Te Mao Lodge

The bicycles were broken, which made getting anywhere almost impossible and turned it into a real nightmare. We eventually found another place near Avatoru right on the beach, for a similar price and in much better condition, but our experience at Te Mao was terrible and I want other travelers to know what happened. The listing says it’s by the sea, but it’s across the road, with no beach access or ocean view. The only thing even close to being by the sea was a few old sofas near the shore that smelled of cats and were too dirty and smelly to sit on. Before arrival, the airport pickup was over 30 minutes late, and we only found the driver by chance. We reached the property around 3 PM, but the room was dirty. We had to ask several times for it to be cleaned. They said 15 minutes, but after an hour and a half nothing had happened, so we went to their house to remind them again. The person in charge was barely welcoming, explained nothing about the accommodation, and seemed focused only on getting the cash payment. That night, cockroaches came out of the bathroom as soon as we turned off the lights, crawling through several holes in the floor and walls. We couldn’t sleep at all. When we said the next morning we wanted to leave, they blamed us for keeping the light on, which made no sense because we clearly saw the roaches coming from the bathroom itself. When we asked for our money back, they offered a bank transfer, which we refused because we’d paid cash and didn’t trust them. They also said the bank was closed, which wasn’t true, and that they couldn’t withdraw from the Te Mao account. They finally went to the ATM only after we insisted we wouldn’t leave without a refund. Even then, they charged us for one night and part of the next morning, claiming they were “doing us a favor” because the booking was “non-refundable.” That was a complete lie. When accommodation misleads guests and doesn’t provide basic sanitary conditions, it’s absolutely reportable, and we could easily have gone to the gendarmerie to handle it differently. The people running Te Mao had a very negative attitude and showed no professionalism at all. I hope people read this before booking so they don’t make the same mistake.