Oakwood Manor

The room was filthy: black mold in the shower, a very dirty microwave, and old food stuck to the dining table. We’d booked and paid for five people, but there were only two face cloths and no pool towels. Reception didn’t understand why I needed more face cloths for the other three guests, and when I asked for pool towels they told us to use the shower towels. We arrived after travelling to get there and were told at check-in, which was at 2pm, that our room wasn’t ready. The kids and I had to wait in a hot car for an hour. I wouldn’t recommend this place to a stray dog.

We booked through trip.com tonight and accidentally chose the wrong date. I called the hotel within an hour. Simon answered, but he was impatient and cut me off while I was still trying to clarify what to do next, saying he had a guest at reception. I’ve never experienced that kind of attitude in NZ. I told him so on the call, but he didn’t seem to care about the feedback. We’re a local NZ business that travels around NZ often, and this is the first time we’ve left negative feedback. I used to work in hotels, so I understand staff can be under pressure, but that’s no reason to push customers around. I wouldn’t have written this if Simon had been decent, even if booking policy meant he couldn’t fix the problem.

The location is handy for the airport and nearby shops, and it works for a basic overnight bed before a flight. The bed leg came off just from sitting on the edge, and the bathroom door doesn’t lock. The shower runs so slowly you can urinate faster.

The man at the front desk was lovely, but the room had problems. Upstairs was very hot, and the old windows wouldn’t close properly. I got no sleep because I could clearly hear the noisy men in the next room talking until 3am, which was rough with an early flight to catch. There was rubbish lying around, including wine bottles, and parking was poor. A van was right outside our front door, leaving barely enough room to get in.