The dormitory rooms at Nomads Queenstown Backpackers were not ready in time for the opening, so those who had booked into the four- to 12-bed rooms were given third-floor private king and twin rooms instead, manager Aimee Jeffrey said.
Unofficially known as the "Flashpacker's" because of extra touches such as leather couches, a cinema-style television room and a sauna, the 320-bed hostel should be fully open to the public by the end of this week, Ms Jeffrey said.
She was thrilled with the opportunity to return to her home town of Queenstown and be part of the Nomads expansion in the resort.
The chain of backpackers started in Australia, where there are 10 hostels - in Cairns, Byron Bay, Sydney and Melbourne.
In New Zealand, Nomads has two hostels in Auckland and one in Wellington.
The Queenstown hostel takes up about half of the new GW Property Group building in Church St.
Having checked in on Sunday night to spend the rest of the winter skiing and snowboarding, British visitors Charlotte White and Ben Apperly were suitably impressed with their new accommodation, despite contractors still preparing the tiles for varnishing in the foyer.
"We have been booked into some great rooms," Miss White said. "Everything has been well thought of."
Ms Jeffrey was enthusiastic about Nomads' full opening in a few days' time.
"It will be fantastic," she said. "Bring it on."
