Former Lodge and Workers’ Housing Up for Sale

A former high-performing backpackers’ hostel – strategically converted into commercial corporate accommodation to house construction workers employed at one of Coromandel Peninsula’s biggest infrastructure development projects – has been placed on the market for sale.

The property, previously known as Turtle Cove Backpackers, sits on edge of Whitianga township’s central business district. The purpose-built tourist accommodation venue has multiple separate buildings.

The property was purchased by an infrastructure development firm some six years ago to house construction crew working on one of the company’s large-scale projects. Turtle Cove Backpackers subsequently ceased trading, while the infrastructure firm took advantage of the ready-made licensed room and amenities within the premises.

The 430-square metres of lodge buildings sit on 1,622 square metres of freehold land split over adjoining land titles zoned commercial 8A. Turtle Cove’s 16-room inventory is configured to support a range of occupancies – ranging from what were bunk style room dormitories and single rooms, through to stand-alone share twin and double rooms.

The Turtle Cove land and buildings at 12-14 Bryce Street in Whitianga have unfenced access between the rear of the two properties so that guests and workers could move freely between their accommodation units and the property’s communal living and recreational spaces.

The 12-14 Bryce Street address contains an owner/manager’s residence, with two additional portable cabin bedrooms and a toilet block situated at the rear of the section to increase the site’s accommodation inventory. Guest services and turn-key chattels within the Turtle Cove Backpackers business/construction workers’ hostel include:

• A fully equipped kitchen with gas hobs, ovens, and extensive commercial-standard food preparation benching

• Separate male and female bathroom facilities

• A laundry room with commercial-grade washing machines and driers

• TV lounge and

• A large covered outdoor area on a concreted floor plate.

With most of the infrastructure development work project now complete and the worker’s hostel now surplus to requirements, the worker’s accommodation venue formerly known as Turtle Cove Backpackers at 12-14 Bryce Street in Whitianga is being marketed for sale at auction on September 3 through Bayleys Whitianga. Salesperson Josh Smith said the time was right for the property to once again be used as backpacker accommodation or even

potentially elevated higher up the guest revenue chain by converting it into a bespoke Air BnB style accommodation offering.

“Turtle Cove was, and once again could be, a stereo-typical New Zealand backpacker accommodation venue – catering to the budget end of the free independent traveller market in a style which has been immensely popular since the 1970s, and showing no sign of changing,” Smith said.

“From a demographic perspective, Turtle Cove, like many backpacker establishments of its ilk, was configured to attract not only budget-minded backpackers aged in their 20s, but also a generation of ’Gen X’ backpackers who first enjoyed the free-spirited style of accommodation some 30 or 40 years ago.

“Now, still wanting to hold onto that free-spirited environment during their travels, those former guests are coming back as middle-aged adults with their children, who will probably in turn go on to become the next generation of backpacker guests.

“Over the ensuing years since Turtle Cove was decommissioned, tourism has grown to become a major economic activity within Whitianga’s business sector – involving participation in the region’s deep-sea fishing, golfing, and eco’ tourism ventures such as Cathedral Cove or Hot Water Beach tours.”

Latest commercial short term (tourist) accommodation data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment show that visitor guest nights at backpackers across New Zealand in May this year had risen to 211,500 bookings – up from 188,100 bookings in May 2025. Within that, the MBIE data also noted that short term accommodation bookings in the Coromandel region were up by 4.6 percent in the same measurable period.

Smith said the official data strongly underpinned the business case for Turtle Cove Backpackers to once again operate as a commercial accommodation provider in the budget end of the market where there was no other competition in Whitianga.

He said The Turtle Cove Backpackers business could easily once again be operated as a commercial ‘lifestyle’ enterprise - staffed by an owner/operator full-time manager and housekeeper, supported by part-time housekeepers and cleaners brought in as occupancy levels demand.

“As with most accommodation businesses in Whitianga, Turtle Cove Backpackers when it was operating, tracked its busiest trading period over the December to March summer phase where the occupancy level regularly sat at around 82 percent,” he said.

“Turtle Cove Backpackers is in a fortunate geographic location within the town – being the closest accommodation venue of its type to the commercial heart of Whitianga with all its retail amenities such as supermarkets, bars, convenience food outlets, and liquor retailers which backpackers frequently use during their stays.