Oasis Beach Motel

The lakefront location is excellent, and I got a good Expedia deal, so it was great value. My studio was a good size for one person, and access to the thermal pool was a bonus. It’s an older style motel, so the room is dated. One thing to know: you have to ask for a key to the gate from the lakefront into the motel.

The view was incredible, right on the doorstep, and I loved falling asleep and waking to the lake lapping at the shore. I could leave the windows open all day and night, and spent a beautiful week there in November. The room was comfortable, the bed was good, the shower pressure was strong, and the heated pool was very nice. The beach is stony rather than sandy, so I didn’t swim, though I dipped my feet in and got lots of real hot spots. A cheeky duck even wandered into my room when I wasn’t watching. The room service ladies were lovely. Manuels is right next door, with a restaurant and bar, outdoor tables by the lake, and great coffee, but I didn’t eat there. I think toast and jam was around $15. It’s too far to walk to the centre, though only a short drive. At Manuels reception, I was surprised to be charged a $100 bond on arrival. I asked if I was dressed too casually and was told this was normal motel procedure in NZ, but it isn’t. The older, more conservative couple next door weren’t charged one. I got the bond back, but it felt discriminatory and cost them a star. I stayed a week and paid over $1,000, and reception seemed friendlier once they saw I could afford it. Still, the stay itself was very pleasant.

The lakeside view was the one good thing about this room. We’d booked a waterfront room for three originally, then one person dropped out. We saw a suitable room for two on the website and phoned to ask to change the booking, but staff said it couldn’t be done and weren’t accommodating. Some were also hard to understand on the phone, which made the whole process frustrating. Inside, the room was a big letdown and nothing like the online photos. There were dirty dishes in the cupboards, the fridge wasn’t working and we had to fix it ourselves, and the property is extremely outdated. The bathroom was particularly concerning, with black mould across the ceiling and dead bugs on the ceiling and blinds. When we told the front desk, all we got was “okay,” with no follow-up or effort to sort it out. The stay was very disappointing and didn’t match what we expected from the website or the price.

We stayed in a lakefront room in December 2025 for the view, which really is amazing, and the location is great. But from 4 to 8 pm the dated room turned into an oven. It was 25 degrees outside and reached 34 inside, even with the blinds shut and the A/C on full. The A/C did nothing, and the heat made it hard to rest. Staff didn’t offer another fix when I raised it. That level of heat was unbearable for me and could be dangerous for infants, seniors, or other sensitive groups.