Gateway Motel — Hotel in South Island

My husband and I stayed in a studio budget room - number 16 for 2 nights.|On our arrival at reception there was one person checking in at the time. The lady checking us in seemed overwhelmed that someone was waiting and was not very welcoming. She told us how much we owed and when we paid, proceeded to hand us the key. I asked if she had a map of the area and was handed a bit of paper. No welcome, "enjoy your stay" or anything. We got a better reception and a map from the volunteer welcoming those off the cruise ship and the ferry.|The room was on level 1 and a bit of a struggle carrying 2 suitcases and backpacks up many stairs. It was clean and appeared to be recently painted with a newly tiled bathroom. However, the skylight in the bathroom gave away the age of the place as it hadn't been touched since the motel was built. It looked terrible. The hot water came through reasonably quick, the towels were of good quality but only a sachet of shampoo and conditioner provided and no tissues.|There was a king size bed, a single bed, 2 old bedside chests with 1 drawer in each. A small strip light on the wall above the chest of drawers which you had to get out of bed to turn on and a ceiling light.|A small round wicker/glass table and 2 wicker chairs were crammed in against the front window. Some of the slats on the venetian blind were broken and the curtain was not much better than a piece of rag.|One plus for us was the long bench space where we could put both suitcases up off the floor.|It would have been better to have renovated the room in its entirety and made it more attractive. A bit overpriced compared to the previous 6 places we had stayed in on our road trip around...

It is what it is: a basic, no frills motel situated on the main street of Picton town. Ideal for a 1 night stay if you are catching the ferry to keep the rain off your head The positives are: the bed was comfortable, the sheets clean and crisp. Cutlery and crockery was spotless. Our bathroom in the upstairs Queen room seemed to have recently been rennovated although the shower has an enormous step up to get into it, its quite humerous. If you have limited mobility youd struggle.|The negatives: very few powerpoints, and what ones there are are in weird locations. You have to find one behind the TV just to plug in the kettle. The TV sitting on a bench has a spaghetti of cables which is unsightly (should be mounted on wall with plugs and wires hidden). Wi-Fi is shockingly poor, no good if you have buisness to do.|The bathroom sliding door had no guides at the bottom so the entire door can swing in and out. The lighting in the room is hiddeous; super bright strip lights behind the bed and an ugly glass shade and basic bulb on the ceiling. Decore cheap with ugly artwork and Warehouse curtains. Single glaze windows allows voices from people sitting on the balony in the evenings to be heard clear as day in the rooms, not ideal if you are trying to rest for an early morning ferry crossing. The table and chairs in the room is actually aluminium patio furniture that should be outside.|UHT milk in fridge horrid. Is it worth $175 a night without breakfast? Probably not, but I guess they can charge what they like because ferry passengers often need to...

!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!! Stayed here for two nights, overly priced. Tent would have been nicer, one staff member grunts at you and talks down to you like your a child. Fire trap waiting to happen, no book provided to give proper instructions on where to find safety equipment. If accidents do happen you are on your own as the fire alarm gets ignored by staff. Cupboards from a statehouse, haven't been upkept since JFK was in the whitehouse. Toaster belongs in the bin, toilet paper provided as if you don't have bodily functions. Windows don't shut and door locks are unsafe. If you have kids don't stay here as nothing is safe about these rooms Have never had such a bad experience at all the places I have stayed including hostels that appear on those horror movies

Stay far away, the park bench down at the beach is better. Ducks have better customer service.

Oh and they mow the Lawns at 7am on a Saturday!...