Oceanside Resort & Twin Towers — Hotel in North Island

Review: Dated: August 26th 2024

My wife and I visited Oceanside Resort late on a Saturday afternoon, 13th July 2024 with plans to potentially book a week-long stay worth thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, the customer service was incredibly disappointing. When we asked politely to see the pool area before booking (as our daughters love hotel pools so we wanted to check it out first), we were met with total refusal from Shannon at the front desk, despite the lobby being empty. Her reasoning was that the pool was for guests only, and she oddly mentioned concerns about women and children being present. (???). Even after we explained the website online photos were insufficient, we were directed to search for customer reviews instead. Attempts to escalate the issue to management were futile. Shannon informed us that management doesn’t communicate directly with customers and emails take 5-7 days for a response. Despite sending 4 emails and calling, we’ve received no follow-up whatsoever. This complete lack of responsiveness and disregard for potential customers is shocking for a hospitality business. Very disappointing experience—beware if you're considering this resort. I sincerely hope Shannon can improve her attitude and customer service skills in the future.

Update (September 1, 2024): After reading Oceanside Resort’s response below (dated August 27, 2024), I feel compelled to correct several misleading and inaccurate statements they make.

Thank you for your reply, though it’s unfortunate it took a Google review to finally receive one. Let me address a few points you raise so that people reading these reviews can truly understand the abysmal customer service you provide to potential guests:

Common Sense About the Pool: It’s obvious the pool isn’t a public area, this doesn’t need to be stated. However, you entirely missed the point of our request. We wanted a quick look before committing to a week or so-long stay, which is a reasonable request. The fact that your receptionist refused and gave irrelevant reasons such as “women and children being present” was both baffling and unprofessional. This comment not only made us feel uncomfortable, as if we were somehow inappropriate or suspicious for simply wanting to view the pool, but also seemed discriminatory. It suggested that our presence might be problematic, which is unacceptable & unprofessional.

Lack of Sufficient Pool Images: Your claim that there are “more than enough images online” is totally incorrect. As of July 2024, the images available on your website were insufficient to gauge the pool’s actual conditions & amenities, which is why we wanted to see it in person. If the images had been truly comprehensive, we wouldn’t have needed to ask for a quick view.

Misleading Information About Private Apartments: You mentioned that the pool is not part of private apartments, yet this was never communicated to us. Why didn’t Shannon simply clarify this during our visit? This raises questions about the consistency & quality of communication at your resort.

Reception Presence: Contrary to your claim of it being a “busy check-in time,” the reception was 100% empty during our visit. This makes the refusal to show us the pool even more perplexing & raises doubts about the validity of your explanation.

Customer Service vs. Reality: While your receptionist may “pride herself on her high level of customer service,” there’s a clear difference between claiming to deliver great service & actually providing it. In our case, the service we received was far below acceptable standards.

Trend of Negative Reviews: Lastly, dismissing every negative review as “misleading and damaging” is concerning. This seems to be a recurring theme in your responses, as I’ve noticed from other reviews as well. Instead of deflecting criticism, perhaps it’s time to recognize these consistent issues & make meaningful improvements to your customer service.

The experience we had was far from the standard anyone should expect & far from the image you seem intent...

Disappointing Stay

I recently stayed at this accommodation for an overnight work trip, and unfortunately, it fell short of expectations.

Here are the issues my two colleagues and I encountered:

Late Check-In Fee: Despite thinking we were doing the polite thing and calling ahead (around 4pm) to inform of our late arrival (7.30 pm), we were surprised by being notified that there would be a $250 holding charge required from each of us. There was no follow up email to reassure that the money would be returned, even though that was what we were told on the phone once the money was paid. Not a great start.

Ocean View Disappointment: Two rooms were specifically booked as ocean-view, but the view was barely visible—a mere sliver from my 3rd floor window and my other colleague was on the bottom floor near the pool. It should be renamed "Ocean glimpse".

Room Comfort: The linen was like scratchy cardboard (felt like they'd been bleached and over scorched), pillows were flat like pancakes, and only a thin bed blanket provided (all accomodation we've stayed at in Papamoa and the Mount have had an extra blanket in the wardrobe). The even thinner bed throw does not count as an extra blanket. I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn on the heat pump for warmth. Towels are small, old and worn out.

Early Wake-Up Call: The building shook due to early morning rubbish trucks, which felt like an earthquake. Concerns about a tsunami due to the close proximity to the ocean didn’t help either.

Confusing Checkout: Despite the stated 8.30 am reception opening time, we arrived at 9.30 am to find nobody there—just an upside-down key drop box (which we saw another guest rattle by accident and several room keys fell out). We even called out and waited but the desk remained unattended. The only person around was the contracted cleaner who was vacuuming the footpath and driveway directly outside the reception.

