Manapouri Lakeview Motor Inn — Hotel in Fiordland Community

Ok - so anyone who is considering staying at this place needs to take this into consideration. I booked for a night on 13thJune 2020 on Booking,com. This during the down period in the middle of winter. Also booked was the breakfast for 2 adding another $44. It appeared we were the only ones staying at the place at the time. The young lady at reception was polite and courteous. However I was a little sceptical when she told me that she would take me down to our room as she stated Housekeeping was not working and she didnt know what rooms were cleaned and what werent. On the way she point out a number of rooms where the hot water was not working but she assured me the room she had just given me the hot water was working. No milk was offered to make coffee in the room. The room itself was frozen. It was 4*c outside and despite being aware of our booking no effort was made to turn on the wall heater prior to our arriving. The room initially appeared tidy as such although certainly dated. But then came the quick realization of how poorly it had been cleaned. There was hair (and pubic hair) in the bathroom and shower including hair on the supossed clean towel/facecloth we were given. The shower is a shower over a bath which is a bit poor. The place had dust etc around the cubicle where you would make coffee if you had been given the milk to do so. The adjoining cafe and bar were closed (?closed for winter) which was not made clear on booking on their site. I am not sure how breakfast was to be provided when we were never asked as to what we would like and they appeared to have no amenities or staff to make it. As it was we were thoroughly hosed off and disgusted with the place and left quite early to get out and drive home (2+hours) to have a shower, coffee and breakfast ourselves. The housekeeping should have been done - and done thoroughly by the managers/owners themselves being that the down time had no other patrons or guests rather than telling me"house keeping is not working". They should have been housekeeping!!! No wifi password or access was forthcoming. No internal telephone system. No information folder in the room. Heating only just heated the room . Very poor cleanliness. The cancellation is not free as was advertised , unless it was done within approx 8 hours of booking. Not near worth the money to stay. I strongly suggest this place...

Request for Refund Support – Duplicate Booking (Booking #4915273228)

Dear Manapouri Lakeview Motor Inn Team,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am reaching out regarding a duplicate reservation that occurred through Booking.com due to a system error. The two bookings involved are:

Booking #4915273228 (Cancelled)

Booking #4307135987 (Stayed)

Both bookings were for the same guest (Lek Deng), same dates (Feb 25–26, 2025), and same room type. The duplicate booking (#4915273228) was made unintentionally and was cancelled immediately once I realized the error. However, I was still charged for both reservations.

Booking.com has informed me that they are unable to refund the cancelled booking without your approval or cooperation. Therefore, I kindly ask for your assistance in confirming to Booking.com that you are willing to authorize a refund for the cancelled reservation (#4915273228), as it was clearly a duplicate caused by a technical issue.

I am not requesting any compensation from your side—only your confirmation to support Booking.com in processing the refund from their end. I would greatly appreciate your understanding and help in resolving this matter.

Thank you for your time and assistance. Please let me know if you need any further...

THIS PLACE IS A SCAM!!!!! DO NOT BOOK HERE!!! We booked this ‘hotel’ for 2 nights (6-8 July). We arrived at the confirmed check in time (2pm), there were no cars in the car park, no lights on or curtains open, no sign of life and a ‘temporarily closed’ sign on the main facility building. Reception was locked, we rang the doorbell multiple times and called the number on the door multiple times. There was a sign on the door directing us to knock on some room doors to find service if reception was unattended, there was no response from any of the rooms. We drove to the local pub and asked if they knew how we could get to our rooms, they told us this has happened multiple times and we could either camp out in the car park and hope someone would turn up or book elsewhere and demand a refund.

We ended up going back to the property, calling the number and knocking on doors again and waited until 4pm. After that we decided to book alternative accommodation for the night.

This motel did not once call us to ask why we hadn’t checked in and had not responded to any of our messages or voicemails. I am still waiting on my refund from booking.com as they also cannot get through to the property.

Absolute scam. Don’t waste your...