Kowhai Motel Rotorua

This is an excellent value for money motel. The accommodation is spacious, clean and functional. Location is ideal for accessing town centre, lake, parks and restaurants. Helpful management team if you need anything. We booked for one night and stayed for 4.

Oh dear, where do I start? The unit (16) had a strange smell on entry......not the Rotorua pong we all know....but stale and greasy. The kitchen was beyond usable and the fridge was mucky. Stored a few wrapped goods in the larder but wouldn't use glassware, crockery or cutlery. Bathroom also needed better cleaning: base of shower door and windowledges were dirty. There is nothing welcoming in this unit.....no pictures, no clocks, no colour anywhere other than the bedding. Which brings me to the bedroom......there's nowhere to store clothes: in each of the bedrooms there is a cupboard but it has no shelves or rail and could barely be opened due to the position of the bed. Under the bed was in need of a Hoover. The lounge is OK although furniture could do with replacing.....just old and past its best. The whole place is soul-less. Car park is difficult to negotiate. Now there are a few good points: Location - an easy walk into town: the unit has Sky TV: Beds were comfortable and towels good quality. I mentioned my concerns at checkout but received no apology / explanation, just a smile and told that this was the only room available..... Sorry Kowhai Motel.....I am very disappointed. You can do better.

A very worn and sad motel and overpriced for what you get. The sofa was ready for the tip it was so old and lumpy. The kitchen table/sofa block the door to the room. No electrical contacts in the kitchen except one so we had to have the toaster on top of the fridge or out on the kitchen table. It's a very tight squeeze into the bathroom as the sink and the door collided with each other. The light to the bedroom was actually outside of the room, one small shelf for a lamp near the bed, only one side, but no lamp was to be seen so we had to use the ceiling light which meant that one of us had to go up and turn it off. Not worth the money!!!! The only good thing is that it's very central but nothing else. Can not recommend this motel.....

This place was an actual Rubbish Tip. We arrived late and had to book a room for $180 Aus. The room was old and tatty. There was a pervading smell within the unit and it was not the local hotsprings. It was a smell of rotten smell fighting the smell of a powerful disinfectant. There were cockroaches in the room and someone elses medicine under the fridge. I demanded and received a $100 discount

Very spacious 3 bed room for 5 of us - would be ideal for large groups as there were extra beds in lounge. Not luxurious but good value, comfortable and had everything we needed. Heated pool was great. Some road noise at night (we live in a very quiet street so for others this may be normal) but otherwise the location was excellent, across the road from the park and walking distance to town and restaurants.