Odd Trash Policy: The sign requiring guests to take their own trash upon checkout or else there would be added charges seemed unnecessary, especially after just one night’s stay. (In which I only used one tea bag and a complimentary oat milk sachet).

Pool Closure: We attempted to use the pool at 9.30 pm (closing time listed as 10 pm), but it was already covered and inaccessible.

Additional towel charges: There’s an extra $5 charge if you want to take a towel to the hot pools. Unfortunately, we arrived at 7.30 pm, and the reception was closed. Luckily I'd brought a towel from home, but then all three of us had to use it at the hot pools as we were afraid of incurring whatever fee was attached to taking a room towel to the hot pools.

Sky Digital: Had sky sports channels but nothing else, other than freeview.

Even though the rooms are very spacious, the dated decor (especially the weird mirror headboard) added to the overall disappointment.

Glad that this was a paid work trip because I would not pay to stay here. (except for handing over $250 of my own money as a "holding fee" for our late check in, which was then given back the next morning).

There is so much negative signage around the place stating rules and extra charge fees that could be avoided if it was all stated on the website so that people knew what to expect. (Design tip- just stick to one font when making your signs and don't bother with the dated 90's microsoft word border. You can find free templates on Canva that are much more visually appealing).

I hope management uses the money from all those extra charges for towels to buy fresh new fluffy towels and the money from rubbish fines to pay for a trash chute for future guests' comfort so they don't have to carry their one lone teabag down to the rubbish room in the basement when they check out.

Will definitely make sure work does not book me or my...

Disappointing Stay||I recently stayed at this accommodation for an overnight work trip, and unfortunately, it fell short of expectations.|Here are the issues my two colleagues and I encountered:||Late Check-In Fee: Despite thinking we were doing the polite thing and calling ahead (around 4pm) to inform of our late arrival (7.30 pm), we were surprised by being notified that there would be a $250 holding charge required from each of us. There was no follow up email to reassure that the money would be returned, even though that was what we were told on the phone once the money was paid. Not a great start.|Ocean View Disappointment: Two rooms were specifically booked as ocean-view, but the view was barely visible—a mere sliver from my 3rd floor window and my other colleague was on the bottom floor near the pool. It should be renamed "Ocean glimpse".||Room Comfort: The linen was like scratchy cardboard (felt like they'd been bleached and over scorched), pillows were flat like pancakes, and only a thin bed blanket provided (all accomodation we've stayed at in Papamoa and the Mount have had an extra blanket in the wardrobe). The even thinner bed throw does not count as an extra blanket. I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn on the heat pump for warmth. Towels are small, old and worn out.||Early Wake-Up Call: The building shook due to early morning rubbish trucks, which felt like an earthquake. Concerns about a tsunami due to the close proximity to the ocean didn’t help either.||Confusing Checkout: Despite the stated 8.30 am reception opening time, we arrived at 9.30 am to find nobody there—just an upside-down key drop box (which we saw another guest rattle by accident and several room keys fell out). We even called out and waited but the desk remained unattended. The only person around was the contracted cleaner who was vacuuming the footpath and driveway directly outside the reception.||Odd Trash Policy: The sign requiring guests to take their own trash upon checkout or else there would be added charges seemed unnecessary, especially after just one night’s stay. (In which I only used one tea bag and a complimentary oat milk sachet).|Pool Closure: We attempted to use the pool at 9.30 pm (closing time listed as 10 pm), but it was already covered and inaccessible.||Additional towel charges: There’s an extra $5 charge if you want to take a towel to the hot pools. Unfortunately, we arrived at 7.30 pm, and the reception was closed. Luckily I'd brought a towel from home, but then all three of us had to use it at the hot pools as we were afraid of incurring whatever fee was attached to taking a room towel to the hot pools.||Sky Digital: Had sky sports channels but nothing else, other than freeview.|Even though the rooms are very spacious, the dated decor (especially the weird mirror headboard) added to the overall disappointment.|Glad that this was a paid work trip because I would not pay to stay here. (except for handing over $250 of my own money as a "holding fee" for our late check in, which was then given back the next morning).||There is so much negative signage around the place stating rules and extra charge fees that could be avoided if it was all stated on the website so that people knew what to expect. (Design tip- just stick to one font when making your signs and don't bother with the dated 90's microsoft word border. You can find free templates on Canva that are much more visually appealing).||I hope management uses the money from all those extra charges for towels to buy fresh new fluffy towels and the money from rubbish fines to pay for a trash chute for future guests' comfort so they don't have to carry their one lone teabag down to the rubbish room in the basement when they check out.||Will definitely make sure work does not book me or my...