This post was written by Tyler and Kara on our first trip to New Zealand in 2015.
We are a family of four who have been traveling around the world for ten months. We have slept in caves, in tents out in the African bush, in teahouses on the Everest base camp trek, and even under the stars in the Indian desert. While in New Zealand we had the chance to sleep in a silo. Our stay at Silo Stay may be the most unique and fun place we have stayed in so far. Kara even says that this is her favorite hotel yet.
We stayed in the silos for one night. We had two silos, one for Kara and I and one for our parents. It was so nice to have our own space.
The silos have many interesting features. The kitchen looks like it is based off of a garage workshop. The drawers, which look like toolboxes, are filled with kitchen supplies such as plates, cups, and flatware. The sink is filled with water from copper pipes.
One of the coolest features is the toilet. On top of the water tank for the toilet is a small sink. When the toilet is flushed, fresh water comes out of the faucet of the sink for washing our hands. This water then fills up the toilet water tank so it can be used again. It is environmentally friendly features like this that make the silo so special.
I really liked staying in the silos because it was a very creative place to stay. It was so much fun having our own silo where we could chillax without our parents. I also really liked it that the silos are built to be ecologically friendly. I wish there were places like this in the US to stay. I hope to stay here again someday.Kara says: I thought that the silos were a very creative idea. The beds were comfy and there was a lot more space in the silos than I was expecting. What a cool design. Also, upstairs, the blue light around the bottom of the walls is really cool! It is amazing how a place where they used to store corn can make such a great hotel! Silo Stay
Silo Stay is located on the Banks Peninsula in Little River, New Zealand. It is 50 minutes from Christchurch and 30 minutes from Akaroa. We highly recommend a stay at Silo Stay and our family loved it here! Too bad we only stayed one night!
Click here to visit Silo Stay’s website.
More Information about New Zealand
BEST OF NEW ZEALAND: There are many wonderful things to do in New Zealand, such as visiting the Milford Sound, bungy jumping and jet boat riding in Queenstown, touring the Marlborough wine region, visiting Aoraki/Mt. Cook, and hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
SOUTH ISLAND: On the South Island of New Zealand, visit Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound, hike the Hooker Valley Track, visit Akaroa and Banks Peninsula, go on a helicopter flight to see Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers from the sky, and learn about the best things to do in Queenstown. For the full list, read our article Best Things to Do on the South Island.
SOUTH ISLAND ITINERARY: If you have only a week, here are four different ways to spend one week on the South Island.
Planning a trip to New Zealand? Read all of our articles in our New Zealand Travel Guide.
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Comments 10
We are planning our May 2020 trip to New Zealand and have booked the Silo Stay based on your review! Thank you for sharing your itinerary in such an articulate and refreshing way, I am using it for our plan. Do you recommend hiking boots for the 3-4 hour hikes? I am apprehensive about the cold weather in May but that is the earliest in the year we can go.
Hello Karen. I’m glad you like our itinerary. You can get by with a sturdy pair of walking shoes or running shoes for Roy’s Peak, the Hooker Valley Track, and the Key Summit hike (as long as there is no snow on the ground). For Tongariro, if you plan to do that one, I recommend a pair of hiking shoes. Cheers, Julie
Dear Tyler & Kara :o)
Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your fabulous review of our Silo accommodation!! I am so pleased you enjoyed your stay and was blown away to see that we made your Top 10 in the world list – we are so stoked! :o)
I was really sad that I didn’t get to meet your family in person due to time restraints – but I do hope that one day you may be back again, and you can meet my children too. I asked the Principal of our school if you could come and talk to our pupils and tell them of your amazing adventures around the world to plant the seed of exploration and inspire them in their lives but this didn’t work because it was the weekend, but I will be recommending your website so they can have a look.
Well, I’m sure you have settled back into school life again and your minds and hearts are filled with amazing memories that will last you a lifetime – you are very lucky children and must have 2 of the most amazing parents to provide this experience for you :o)
Take care, all the best,
Lisa and the team @ SiloStay xx
You are welcome! We’d love to come back again someday…New Zealand is our favorite place in the world. Thank you for an awesome stay in a very unique accommodation!
Tyler and Kara, I loved reading your description of the Silo Stay! It sounds so cool! The sink over the toilet is a really brilliant idea. I’m going to show this to my kids, I know they’ll love seeing the pictures and reading about your super neat experience! Thanks for sharing and continue to enjoy your adventure. 🙂
Julie, Have you + Kara heard of the new restaurant in Mt Vernon Baltimore MD? It’s called TenTen Ramen – fresh springy noodles, deeply flavored broths, and a wide array of toppings. I saw this in the Feb issue of Baltimore magazine. I could scan the article + e-mail it to you, if you are interested. I still really love all your posts. Sleeping is a silo – totally unimaginable!
No, we have not heard of Ten Ten Ramen but it sounds interesting! Sure, you can email it to us. Maybe we’ll give a try when we get back!
Julie, What is your e-mail? I’ll send you the article in an attachment. I really want you + your family to know that I love following your posts. I do not want to travel that much but I sure am getting a great education that is so interesting and realistic and w/ beautiful photos!
Unbelievable! That is really cool! I’ve never seen anything like that before. Great writing by the way!
Very cool! Tyler, thanks for the post!! I am surprised to see such a place in New Zealand. Looks more like Scandinavia.