Aotearoa Lodge

Spacious room , very comfortable , staff extremely friendly and helpful .

Nice location, off the beach. Nice layout of the accommodation and conference facilities. Family running the Lodge were lovely, I think they are fairly new to this accommodation. The beds in the rooms had no consistency - I had a conversation at breakfast with a conference colleague (we were both bemoaning the beds). I thought she must have had the same very soft bed as me, but it turned out hers was hard as rock whereas mine was soft as clay. Catering was interesting to say the least. The continental breakfast option was good and wide selection available. The cooked option was a little 'odd' - no selection - everyone got the same on every plate - a fried egg on top of a hash brown, next to a few beans, one rasher bacon alongside a side salad with a soy sauce drizzle. No mushrooms, choice of how your egg done, no sausage etc. A bit odd. Conference delegates not staying at the accommodation had a bit of a weird time accessing a loo - because those of us staying on site had our own loos in their room. The other thing that was really odd - the TV had a notice saying do not change channels, $50 fee if you change the channels which I took a photo of - but there were only 3 channels working in my room! Would I stay here again - I think the rooms were 'on par' with any rooms available in the area, and the young couple who run the place were really nice, but on balance I think I would try somewhere else.

We booked a suite which came with a small kitchen and two beds. Beds were kind of soft/uncomfortable but did the job. Internet was horribly slow, but I guess it's expected in such a small town. We had to kill about 4 bugs (3 small flies, 1 mosquito) flying around our room/bathroom. There were random $50 surcharges if you messed with the TV settings or if you failed to wash any dishes. Water pressure was also kind of mediocre, if you are picky about that.

It is out of the way so a little hike to get downtown or to the beaches. Nice to have a communal kitchen

Overall nice stay Nice lodge/motel, a little bit away from the city center. Quiet and peaceful. Owner/manager was VERY friendly and helpful. Room was serviced/cleaned each day with fresh towels and tea, etc. which was much appreciated. Future guests should know that the shared kitchen is not much of a kitchen; there is no oven and no proper stove (only a hot plate). This was not an issue for us, but it might be for others who are expecting to cook their meals. Overall a very nice stay and I would recommend the Aotearoa Lodge to others.