I stayed for 4 nights in a sea view room. The renovations since my last visit were nice in the…read moreroom, however they did skimp on a few areas. The tiny work area by the tv was the only place I could use my computer however no Power plugs nearby made this difficult. The table and chairs inside were uncomfortable with hard backs. We also had no outdoor furniture like the pictures had shown, I did notice some rooms had nice outdoor comfortable furniture. The door to outside was not aligned with the frame and there was a clear visible gap which wind whistled in. The bed and bedding were lovely as was the bathroom. We had buffet dinner one night, this was a rip off, still 2 hours till close and plenty of dishes empty and not being replenished. Large Australian tour group in front of us raided the entire dessert table and only left ice cream. Coffee was also empty and after repeated requests remained so.

We came here with Gate 1 Travel. Please keep in mind that this is nothing to do with the hotel's…read moreShuttle service as Josh was more than helpful with driving us to and from the hotel into the Town Square in a timely manner! He even pointed out several interesting spots to hang out and made sure to borrow us umbrellas in case of unexpected rain. Our main issue is with their housekeeping service. First of all, they are very slow in getting our rooms cleaned up. Second of all, upon entering the bathroom (when we return from our excursion at 4:30 pm), there are many significant dirty areas left unclean (with brown spots showing in the sink)! Third of all, the housekeeping left one rubbish bin (or trash can) lying on the floor in the bathroom and another one both not lined, even though they left two plastic bags on the bathroom sink table. We ended up lining the rubbish bins (or trash cans) ourselves!!! Finally, the complimentary toiletries were not replenished, as with our coffee cups and drinking glasses (only our previous used cups remained)!!!

I absolutely loved this place. I felt like I was my Dungeons and Dragons character. Very old time…read morefeel. The barkeep is very friendly, the rest of the staff are the same. Rooms are cheap and clean. The bathrooms are not in the rooms, but there's a ton of them. Old. Very old place. I like that, maybe you won't. You can get hammered and crawl upstairs. I'd stay there again anytime.

My family and I stayed here for two nights, in the 2-bedroom suite (room #1). In our pre-stay…read morecorrespondence with the hosts, Lyn was very prompt in responding to our request for the room and in confirming our requests for the room (e.g. king-size bed, portable cots). Upon arrival, the room was more beautiful and comfortable than the online pictures give it credit for. The bathroom is gorgeous and the toiletries very nice. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the items in the room (snacks, drinks, etc.) were actually very reasonably priced and not excessively marked-up as is the usual case in hotel room mini-bars. We had a bottle of wine each night and it was great. We enjoyed the room so much we contemplated staying another day, but it was already booked and we had to be on our way. After we'd left the hotel, we received a call from Lyn, informing us that we'd accidentally left my son's lovie behind. If your're a parent, you know the chaos that can erupt when these things go missing. She had it couriered down to our home in Hamilton and it arrived the very next day (at no expense to us). We will definitely stay here in the future if we are back in the area. One thing that is really cool is that they have a frequent visitor card. If you stay a certain number of nights, you get a night free (I think, 4 nights). That's a pretty sweet deal and I hope we can take advantage of it in the future. Overall, this was an awesome place to stay and I'd highly recommend it to friends and family members.

Great location! This…read moreis a great downtown hotel, with all the amenities. Restaurant, bar, indoor pool, gym and conference rooms. Although it may be a little dated, it was clean the rooms were large, free wifi and a well stocked mini bar. It is a very easy walk to the town basin where all manner of restaurants and cafes are available.

We've stayed at 6 different hotels during our trip to Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia this hotel…read morewas the best by far. Huge room, clean, new bathrooms and great location and price can't beat it.

I am sorry to say that we were unable to stay at this accommodation. My sister and I became ill…read moreduring our recent travel and notified the motel immediately and within the 24 hour cancellation time frame as advertised on their web page when booking. I am sad to report that no sooner did I cancel our accommodation than they charged my credit card. I have exchanged numerous emails with the management and they refuse to reverse these charges so I have no choice than to contest this with my credit card company. Be very careful with this accommodation as they do not honor their own policy.

