The cheating (the expensive ones that provide poor quality versus the cheap ones)

                                                             Here I reveal some secrets about typical and expensive Auckland accommodation                                                                    that is not worth renting and how to find a place with a price that is worth it.

       Auckland is famous for its immense beaches with crystal clear waters, lush vegetation, so that you can easily find forests in various parts of the city. But if we start with the search for accommodation, you will find several hostels and apartments that are very famous but I do not recommend them for the world.

(Picture - Room at the YMCA hostel - year 2015. 
Auckland. New Zealand -NZ $ 220 to NZ $ 300 per week )

One of the common mistakes made by the vast majority of tourists when arriving in Auckland, is to meet these giant and renowned hostels or apartments, for young people and where several tourists reside, but inside they leave much to be desired. For example: the great famous YMCA hostel or The Empire. Occupied by thousands of tourists, super expensive, and, if we talk about comfort ... They are super uncomfortable, noisy, small and in some cases the bathrooms are outside the apartment and of course it is shared, as is the case at the YMCA. There you have to go down one floor to go to the ladies' room. Also, the kitchen is quite small, very narrow, no more than three people fit in, and there are two kitchens of the same size in the building. The YMCA dormitories are like a narrow tube, with little space, they resemble that of a hospital, or perhaps the hospital dormitory would be better since many have a television included. But, not in the case of the YMCA, they have a small desk, it comes with a small refrigerator and the windows are like those of a hospital. It was the scariest room I have ever lived in for a price that was not worth it.

     If we talk about the "Empire", these apartments are usually with three bedrooms and the kitchen, a small living room and the bathroom is shared. The apartments are usually dirty, the carpet in the living room, where I settled, was very old, which made it look more dirty, the bathroom curtains were torn (and we are talking about one of the most important hostels). The bedrooms are very noisy, since the hostel is near a main avenue, and you barely have a small space to walk between the bed and the wardrobe. They also present a sad little window, a desk and a chair, which in most cases are made of plastic. The living room usually has a table without chairs, (since you have to use the plastic desk chairs), and a small sofa, but it does not have a television or any other amenities. In the Empire, the kitchen is not equipped, you have to buy the plates, cutlery, etc. They give you some for an affordable price. If you want to clean the apartment, you have to go to the reception to get a vacuum cleaner, which in many cases did not work. 

  (Picture - Living room of the Empire apartments, Auckland (2016).
NZ $ 220 to NZ $ 300 per week )

  Another thing that impressed me about the Empire was the elevators, there were only two super small and old for a giant building. Which sometimes, you had to wait a few minutes and many times I had to go down the stairs, from so much waiting.
Then an important issue is the internet, well I tell you that the internet is not included, that is, you have to buy your weekly wifi that the same hostel sells you, both at the YMC and at the Empire, the wifi is separate. So is the washing machine since for its use you have to buy some chips to wash or others to dry. 

Picture - Living room of the Empire apartments, 
Auckland (2016).

With all this description, what can you imagine? That the prices are cheap? Unfortunately, these hostels, which offer a poor infrastructure and accommodation service, are some of the most expensive, the prices are between NZ $ 220 to NZ $ 300 per week. (since all rental prices in New Zealand are per week), which per month would be NZ $ 1,250 to NZ $ 1,500, for a tiny bedroom, without adding the internet, washing machine, kitchen utensils, etc.

So I do not recommend it at all, they are totally ruled out. To add that the reception staff give a terrible service to the customer, they have a poor predisposition to listen to you and are usually not friendly but very dismissive.

     But why do so many people stay in these terrifying buildings? The main problem is that if you are new to Auckland, it is difficult to find a place, other than in those famous hostels, and there the cheating where many tourists fall, also many Universities or Institutes of English recommend these places, in poor conditions to the students, who paid for their stay beforehand and of course they don't even imagine, that for the price they have paid, that they are going to find such an unpleasant place, without television, or wifi, with beds and small windows that look like a hospital , etc.

    So where to go? ...
Finally, don't even think about getting into one of these huge hostels, they all have the same infrastructure and inconveniences. So I recommend houses.

Kiwi houses are beautifully quiet, surrounded in most cases by gardens or forests, and they are big with more than three bedrooms, sometimes with two or three floors. But of course, renting a whole house can be very expensive in Auckland, however most houses have bedrooms for rent, for students or tourists, which makes them more attractive, since if you are new, and go to live in these beautiful mansions where there are also other tourists or students renting, who came from other parts of the world. This makes it a much more sociable and interesting place to get to know other cultures at the same time. 

(Picture - Two-storey house with pool and surrounded by nature, 
(NZ $ 140 per week) near Mision Bay beach. Auckland, 2018)

 In these houses, the kitchen, bathroom and dining room are shared and they are the most recommended, not only because in almost all cases the Kiwi houses are super equipped with all the comforts, free wifi, air conditioning, television, sofas. All the kitchen utensils are included, the bedrooms are usually large and spacious, and the most beautiful of all, many are near the sea, or have a swimming pool, or are cabins surrounded by forests and nature, and away from the avenues, so the price of living in these houses are worth paying.

Now, how much do they cost? Well, they are much cheaper than the horrendous apartments, the prices range from $ nz 120 to $ nz 200, sometimes a little more or a little less, but generally they are around those prices, and remember that these prices are per week. As I mentioned before, all rentals in New Zealand are weekly.

How to find them? You can search on Facebook: "Auckland flatmates" or on this New Zealand pages:
https://www.trademe.co.nz/flatmates-wanted/auckland/
https://www.realestate.co.nz/residential/rental/auckland?maxp=200