Oamaru Motor Lodge

They call the place "pet friendly," but charged a $50 deposit that could be taken if they found any fur, even just hair left by our chihuahuas. We were told the dogs couldn’t go on the beds. Anyone who knows chihuahuas knows how attached they are to their owners and that they sleep with them. We were expected to keep them in the lounge the whole time, so I don’t see why it’s advertised as pet friendly.

The room was spotless and the beds were comfortable, so I have no complaints about that. My issue was the service and the pet bond. We brought our two small dogs and were told on arrival that the refundable $50 would be kept if any pet hair was found after checkout. A bond for damage makes sense, but charging that much over a bit of fur seems outrageous. Children can do more damage than our house-trained, non-destructive dogs, and I think I shed more hair than they did. The owner found no dog hair and returned the bond, but the place didn’t feel pet friendly, and they should change the advertising.

We had a warm, clean stay in a great location, and communication was good. The neighboring unit’s visitors took away from it a little. When we came back from a meal, there was no parking space for us, so we assume the visitors had parked on site. A curfew for entertaining visitors would help paying guests have a quiet night.

The room was tidy enough and I have no major complaints about it, but traveling here with pets was a bad experience. My sister, our parents, two chihuahuas, and I stayed one night. We only chose this place because we had no warning about the $50 pet bond or its fur rule before booking, and had nowhere else to go. I’m fine with a bond for damage, since our dogs are house-trained and well behaved, but we were told we’d lose it if any pet hair was found. Dogs shed naturally, just like people, and that seems far too picky for a place advertised as pet friendly. Before we could leave the next morning, the owner inspected the whole unit. He checked the beds, including the one the dogs slept in, and a pile of blankets we’d taken off the bed as soon as we arrived, which the dogs hadn’t gone near. He said, "I found pet hair on one of the blankets." When I asked him to show me, he pointed to one of those untouched blankets but couldn’t show us any hair. I told him the dogs hadn’t been near that bedding, and he quickly backed down, saying, "oh, oh it's okay," and returned the bond. It really felt like he was looking for a reason to keep the extra $50. He was stingy with supplies too. The dishwashing liquid was watered down until it was mostly water. When we asked for another bottle, he gave us one that was just the same. Apparently spending $2 or $3 on a bottle for each room was too much for the lodge owner.