Whakatane Hotel

This old fashioned hotel oozes character. The decor is replete with Irish motifs and the furnishings are distinctly old style. The guest lounge could belong in an 18th century gentleman's club, with deep leather sofas and a picture, not of the queen but of Marilyn Monroe. The carpet and fittings are worn and in need of refurbishment. But please not renovation; that would spoil the character of the place, and there are so few like it left. The management warns that it can be noisy but during my midweek visit the noise from the bar downstairs was muted. My single room was basic, but clean and comfortable. The guest kitchen is basic too, but adequate. The central location is ideal. The bathroom facilities are shared but quite private - separate rooms, not cubicles.

I suppose booking into an old Hotel for only $120 per night your expectations should not be too high. BUT my experience was really bad and to be honest could have been avoided if the staff cared. Firstly I turn up to check in at the accommodation office, it was unmanned, There was a bell so I rang it and rang it and rang it with no response from anyone. So I go into one of the bars and see a young woman behind the bar, she wasn't really interested in helping, but said oh, you are supposed to come to the bar, no sign or anything indicating this in the office reception. Anyway she begrudgingly goes to office and checks me in, with little to no personality or care. So we get to the room ,OMG we've gone back 100 years, small, dated, lumpy mattress and really soft non supportive pillows. To be fair although it was relatively clean. So down stairs for a beer after hours of driving, go to the same bar, nobody to be found, ring another bell continuously, no service, go outside to find 3 staff members sitting at a table smoking away and really not looking like they want to be there and definitely do not want to disturb their smoke and serve someone. The same inspiring women that checked me in, looks up and her mate says do you want a drink? yes please that's why I have been standing at the bar for ages getting no service, so miss personality drags herself into the bar and gets my order wrong. As you can imagine we only stayed here for one drink and did not risk dining in, we went down the road to a superior establishment. I must add though, Friday night after eating at a fine restaurant down the road, avoiding the pub for dinner yet again, we came back to our boring bar to watch football and have a drink or two before going upstairs to bed. There were different staff on, a young (really young) male and a young female serving us they were 100% more efficient and friendly than our staff from Thursday afternoon. So that's a good thing and some hope for the pub. I have since read more reviews on this Hotel, wish I had read them before booking in, the common denominator is POOR service and lazy staff, if you don't fix this asap management you will get no repeat business ever.