Fantastic and pleasant experience all around! Don't let the word "motel" turn you off. While this…read moremay not be the most glamorous of places from the outside, it is modern, clean, functional, and very cozy. Our room was a suite with a living room and a kitchen. It was quiet, comfortable, and everything looked brand new inside. Convenient parking spot is 2 steps away from the door. The hosts were friendly, and very informative. They gave us great tips on thjngs to do, and rescued our day when one of our bookings got canceled. I definitely recommend it and would gladly stay here again!

Great atmosphere, great view, great service. We came at an odd hour (3pm) and they weren't serving…read moremeals at that time, so we had drinks and bar snacks instead (chips and kumara bread). This place is sort of the crown jewel in Russell's tourist scene, with its legendary history (it was founded in the 1830s by an ex-convict during a time when Russell was a "hell hole" filled with whalers and prostitutes). But its founder quickly worked to transform it into a genteel and elegant hotel, and this is the elegance you notice today, both in the interior pub/dining room and in the expansive outdoor decks. The drinks list is extensive and reasonably priced (although I noticed most of the wine was sold by the bottle, not by the glass). The kumara bread was AMAZING (it's like thick slices of dense bread with a faint sweet potato taste, and you dip it in extra-virgin olive oil....oh my goodness, I want the recipe, it's that good). One serving of kumara bread was enough for 3 people. The chips, however, were actually quite gross. They tasted really fishy, like someone had cooked the chips next to some fish. That's really gross for many people who hate seafood or are vegan/vegetarian -- when you order a seemingly innocuous menu item like chips, you don't expect it to taste like fish!! So that was disgusting. Atmosphere-wise, it's great, though, with a view right onto the water and plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the nice weather. Definitely worth a visit during your stay in Russell.

After reading some of the reviews on this site, I expected more. From my perspective this is…read morestrictly an average hotel, deserving 3 stars, with only a few redeeming features. I certainly have experienced "Above average" (4 stars) and "Wahoo...as good as it gets" (5 stars) elsewhere. There are three strong positives for this hotel: location, quality of sheets/ bedding/towels, and free wifi. The hotel is situated on the strand, as are so many other hotels. It is also centrally located in town; yet as the town is only 3 blocks long, so are all the hotels in Russell. Only a few of the rooms actually front the marina, and at a very high price. The side rooms, some of which are described as "small/cosy" (read tiny), have side views looking over parking lots, dirty & cluttered rooftops of adjoining buildings, or the workers service area. Aside from the aforementioned positives, the rest of the experience was merely average, or in some cases sub-par. We had a very average continental buffet breakfast (see photos). Canned juices, canned fruits (1 bowl of freshly cut fruit), and startlingly, no hot dishes...not even the "hot" water for the coffee (they provide large urns of initially hot water which turns tepid in short order). Check out time is 10AM, and though the hotel was only moderately full, and we asked for 11:30 checkout, management only was able to give us until 11AM. Not very accommodating. Most hotels don't even blink at saying yes to 12 Noon. We had our local friends join us for lunch, and we dined outside on the front porch overlooking the strand. While the venue was pleasing, and the weather cooperated, the food was decent, and yet the service was unprofessionally lackluster. Though we specifically requested no added herbs or parsley be put on our Bouillabaisse ($25), it was delivered with parsley (we sent it back). The other mains of Thai Beef salad ($17.50) and Venison Loin ($19.50) were similarly tasty, though smallish portions (see photos). Taking 15 minutes to receive a side order of bread ($3) to accompany the bouillabaisse is not acceptable. Note: if you're a local, ask for the discount.

Pretty sure I have found heaven on earth!…read more Picturesque views, self contained 3 bedroom villas, an 18 hole golf course (not that I play, but waking up to rolling hills is niiice), an infinity pool and golf carts to get around - you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in Fiji! 'What does all this cost?' I hear you asking. Well, all things considered, it's not that expensive. Each villa sleeps 5, which makes it $100 per head, per night. Totally reasonable if you ask me. Especially if you take all your own food, which I highly recommend you do. They have bbq that you can hire and the kitchen's are pretty well-stocked. There is a winery restaurant up on the hill but the food isn't great and the service, abysmal. PRO TIP: If you have a car drive down to Rangiputa. It's only a 20min drive and the water is like the tropics - turquoise and so so clear.

Came for 1 night and stayed 3. Fantastic location by the ocean. Rooms were spotlessly clean and the…read moreroom was fresh. Scotties recommended we stay here and a big thanks to them. While you are here try the pizza at mangonui on Thursday night, great value.