 nights in Pipi Patch. The room I was staying in (8-bed dorm) was clean, and equipped with a fridge and a pantry. Overall, the place has a well-equipped kitchen, a mini pool and a bar (the night I was there happened to be the quiz night where you can win some pretty cool vouchers). There's also a TV room (with real comfy couches) next to the kitchen which is a nice place to chill out if the weather's bad outside. Internet is available for $4 an hour.
If you're seeking a peaceful/quiet atmosphere at night, then you should probably stay somewhere else cos the noise from the bar can be quite overwhelming late into the night. I'm an early sleeper, hence this bothered me greatly and after two nights, I moved to YHA, which is located further up the road (I've also wrote a review for this).

Loud and crowded.
I met lots of very nice people though.