Halswell Lodge — Hotel in North Island

Extremely poorly maintained property. Unfortunately we already paid for 3 nights otherwise we would have cancelled immediately. The units are advertised with parking, then they demand $15 per night for parking. I would have liked to speak with the manager or the owner or the reception but the property is completely unattended. There is a bell to ring but the only person who appeared to help could barely speak or understand English. There was nobody at reception the entire time we were here. The kitchenette was too filthy to use or put food in anything I had to purchase a scouring pad for the saucepans and spend 2 hours washing and scrubbing every item in the kitchen including the wall and cupboards as fat was dripping from under the shelf and was splattered up the wall. The cupboards were either dirty or had puddles under the sink. The seal around the sink leaks and it drips into the cupboard. All the crockery was stored under a leaking sink and had dirty water in it. The only 2 glasses had toothpaste crusted on them. The saucepans had burnt on food residue. The glass cook-top was coated with burnt on spilt food I cleaned 1 cooker so we could use it without smoking the place out. One cook top could not be turned on at all because the knob is broken. The Fridge belongs in the tip. It is completely rusted at the bottom and sides as it sits in water leaking from the fridge. The little freezer has no driptray under it thus the water drips all over the food and fills up the crisper as the glass shelf over the crisper box is missing. Our fresh food all froze the first night , the following night it floated in puddles. We put hand towels over the food to catch the water. The space between the cupboard and the fridge has never been cleaned. It is a family unit with 5 beds there are 2 forks and 2 table spoons, there were only 2 mugs. There are absolutely no cooking utensils and no frying pan. There are no dishcloths or Teatowels. We were given face washers to be used as dishcloths and hand towels for drying dishes The shower door is dangerous as it constantly slips from the top bracket. The shower drain is backed up, any longer than a 2min rinse the water starts filling up the shower tray the rubbish bins lid was crusted with spilt garbage as was rhe wall behind the bin. The light over the mirror in the bathroom doesn't work. The TV doesn't work. etc. On the positive the sheets were clean, the beds comfortable and the carpet was also clean. The accommodation is in a good location but is in desperate need...

HALSWELL WAS HELL, NEVER AGAIN! Arrived after sunset after a long drive. Had to give credit card details over the ph which was not ideal, would of rather paid once arrived.|Reception guy didn’t speak clearly, he mumbled something about 5 times till I finally understood through sign language he wanted a photo of my credit card. Did not feel good about that, after a wished I’d covered the security number. Will be cancelling my credit card after this trip as feels dodgy Halswell reception guy having that info. Got directions to room, was difficult in the dark, up stairs with bags. |Immediately noticed in our King Superior room smelt like strong incense which covered the old musty smell. Pillows were disgusting, stunk bad, no clean pillow protectors. NO ELECTRIC BLANKETS, took hours to get to sleep as felt freezing. Dust on skirting boards was thick, hadn’t been cleaned for years, had looked forward to a nice hot soak and especially booked room with the spa bath, bath had a dirty ring around edge so I did not use it, didn’t bother telling reception at 10pm at night as I was exhausted. Told reception in morning and they offered no apology or credit and just said I should of told them immediately and they would of moved us to another room, I said I didn’t because I was too tired, no way I want to bother to change rooms at 10pm!|That night I checked my bank account and noticed I’d been charged twice! At this stage I was on high alert and feeling really uncomfortable, rang reception and guy said see him at 9am in the morning (lucky I didn’t have to leave earlier than 9am) the reason I had to meet him was he couldn’t communicate clearly on the phone.|Took 4 days to get my double charged money back and two days to get my $100 bond back. Never paid a bond at any other hotel on this trip. The kettle could only be filled by filling a glass and pouring that into the kettle. Room advertised with balcony was unusable as the door had broken glass in it. |The room was horrible, felt ripped off, Halswell Wellington was HELL, never again...

this was the motel from hell. we arrived about 4pm and the access was via a steep narrow laneway. there was nobody there, the office was difficult to find and locked. we found a cleaner and he contacted and conversed with the "owner" via txt msg. he was able to find out our room and produced a couple of keys. we looked at the room in the back of an old house, access to through and off a communal kitchen. the room was extremely cold and damp, the bedding felt damp, the decor was depressing, there was a small electric heater, a TV that would not work (it was discovered that the Wifi did not work in that room and the owner admitted that it has never worked. the bathroom had been renovated albeit some time ago, and the toilet was situated so that your knees were hard against the vanity. The room had no ventilation at all, there were no smoke alarms, the room was situated such that in an emergency, vacating the room could be a hazard, and in the event of a fire in the kitchen area, no exit access. this brought to our mind a recent tragedy in a similar situation where there were 6 people who perished within 1 kilometer from this venue. we tried to find another venue to stay at as we were not happy with the whole situation, but there was nothing available at that time of day, as we were staying overnight to catch the interisland ferry early in the morning. the "motel" tried to charge us extra for overnight parking on site which was not disclosed in the booking. There was another couple who approached us who were just as disappointed, their TV screen was smashed and were moved to another room. they offered us another room, however it was up a long flight of stairs, impossible for my wife to get up due to mobility issues. The photo's of the venue show it to be a more than acceptable place to stay. TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY it is a dump and would advise anyone interested to rethink. Trip.com should remove this place from their accommodation offerings it is damaging to...