Parnell City Lodge

We paid $150 for one night and felt ripped off. The room was dirty and mouldy, nothing like the photos, and we were tempted to sleep in the car. The sheets were stained and had hairs on them, while the towels, meant to be white, were discoloured and stained. We didn’t want to touch anything. We arrived at 1.45pm and were told check-in wasn’t until 2pm, so we waited in the car. The owner stayed behind the desk and didn’t come out at 2pm. He was rude and aggressive. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Stay somewhere else.

It was filthy and run down. Move anything, even the curtains, and there were layers of dust and dirt underneath. The shower handle was broken, so getting in was hard, and there was someone else’s hair inside. They provided one small bar of soap, leaving it unclear whether it was for the shower or basin, and I wouldn’t want to use it for both. The sliding bathroom door didn’t fit its frame, so it gave no privacy on the toilet or in the shower. Outside were stacked mattresses, old piles of tiles and cords everywhere. The office was cluttered with mess. I booked online around 9am and arrived after 4pm, but the man didn’t know about my reservation and gave me a different room from the one I’d asked for. Disgusting. I’ll never return.

Auckland is great, but don’t let this place ruin your stay. Avoid it if you can. It was the worst accommodation I’ve ever seen, and sleeping in your car might be cleaner and more comfortable.

I’m a solo mum with four kids and needed emergency accommodation while my mum was in hospital with cancer. WINZ paid $150 a night for seven nights for a family room, but the owner put us in the standard room advertised for $99. It was dirty, with stains everywhere, dirty dishes, blood on the blankets and no TV. On the first night things were quiet. The second night, family came to visit around 8.30pm. He said no visitors after 10pm or he’d call the police, then at 8.50pm barged in, yelled at us and told my visitors to get out. It scared my kids so much they wanted to leave. He slammed the door when he left. I told him he had no right to do that because I was still allowed visitors. On the third day we found a peephole in the bathroom ceiling directly above where you get changed. By then we wanted to leave. The next day, my kids were packing the car when I caught the owner’s wife taking photos of them. When I confronted her, she played dumb. We caught her spying on us all the time. It was creepy. The room had one bowl, no forks, half a roll of toilet paper and two dirty towels. We left on day four. He said he’d refund the four unused nights but still hasn’t. I have photos of all the problems and don’t recommend this place.