Last Updated on: 26th January 2024, 07:31 pm
This post is a review of Alpine View Motel, a self-catered accommodation in Te Anau, New Zealand.
Alpine View Motel – 6.5/10
Address: 15 Quintin Dr, Te Anau 9600, New Zealand
Alpine View Motel is a self contained cottage style accommodation. Check in staff were nice and yes you can see the mountains from here but that was about it. The facilities were not great and there were no toiletries except liquid soap.
Us two families each booked one cottage, exactly the same style but ours were not as good as our friend’s (facilities were a little inconsistent).
Location:
Within walking distance (about 15-minute walk) to the small town centre, there are some restaurants, larger hotels and a large souvenir shop there past the lake, and you can go for a walk there after dinner. This was located in a suburb, the streets are lined with other houses or hotels and surprisingly, the area is very quiet.
Facilities:
In our cabin, there were:
Double bed x 1, single bed x 2 (one in the only bedroom, the other in the living room). Television, basic cookware, fridge, and free coffee and tea. Shower and separate toilet which is always good. Car space for horizontal parking available in front of each cabin (as seen in the first picture in this post). Tv was in the living room. Bath towels available on each bed and a hand towel in the bathroom.
Now, when we booked I specified we had 4 people and they had 3, however in our kitchen, our stove had 2 burners and theirs had 4.
There was no salt in our salt shaker, and we could not connect to the internet even though our room was directly opposite the reception building where I assume the wifi hotspot should be.
Then there was the inconsistent information. Posters on our wall had different office hours listed than the one listed in our friend’s room.
Now here is something that annoyed me. One of the posters on our wall was a warning for people to not cook smelly foods, because if the smell caused the room to be unrentable you will be charged for it. It had a picture of a man with a peg on his nose and an annoyed expression.
However meanwhile this was the only place we stayed at that seemed to allow smoking, and near a BBQ grill and children’s playground no less. There was someone actually smoking there and cooking at the same time when we visited the back yard.
Picnic tables in the large back yard.
Also, our friend’s room a few houses down didn’t have that same warning – so does that mean customers who stay in that room is exempt from this rule, or are they going to be fined anyway if they do cook strong smelling foods?
Breakfast is available for an extra fee.
Total price for 2 ‘cabins’ for total of 7 people for 1 night: $384.80 New Zealand dollars.
Stay time: January 21-22, 2016
Verdict: This place was okay and the location was close to the lake and the town center if you need it. I give this place 6.5/10 because according to the pictures on booking.com the other rooms seemed much nicer (perhaps it has been upgraded). The location was close to the lake if you are going for water activities (but there are closer and nicer hotels too), but this place could do with some slight refurbishment in the playground and kitchen area. There was also the issue of inconsistent information. This was the cheapest place we stayed at on this trip, but the in-room facilities were a little poor especially in the toiletries section. You will need to bring your own shampoo and toothbrushes. This was also the cheapest place we found at the most suitable location (We were driving from one city to another and didn’t want to drive too much each day so each accommodation location had to be approximately in the midpoint between the 2 departure and arrival cities). However I feel it was more expensive for the same standard of accommodation, for example, the bigger apartments in Christchurch, both Southern Comfort and Camelot Motor Lodge (this review coming soon) were cheaper although neither of these 2 provided toiletries apart from soap bars in the former, and shampoo/conditioner/bodywash at both places. The accommodation was clean and tidy, I give them that. This place would suit people who are not picky about their accommodation and would enjoy a laid back atmosphere where everyone hangs out together (although it was very quiet when we stayed) and things are very casual as you can see in the somewhat home made playground. Judging by the photos on Booking.com, the rooms are not furnished very consistently (unless they have been upgraded), with some rooms looking significantly better than (our) rooms.
Next stop, Milford Sound cruise.
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