Pinewood Motels — Hotel in South Island

During our travel in the South Island of New Zealand, we had a tyre/wheel problem with our rental car and had to stay for one night at Pinewood Motel in Fairlie. The rooms were okay, although the price was rather high, with parking space available, as expected from a motel. However, we had a very bad experience. Checkout the next morning was at 10 a.m. As expected, we packed our baggage and left the rooms on time. Since we were expecting the replacement car in 3–4 hours, we went to the reception to wait. However, the receptionist told us to leave the reception area because her young daughter, who was playing games on her mobile phone, was annoyed by our presence. We complied and moved to the outdoor seating area, but despite our protests, the receptionist eventually forced us to leave the motel entirely. I would like to point out that our presence was not causing any issues—there was plenty of space available, including an open courtyard with seating.|I have been traveling for decades all over the world, and I have often had to wait several hours in a hotel reception—whether for a car, a guide, or a late flight. This is the first time I have ever been thrown out of a reception by a rude staff member. People in New Zealand are generally very kind, but unfortunately, some unprofessional individuals can damage the country’s reputation and negatively...

During our travel in the South Island of New Zealand, we had a tyre/wheel problem with our rental car and had to stay for one night at Pinewood Motel in Fairlie. The rooms were okay, although the price was rather high, with parking space available, as expected from a motel. However, we had a very bad experience. Checkout the next morning was at 10 a.m. As expected, we packed our baggage and left the rooms on time. Since we were expecting the replacement car in 3–4 hours, we went to the reception to wait. However, the receptionist told us to leave the reception area because her young daughter, who was playing games on her mobile phone, was annoyed by our presence. We complied and moved to the outdoor seating area, but despite our protests, the receptionist eventually forced us to leave the motel entirely. I would like to point out that our presence was not causing any issues—there was plenty of space available, including an open courtyard with seating. I have been traveling for decades all over the world, and I have often had to wait several hours in a hotel reception—whether for a car, a guide, or a late flight. This is the first time I have ever been thrown out of a reception by a rude staff member. People in New Zealand are generally very kind, but unfortunately, some unprofessional individuals can damage the country’s reputation and negatively...

Pinewood Motel in Fairlie is a two minute walk from the grocery store and cafe in town, and it’s quite close to a BP gas station. About 30 minutes over Burke’s Pass from Tekapo.

The rooms include a small kitchen with plug in single burner cooktop, mini-fridge,microwave, kettle, and dishes. There was a frying pan and bowl for mixing as well. There’s a small table with two chairs attached to the wall in the kitchen, and my room had a Queens bed and a twin.

The bathroom had a shower but because there was no separation between it and the rest of the room the entire floor got wet when I showered. The bathroom was clean but some of the towels were a bit threadbare, and the toilet tank was stained and looking drab.

Bed linens were super clean but the bed wasn’t super comfortable- a bit saggy.

The walls are incredibly thin so I was kept up quite late by talking in the room next door.

WiFi was a bit slow- had some trouble backing up photos from the day.

Overall a fine place but a...