Kawaha Manor — Hotel in North Island

This wasn’t the worst place I’ve ever stayed in, but it was among the most disappointing. Initially my feelings puzzled me, so to try understand my own disappointment, I re-read the description and read the Airbnb reviews, particularly the owner’s response to negative reviews. This is my conclusion…

Over the years, as well as positive reviews, several people have shared my feeling of disappointment and have posted negative Airbnb reviews. The owner’s response has consistently been a self-righteous “you should have read the description” or similar.

But it’s possible to convey a false impression without telling outright lies. Even if the dimensions of the rooms in the description were factually correct (I didn’t check), words and pictures can give a misleadingly positive impression. This owner has developed that skill to a high level and it left me with a huge sense of “over-sold and under-delivered”.

The deception starts with the name… “Manor” evokes a grand medieval house in a British country estate. The word has no place in contemporary NZ and it certainly doesn’t describe this tired 1950s suburban house, despite its large garden.

We stayed in the “Cosy Retro Unit” [owner’s description]. The trouble with the English language is that many words are ambiguous. Cosy is often a good thing, but can also mean cramped. Retro can mean stylishly old or just old and decrepit. Taking the second meaning for each of these words, I commend the owner on the accurate description.

Another of the owner’s standard rebukes to disappointed guests is “don’t expect a 5-star hotel for backpacker prices”. Fair enough!  But in response to that, if you don’t want people to have unrealistic expectations then don’t use descriptions like “Entire guest suite” which creates an image of spacious luxury when you’re offering two cramped bedrooms, one of which doubles as a lounge with lots of ornamental clutter but no space for luggage, plus a small kitchen and bathroom.

Similarly, “Lakeside cosy family unit” is misleading. The house is by the lake. The owner’s quarters are lakeside. Our rooms were at the back, facing the street, not lakeside. We were three people and the place felt crowded. It would be possible to squeeze a family in if it was a small family, but it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Unfortunately we didn’t read most of the Airbnb reviews until it was too late. Negative reviews could help the owner provide a better experience for future guests. Instead, this owner repeatedly responds to them with denials, hostility, sarcasm, personal insults and counter-accusations. In the responses to 8 years of reviews I didn’t see a single apology, or even acknowledgement that any of the problems were real - says more about the owner than about the guests.

The person who made our booking (the only one who can leave an Airbnb review) was so intimidated by this that they didn’t leave the negative review it deserved, so here is my review. To pre-empt the accusation made by the owner against negative reviewers on Airbnb, no we didn’t expect “five star hotel standards for backpacker prices”. We just expected clean, adequately-sized, functional accommodation and reasonable value. Like other Airbnb’s. This place failed to meet any of those expectations.

On this holiday we stayed in 5 Airbnb’s, all in a similar price range. This wasn’t the cheapest. We were entirely satisfied with the other 4. This one wasn’t just less satisfactory, but was in an entirely different league of UNsatisfactory.

There’s a view over the lake from the garden (not from our rooms), otherwise I’d have given 1 star. If you go, then go with low expectations so you don’t share my...

Really sad house. Do not recommend a stay here. They don't have basic amenities like hot/cold water mixer in the bathroom and the kitchen. There is a tap for hot water (extremely hot) and one for cold water (extremely cold flow).We had to use jugs/glasses and bowls to get a the right amount of warm water to take bath, wash utensils in the kitchen and to brush/freshen up on the bathroom. Weird house in all aspects. The heater they provided was bad. It was either giving in extremely hot air or we had to switch it off and tolerate the extreme cold weather outside.. The bathroom is so tiny and so is the shower place so tiny. While showering, you turn to your right you could hit the curtains and an inch movement to your left, you will bang in...

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the Honeymoon Suite on the property. The room was comfy and cosy and had electric blankets to help with the winter nights. Kawaha Manor is a great hub to explore Rotorua, an easy 5 minute drive to the city centre and close to a lot of the tourist attractions. The owners are also lovely so we will be looking to stay here again when we are...