Motueka Apartment

We’re grateful to the Hotel Motueka team for hosting the funeral service for our beloved Shayne. The owner was helpful, compassionate, friendly and organised from our first enquiry. She recommended the rear function room, which was well appointed, and staff arranged chairs, the sound system and microphones. The fresh finger food was good and reasonably priced, with the option to add more if we needed it. The room was private from the front bar, with access at both front and back and a useful breakout area at the side. The PA was very clear, the bar was well staffed, and service stayed quick. What mattered most was that nobody hurried us along or cleaned invasively around us. Our playlist was still playing when the last family member left. There’s plenty of parking, and the hotel has vintage touches like lead light glass doors and art deco wallpaper, plus locally loved beers on tap and a freshly painted facade in historic colours. You can certainly have a great Saturday night here, but we’d also recommend it for final goodbyes and raising a glass to good times past. Five stars for nostalgia.

The new owners have been stricter about smoking around the place, so the cigarette smell I was worried about wasn’t an issue at all. The owner and staff were very nice, and we had a comfortable stay. Thank you!

I’m a local and won’t be coming back or recommending this place. We came in the afternoon with family for drinks and snacks, as we had the day before. Everyone who was drinking showed ID, and we’d paid and were about to play pool when the young woman behind the bar asked the youngest person in our group, who wasn’t drinking, for ID. She was 14 and couldn’t provide it, so the woman kicked her out. We had to down our drinks and leave, while our family waited on the curb looking like idiots. I understand she was following protocol, but she was extremely rude and should have checked before pouring everyone’s drinks. We’re at the spring and fern now, getting great service, food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Come here instead.

We booked because there was a room available with an ensuite and mountain view, but on arrival were told it was inaccessible. They gave us a smaller room overlooking the building next door, without an ensuite, and charged the same amount. I think the difference was only $10, so it wasn’t about the money. Those room features were the reason we booked. When we asked where to get change for the laundry, the woman seemed exasperated and made us feel like an inconvenience. The dryer sounded like the deathly hollows, but at least we could do laundry. It felt more like a restaurant with motel rooms attached than a hotel. Every accommodation in NZ that I’ve stayed at calling itself a hotel had complimentary washers and dryers. If I’d known what to expect, I’d have seen this as more like a low-end motel, and would have expected cigarette smoke drifting upstairs and into the rooms from the out-front bar and restaurant patio. We weren’t told of any guest discount at the restaurant or bar. In the end, we could have stayed in our camper van at the RV park and shared bathroom facilities, with cooking facilities available, but this still worked fine for us. Just know what to expect.