Putaruru Hotel — Hotel in North Island

My partner and I read reviews before booking this hotel. We were expecting it to be dated, basic, and old, with peeling paint and torn carpet. We saw the review that compared it to “The Shining.” We aren’t fussy or high-maintenance, we are low-budget travelers, and we have a sense of humor so we didn’t have too many worries when we booked this.||Unfortunately, when we arrived the vibes were much less “The Shining” and much more “The Walking Dead.” We confirmed with reception that we were able to check in early afternoon, since we would not be able to check in in the evening. The city itself was a borderline ghost town. We were met on check-in by a kind young receptionist, and that was the only good thing I have to say about the hotel. As soon as we were done checking in, the reception area was gated closed. There were no other signs of human inhabitation in the hotel. We made our way through the run-down lobby and hallway to our room, and saw that despite a request for a large bed we’d received a room with two twin beds. The windows were open and the room was freezing cold in April. The room had two space heaters but only two outlet plugs in one corner of the room - and after testing the space heaters, only one worked (a little). There was no other source of heat in the room. The bathroom was hilariously beat-up and drafty. Nearly every room on our floor was in some stage of repair with doors open, carpet torn, mattresses on the floor, etc. and no signs of habitation within the last few months. We left our room for the evening as long as possible, knowing we wouldn’t enjoy any time spent there. When we returned to the hotel after dark, it felt like we were breaking in to an abandoned property - there were absolutely no lights or signs of human activity inside or around the hotel. Everything was pitch black and we needed flashlights to find our way through the hotel to our room. Again, this felt very zombie apocalypse. The “Resident Evil” games were livelier and less creepy. Our room was freezing cold. The mattresses felt as old as the hotel and we could feel each individual spring beneath us. The space heater rattled and I spent the night questioning whether it was a fire hazard. Needless to say, we couldn’t sleep. At all. It was far too cold and uncomfortable. I regret not moving to sleep in our rental car. By the morning, my back was wrenched. We’d booked a second night and it was not refundable but we ate the cost and booked a different room elsewhere for barely more money and ZERO regrets. I’ve read the reviews that describe a loving owner attempting to restore this property, but at its current state it genuinely feels like it should be...

Interesting...Made my partner n I crack up as the place was typical random az.. first couldn't find the entrance, drove around the entire building before calling the office and he unlocked the front doors...windows are smashed doors broken and looks desiloit amd abandoned ..polite friendly Indian man.. afterchecking in he told us the Queen of England was supposed to stay here..Room 10..but she didn't?? ?!!!###@@@??? Hallways and our room Smelt like toilet freshener and was rough as guts.. but tidy . Shower was like an old abandoned hospital shower from 100 years ago.. carpet ripped on stairs.. all the nice new beds wwre stashed in a big room at the hotel lounge.. covered with sheets like they were being stored... .batromms were locked in foyer and the toilet n shower in our room looked like a pic from silent hill game..water hot n cold randomly.. bed hard as rocks.. my sholders were sore azz should hv crashed in the back of my car but paid the 90 buck so stuck it out.. woke up at 230am to some cracked out guy talking to himself rightoutside our room..I thought it waa a guest on the phone..but 20mins after waking up.. I looked out n there he was jibba jabbering to himself out the gate.. Lil random kitchen greasy n filthy.. I made a coffee the water looked blue?? My cup had stains inside and we has satchets of powdered milk in the room.. so i put my own milk in the fridge.. at 245am sounded like a zombie outside but it was a guy helping himself to the council gravel out by the road... shoveling and to his trailer... place was a trip n a half...

I didn't have very high expectations for this hotel after reading the comments but was also just expecting a cheap clean place for a night. The hotel is an older one that really need an upgrade which I understand they are doing at the moment. It has potential to be a beautiful hotel, but it will take a lot.

We had booked a twin room on their webpage, but when we arrived and were showed the room we had gotten a double room. When we explained this to the guy he seemed confused as "they didn't have any twin rooms, so it was a mistake on the site". I have seen pictures here on Google Maps, so that can't be right, and it was on THEIR OWN website. Now what really made the service bad was that the guy then did NOTHING to fix the issue. They didn't have any other rooms, didn't have a extra bed or mattress, and we even had to then ask for more bedding, so we at least would't have to sleep with the same sheet. I completely understand that mistakes can happen, but not doing anything to fix it when we had confirmation for a twin room is just bad customer service.

Then very early in the morning we got woken up by what sounded like old piping or water tank heating up water. It sounded almost like an alarm with the "clonking" and it was impossible to fall asleep again.

If I can say one thing positive about the room it is that it as least seemed very clean, and the hotel is close to the Hobbiton Movie Set.

Would not recommend this hotel, before they get it upgraded and they fix their...