Microtel by Wyndham Wellington — Hotel in North Island

The hotel appeared appealing in the photos, which influenced my decision to make a booking. Upon arriving at 1am after a delayed flight from Sydney, I was relieved to find a welcoming room and a comfortable bed. All I really wanted at that point was to get some sleep!

My first order of business was to take a quick shower. To my surprise, the bathroom door opened in the "wrong" direction, making it quite challenging to squeeze through the narrow gap between the door and the glass wall to access the shower. I was also puzzled about how to activate the exhaust fan, but I eventually gave up as it seemed to be broken. Unfortunately, since the room didn't have an openable window, the lack of a functioning exhaust fan led to an unpleasant odour lingering in the room.

Looking forward to breakfast the next morning, I had anticipated bacon, scrambled eggs, and warm baked beans. However, none of those options were available. Instead, I was greeted by a rather underwhelming spread of cereals and cold pastries. Additionally, they charged an extra 15 NZD per person for breakfast per day. As I had to check out at 4am on my departure day, I had to forfeit the amount I had already paid. It was not mentioned anywhere that the breakfast offered was continental rather than the full breakfast one would typically expect.

I requested a dental and shaving kit from the reception and was promptly given the dental kit. They assured me that the shaving kit would be sent up to my room. However, after waiting for an hour, I had to call reception to inquire about its whereabouts. I was informed that they would follow up with housekeeping. Finally, over an hour later, the shaving kit was delivered to my room. It's worth mentioning that this is a relatively small hotel with only about 50 rooms.

Before heading out on the second day, I made sure to hang the housekeeping sign on my door, as is customary in hotels. Interestingly, housekeeping was in the room right across from mine when I left. However, when I returned later that night, the room remained untouched. I had read in several reviews that you apparently need to specifically request housekeeping service.

While the TV in the room was large, it felt quite outdated, reminiscent of technology from the early 2010s. It was quite sluggish, and unlike modern remotes, the remote control only worked when pointed directly at the TV's receiver, requiring precise aim.

Adding to the initial bathroom disappointment upon check-in, I discovered that there was very little shower gel provided, and it ran out when I was only halfway through my shower. Fortunately, I managed to finish up without any major inconvenience.

Perhaps the most concerning issue was finding a long strand of hair creased up on my bed. To provide context, I am a bald individual who was traveling alone. It was highly unlikely for a 30cm long hair to be present on my bed. I tried to give the benefit of the doubt, assuming it might have been a hair from the housekeeping staff when they were changing the sheets, rather than an indication that the sheets weren't changed between guests.

The one redeeming aspect was the internet speed, which tested at a remarkable 400 to 500 Mbps. The room appeared tidy on the surface, and I appreciated the generous provision of 12 teabags with three different tea varieties, as well as a hot chocolate sachet. However, considering all the pros and cons, I would recommend paying a little extra to...

I’m normally a quite tolerant person and won’t leave a negative comment if things aren’t really too bad. This hotel looks alright on the photos - and it’s not that bad by the first look of it too: the room is clean, tidy, has every standard thing that a hotel room offers.

But then you start to notice the problems: My room happens to have no window. The skyline is also shut and can’t open. So once you’re in the room, you lose track of what time it is as all you can stare at is your walls. Definitely don’t recommend if you’re a bit claustrophobic.

TV and its remote don’t work. I think the remote maybe low on battery because only a few buttons work and reacts very slowly. I read too many comments on Google saying the same thing. I wonder how so many rooms’ TVs have the same issue?

There were old socks left on the bathroom shelf. They’re definitely not socks “provided” by the hotel.

The noise. Many people already mentioned in comments about how the walls are very thin and you could hear your “neighbours”. Yes. I could even hear their phones beep - it’s almost like it’s in the same room. And at around 3:30am during my second night’s stay, I heard A LOT of loud noise. Initially I thought it was people arriving dragging their suitcases, but I also heard bottles clunking so I think it was a rubbish truck operating getting rid of the rubbish. This lasted for at least 10 whole minutes in the middle of the night.

The shower: The shower drainage is very much blocked by rubbish and hair. The first night when I took a shower, I saw water building up quickly. It soon became a little pool so I had to quickly shut it down and clear the drain area. The area where you stand is also funny. It’s a piece of metal that’s not evenly glued down so when you move, the metal moves up and down together with you.

Breakfast. When booking, they said “breakfast is available” but didn’t say breakfast wouldn’t start until 8:30am and according to others in the comments, they also charge you for it. The first morning, I waited at the lobby for a while at around 8 and saw nothing happening in the breakfast area - I thought it had already finished and I missed it. It turned out later that the receptionist is also the person who put out the breakfast(fruits, toasts etc.) and he came to work at 8am. I couldn’t wait until 8:30am to have my breakfast so left before that. Can’t comment on the quality of the breakfast but considering it was all put together by the receptionist within 15mins, I wouldn’t have high hopes.

The only positive is that it’s relatively convenient to get...

I was happy with the room itself (size, cleanliness, bed comfort), though as other reviewers have noted, the walls are very thin. The hotel is unlikely to be a good option if you are a light sleeper.

Good location within walking distance to the waterfront and key attractions.

The hotel is let down by the poor communication of its staff and management.

I arrived prior to check in time and my room wasn't ready, which is fair enough- but they said they would call me when it was ready, and never did. I was emailed by the hotel several hours after check in to ask when I was checking in- I queried whether they contacted me in error, and they never responded. I was told the 100 dollar bond would be refunded within a few days, but my bank confirmed that this was not done and was only refunded when the card hold expired. My emails in relation to the refund of the 100 dollar bond were ignored by Microtel for weeks at a time.

(As an aside, a bond is unusual in this day and age, wasn't communicated beforehand, and wasn't credited back to my account for 30 days - as above, it wasn't until the card hold expired. Given the room was not cleaned or inspected during my stay or prior to check out and no member of staff would have seen any damage caused, what was the point of the bond?).

It is a real shame, as this hotel has great potential.

There are generally better options for staying in Wellington at a comparable price point.

EDIT FOLLOWING BUSINESS RESPONSE: The poor communication continues. As I stated previously, the hotel simply did not refund the bond and it wasn't until the credit card hold expired that I was finally refunded. I can see the damage deposit is now stated on the third party booking platform, but it was not stated previously. At least future guests will be aware, but the refusal of this business to take full ownership of their mistakes is beyond...