Pavilion Beachfront Accommodation

The location is what would bring me back. The room itself was fine, but it needs a bit of maintenance: some lights didn't work, a chair had a wobbly leg that made me avoid sitting on it, and the sun umbrella was broken. Then there was the service. At 10.02am on checkout day, reception called and abruptly said, “you know checkout is 10 o'clock”. We were already heading out the door when they called. They didn't even thank us for staying.

A lovely spot at the Mount, with beautiful views across the beach. The cafes and main Mount shops and restaurants are within walking distance. The apartments are a great size and come fully equipped. Would recommend.

The Pavilion Apartments was by far the worst place we stayed during our travels around NZ. We were there for 8 nights in mid-February, 2024. A year earlier, we booked through the property's website, which showed each suite and invited guests to choose one. We selected a third floor corner unit, paid a deposit, and got a confirmation email with a photo of that suite. When we arrived, we were given keys to a completely different, inferior second floor unit. The manager was unmoved by the booking evidence and just shrugged, saying, “the photos on the website are generic and don’t look like the room”. They said there was nothing they could do because the property was fully booked. We stayed, and regretted it. The suite smelled strongly of stale cigarettes, as smoking is allowed on the balconies. We tried airing it out every day, but the smell stayed. The location looks lovely, but it was very noisy: modified-exhaust cars and motorcycles rumbled past at all hours, and early morning deliveries to the restaurant on the first floor woke us daily. There was also an unexpected visit from 2 maintenance men, without any warning, while my husband was in the shower. Management gave us no notice of the work. Stay elsewhere!

The penthouse made the stay: every room had its own bathroom, so there was plenty of space, and the private parking and in-room laundry were really convenient. The wraparound deck has glass doors that open right up, giving you an unobstructed view, and the kitchen was fully equipped. The views were spectacular. I’d read some worrying comments about the service, but our experience wasn’t nearly as bad as those reviews suggested. The only thing to watch is check-in by 1900. I didn’t realize that and we arrived just in time.