Palazzo Motor Lodge — Hotel in Nelson

I was really looking forward to staying here, unfortunately our reservation was cancelled last minute because of a supposed water leak. That wasn’t a problem, what followed is why I’m leaving a negative review.

The owner called me and said he would find me a room of equal or better value and would cover any difference in price. He called me back and said he found me a room at Cedar Grove Motor Lodge and that it was all set.

We were traveling from Christchurch and had a couple stops to make and didn’t get to Nelson until about 8:30. When we arrived at Cedar Grove, the owners were startled to see us and told us they were booked up. I explained that we were told by the owner of the Palazzo that he had booked us a room. They said they never spoke to anyone from the Palazzo and couldn’t do anything for us. Every other room in the city was booked and we were too tired from a day of travel to turn back home.

We had to sleep in the car, and as someone with spinal osteoarthritis and ankylosis spondylitis, this caused me a great deal of pain and inflammation that I’m still battling two weeks later. I’m really disappointed and appalled that we were apparently lied to about having an accommodation available, when he simply could have said that he could no longer accommodate us and we could have...

We have just come away from staying at the centrally located Palazzo Motor Lodge. We attended the Aquaculture and Seaweed Conferences October 2025. I was happy I could drag my colleagues away from seriously inferior accomodation at the Rutherford Hotel (just around the corner), to the Palazzo Motor Lodge. The accomodation is superior in so many ways. Lots of room, cleaner than anywhere I've stayed in a long time, beautiful linen, comfy big beds, great lighting, spacious bathrooms [ my colleague had the Spa bath and rated it a 6 out of 5 ]. There are also small but critical details that define comfort such as good mirrors, nice art, stylish comforters, water filters, natural body soap, shampoo and conditioner, fresh milk in a bottle, chocolates in the fridge. But the best news is your hosts Max and Robyn, who put the F in a family-owned fantastic stay. A bit of road noise makes a 4.9 but we will only be staying at the Palazzo Motor Lodge, for any successive conferences. Thanks Robyn. Thanks Max. Really appreciated that you made us so welcome, and the comfort of your...

I stayed here a while ago but felt it was important to leave a review. My cousin and I decided to celebrate my 18th birthday with a weekend getaway in Nelson. Unfortunately, our experience at this hotel was extremely disappointing. The owners came across as quite rude, and we felt unwelcome from the moment we arrived. They mentioned multiple times that the police were staying there during our visit, which felt unnecessary. On top of that, they let us know they were staying in the room next to ours. Unless they mention this to every customer, it felt like they were profiling us.

The following morning, they made a passive-aggressive comment about us staying up late. It genuinely felt like we were being watched, which was disappointing during what was meant to be a special weekend. To be fair, we did stay up late, and we had a couple of drinks, but it was a completely normal hotel stay, and we weren’t being loud or disruptive in any way.

I can honestly say I will never recommend this place to anyone looking to enjoy...