Bunk beds are back at Christchurch’s newest hybrid hostel-hotel
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday officially opened Drifter Christchurch on Lichfield St in the central city. The hotel with a difference is based on the old hostels of a decade ago, but with all the bells and whistles.
Leisure Accommodation Collective chief executive Luke Moran said Drifters was designed for travellers from all walks of life. “We offer a mix of private and shared accommodation. The aim for the entire building is that people talk to someone, that they actually engage. They are travellers, like-minded souls, whether they’re corporates, whether they’re families, whether they’re backpackers, you know, coming from overseas.”
The 100-year-old former wool textile plant heritage building has been redesigned to accommodate 372 beds in 95 rooms spread across five floors. Drifter Christchurch offers a mix of premium hotel rooms, private and shared suites, including female-only accommodation.
Communal spaces encourage guests to interact with each other, with shared kitchen and laundry facilities, a cinema room, and a ground floor bar and restaurant.
Moran said travellers are now expecting more from their accommodation. “It’s not a standard hotel, you know, it’s got an amazing array of facilities within the venue, all designed to actually integrate people that are here. So there’s cinemas, there’s yoga studios, there’s libraries, there’s zen rooms.”
The Australian company chose Christchurch to be their test-bed for the new hybrid hotel model, which matches similar offerings in Europe. “Christchurch is such a resilient city that we felt we needed to be here first. So it’s a really exciting time for us to open not only Drifter as a brand, but certainly as our first venture into New Zealand as well.”
Strategically positioned near the new One New Zealand Stadium, Moran hopes their flexible shared and private accommodation offering will prove tempting for future visitors, when the stadium opens in April 2026. “We can’t wait, to be honest, we’re very excited. So we’ve landed in absolutely the right location. You know, the venue and the stadium looks absolute world class.”
The team are also hoping to attract local residents to their restaurant and bar with live music. Moran said the success of Drifter Christchurch has encouraged them to expand further. “We’ve already got a site in Wellington that will start construction hopefully this side of Christmas. And then we’ve got a site in downtown Auckland, opposite what is the new largest train station in New Zealand going in, so we’re very excited there. And then we’ve got a few projects in Australia that we’re working on as well.”
– By Geoff Sloan, made with the support of NZ On Air
