Manukau Hotel & Conference Centre

This is the most disgusting hotel I’ve ever been to. My room floor was wet, and the outside was gross, with mattresses and bed bases everywhere and rubbish all over the ground. Homeless people were sleeping on the floor in the hotel rooms. It felt very unsafe, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone stay there. They only show what they want you to see, just a couple of room photos instead of the whole place. It’s yuck. I don’t know how they’re allowed to keep letting people stay there.

The rooms are nice, but everything else was pretty horrendous. It’s a rough area, and you’re on your own because the motel staff take no responsibility for anything. You get what you pay for, as always. Ellerslie has much nicer, safer motels for $10-20 more.

The staff didn’t want to help with anything, and seemed more interested in chatting with people at the Indian restaurant on site. I’m 67 and couldn’t afford somewhere else, so I had to spend four days there. It felt like a war zone. There was rubbish all around outside, including bed bases, mattresses and bits of wood. Cockroaches were all over the kitchen, and there were signs of mice chewing through power sockets. People gathered in groups of five in the car park and stared as I tried to get out of my vehicle. At night there was loud arguing, and people wandered the halls and car park at all hours. On Thursday at 3:30 am, I overheard what sounded like drug deals through the wall. People were painting my door while I was in the room, without warning or saying whether the paint fumes were harmful to breathe. Several rooms looked abandoned, with windows and doors left open. Yuck, what a place.

We booked months ahead for the Metallica concert and arrived at 2 pm to check in, only to find several other groups having the same problem. They said our bookings weren’t there, but my Expedia agent could see mine on their side. Other people had booked through Trivago, Expedia, Booking.com and Jetstar too. Several agents called the front desk while we watched the man there ignore every call. They sold our rooms for more money. It felt like an absolute scam, and they shouldn’t be allowed to take bookings on any sites. The guy at reception was appalling. I’d never recommend this hotel.