We stayed in a bungalow, which is really a trailer/mobile home. It had a living room with a couch and two wicker chairs; a bedroom with one double and one single bed plus a wardrobe and a very small table with a drawer; a bathroom with a tub/shower combination, a toilet, and a sink; a dining area with a table and two chairs; and a kitchen with a stove, microwave, and refrigerator.

There is a conference center attached to the property, and a very small pool.
Good stuff: the unit was clean, the manager was very helpful and friendly, the place was quiet, and just across the street from the ocean. The manager even gave us a ride into town a few times, once even taking us grocery shopping. The daily maid service was nice.

Bad stuff: the unit was incredibly outdated. The shower didn't work at all at first (no water pressure at all, not a drop), but the manager was able to get it to spritz a little by the second day. There was a small trail of ants at the bathroom sink, but they didn't spread so we ignored them. Very plainly furnished, no place to unpack into, no night stand (we used the twin bed as one), very primitive kitchen. The TV was something from the '50's but we didn't use it so didn't care, likewise for the clock radio and telephone. It is a long walk into town, but in the summer the weather is so nice it's not bad.

We stayed here in March using the voucher scheme run by the Comfort Inn family of hotels. First thing DON'T do that!! We had some terrible experiences trying to get in hotels and in some cases had to take FIFTH choice. They tell you just to call the night before and book where you want to be...yeah...right....

Anyway on a more positive note we decided to stay here and we had the best time. OK it's a fairly long walk into town, but it wasn't that tricky and we're around 50 and built for comfort rather than speed, not young fit back packers!! We taxied back, and got great (if eccentric) service form "Tiny" the cab driver (oh yeah I've got another job - but hop in the back and you can have a free tour). That cost $7. You couls also walk along the beach to town at low tide which was really cool.

We were offered lifts to town at no charge by Ian the owner, and he was helpful above and beyond the call of duty. In fact when we realised we had taken the room key with us when we left, and e-mailed to say we were posting it back, he sent his thanks, and wished us well with the rest of the trip. My e-mail buddy....

Although it wasn't the nearest hotel to the town, I'd happily stay there again for the fact we were made to feel like one of the locals, the rooms were clean and well serviced, and the advice given was useful and honest. Ian was happy to book trips for you, and he pointed out the pluses and minus of the choices.

So if you want to stay somewhere a little less formal this is the place for you. Go relaxed and come back even more so...

We stayed here for a night on a trip to New Zealand, and by a long shot this was the worst accomodation. Not saying this place was bad, but it definitely wasn't good.

We booked two rooms on the website, a 2-Bedroom unit and a Studio unit. We paid a rate of $148.50 per room on the Choice Hotels website. It said on the website that there was free wireless internet access, so we were hopeful that it would be ok just for the one night.

We arrived in the afternoon and the owner came out to check us in. He said that we had paid the Winter rate, and the normal rate for the Summer period was supposed to be more than double our rate for the 2-Bedroom, and a little more for the studio. He attempted to get all of us to stay in the 2-Bedroom unit, but we said that we had booked this rate through the website and would settle for no less. He didn't complain or anything, he got the keys and completed the check-in. There were heaps of brochures in the office and he gave us some information on local attractions in Paihia as well as some maps. He also got two small pitchers of milk. We asked about the wi-fi and he said that it cost $9/day, so it wasn't free after all!

The property is made up of bungalows and two buildings with the studio units. The rooms were ok. They were extremely dated, but they were clean enough for the one night. There was a kitchen in the 2-bedroom unit, but we didn't use it. There was a dining table and sitting area, and the room had a configuration of a bunk bed, two singles and a double bed. The studio room had just a double bed. If you want to make any phone calls from the room, you will need to purchase a call card. You can buy one from the office, or get one from town. It would probably be best though to use your mobile phone or call from town. They had a pool and it was clean, but we didn't use it and it was quite small anyway.

The motel is located out of town and i only suggest walking in if you are a backpacker or an athlete. Driving in is absolutely necessary. There is some parking on the street, but there is a large parking lot where you can park your car for a fee.

Some of the attractions in the area are the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Russell and the Hole in the Rock. There are lots of tour operators, but the quickest tours are in the fast boats. The boats are not jet boats and do not do the 360-degree turns, but they just move quickly out to the rock and back. There are two operators, the Mackattack and the Excitor. The Mackattack is a smaller company, but it is safe and quality endorsed. The guy running the Mackattack was quite strange but he was happy and gave us a much better price than the Excitor people. Unless you are an NZ resident, entry into the Waitangi Treaty grounds costs $20NZD i believe.

There is a restaurant on site at the motel, but it was being used by the local rotary club for a function. We wouldn't have eaten there even if it was open though.

There are plenty of restaurants in town, ranging from Asian, to Italian, and even Swiss! We went to the La Scaletta pizzeria, which was good value. The pizza was good, the pasta, not so much.

The motel seemed safe enough, but there were some young guys hanging around during the night. I think they were the owner's son and friends, it was the school holidays and in a place like Paihia local kids would get bored really quickly.

All in all, I DO NOT recommend this place, unless you get a fantastic rate of like $20/night, or this is the only place left with rooms. What made it worse was that the Scenic Circle, a pretty good hotel just up the road had rooms for the same price inclusive of a hot breakfast. REMEMBER TO CHECK A FEW PLACES BEFORE YOU MAKE A DECISION, THE HOTEL MAY BE CHEAPER OR THE SAME PRICE THAN A MOTEL YOU ARE LOOKING AT! The place wasn't so terrible, but I just wouldn't stay there again.