MacKenzies Hotel & Backpackers is a bar at 51 Pages Road in Linwood, east Christchurch, run as a pub alongside backpacker accommodation, and it holds a Google rating of 3.8. The old-style New Zealand hotel bar, with the public bar at street level and beds for travellers above, tends to be one of the most sociable rooms in any suburb, where locals and newcomers end up side by side at the same counter. A good one keeps the pours honest, the welcome unhurried and the conversation easy, and it's often the quickest way to find out what's actually going on in the neighbourhood. If you've just arrived in town, the regulars and the staff behind the bar will usually tell you more than any visitor centre. On Pages Road in Linwood, a short drive east of the city centre, MacKenzies is handy for a casual drink whether you live nearby or have just rolled in with a pack on your back.