Malones Motel — Attraction in North Island

We booked 3 nights here. When we arrived we were quite surprised by the apartment - it's all really tired, the walls are scratched everywhere, the bathroom is a tiny dark place with a terrible shower (just extremely old and calky). The spa is only supposed to be used in short intervals due to the old motors. Around the spa you can find lovely spiderwebs. We're honestly not picky or difficult and I try to be very fair with my reviews. This place would have gotten 2 or 3 stars if it weren't for the fact that we really wanted to use the spa. So we found a different place and went back to talk to the manager. My boyfriend apologised and said that we're just not happy and asked if there's a way to partially refund the prepaid room. We would have been fine with one night back or some kind of gesture as we are leaving a spotless room. The manager was extremely unfriendly, took the key and just gave us' no! 's. If you are looking for a nice room and a lovely spa - this is not it.

PS - really not making up stories here. Like I said - if the spa isn't important and you're not fussed about the fascilties - it's fine to stay here.. Otherwise not. He's probably collecting our money and now having other people stay here. It's just the worst customer service ever. Yes - we stayed for about an hour: realising we didn't want to stay, finding a new place and checking it out before taking the room, trying to get money back and then taking photos to complain at booking. - we left the room immaculate and didn't touch a pillow. I took timestamped...

Don't stay here, owner/manager is rude. Long story, but I had made my booking via Booking.com. On the morning of the day we were due to check in at 9.02an I received an email saying my credit card details were old and that I had 6 hrs to update or my booking would be cancelled. I updated the credit card details and then received an email from Booking.com at 10.25am saying they were successfully updated. At 1.11pm my booking was cancelled. Phoned the motel, he said my card details were old and he had cancelled the booking per procedure and my room had been sold. We had a group of us staying and they had one room left at a higher price so I had to take that one. When I checked in and fill out the paper check in sheet I saw my old card details and my NEW card details on the form, I asked about it, he said I had called through with the card details, which I had not. So he shouldn't have cancelled my original booking!! NEVER STAYING THERE AGAIN. Owner/Manger so rude and won't listen to my side of the story and the email time stamped facts, just starts shouting. Rooms very run...

This motel is a bit older, which is noticeable in some worn furnishings and the outdated wall-mounted electric heater. The whirlpool has also seen better days. However, there are some newer appliances such as a fridge and microwave. A standing fan was also provided, though we didn’t use it since we stayed in winter. The Wi-Fi worked well and was useful during our stay. Overall, the place is clean and tidy. The owner’s service could be improved. Our room had a strong chemical smell, and when I mentioned it, the owner said he couldn’t smell anything and that no one had ever complained before. He suggested I was simply sensitive when it comes to smells. The bathroom was very cold, and when I asked for a space heater, I was told this wasn’t possible and that he couldn’t afford to provide one.

Interestingly, I read a response from the owner to a previous review (from just a month earlier), stating that portable heaters are available and can be provided upon request. Unfortunately, that wasn’t...