Sandy Feet Hotel

"I recently had the unfortunate experience of my son staying at this dreadful motel, and I can confidently say that it was nothing short of a nightmare. From the moment he checked in until the day he left, everything about this place was a disaster. But what's even worse is their adamant refusal of giving a refund for the 4 nights he owed him alrhough he said he would, despite the appalling conditions they subject their guests to. this nightmarish excuse for a motel. If you value your sanity and your money, find somewhere else to stay. This place is a disgrace to the hospitality industry, and their refusal to offer refunds only adds insult to injury. Do yourself a favor and avoid this motel at all costs."

"WORST HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE IN NEW-ZEALAND. The owner is such a rude man, who talked to us in a very disrespectful way and didn’t honour the booking engagement. When we had our check-in, he showed us a different room that we booked for 3 nights. “LEAVE IT OR TAKE IT!” Was his words—- Shocked, which let us without words for few seconds as we obviously didn't want to stay there. Such a RUDE answer! A “Sorry” would have been more than appropriate for his mistake. Every room have different features, you don’t end up luckily with the ensuite, and each have their own booking space online! Unfortunately we couldn't move as we didn't have the car anymore and loaded of luggages as we were leaving the country. HENCE the whole purpose of the 3 days booking that we did few days in advance. We negotiate to move the last night to the room we initially booked. No communication till the last day, when a friendly housekeeper told us the room was ready and told us that if we leave the room before 11:30am it will be perfectly fine, as it was a last-minute notice. Not 1 minute later, Rude person came. No "Hello", just "please Leave the room NOW" showing it with hands as he was showing exits in the plane! Maybe we needed a picture as well?? Rushing us without notice and on top of that, using bad manners. End of afternoon, back to the room, it's cold, a rainy autumn day, end of March, we decided to switch the heater, where it's mentioned "do not use in summer". 30 seconds later, the owner knocked and say "Do not use the heater, it's written "DO NOT USE".”. Yes, we read it as well, the whole inscription mentioned "summer". It's not a big deal, you can tell us in a "Normal" way. Why using such an aggressive authoritarian tone?? Not needed and again, disrespectful. All in all, such an Horrible communication, please do something about it for whoever are coming to your place, which of course we don’t recommend. We plenty understood from the beginning you were the owner, who didn't take responsibility of the mistake of the booking, but We are Your Guests, the one you provide accommodation for, and make a living out of it. So a minimum of respect, as a person in general, and as working in hospitality would be more than needed in your case."

"Obviously a place that is 20-40$ cheaper than most hotels downtown will be popular. We got a good night's sleep for a decent price. That being said, you do get what you pay for and though the room was cozy enough, the overall accommodation was a bit messy. Even with a lower end place, it doesn't take much to keep it clean and if the owner simply cared to take fifteen minutes to pick up the clothes, wipe down the outdoor tables, and pick up the random shoe decorating the front yard it would go a long way. Also, when we asked if we could check out at 10:30 instead of 10am, a very reasonable request, he answered that there was no chance and 'if you want to pay 5000$ for a 5 star place then you can ask for a late checkout,' which was a shocking response to a fair question. I've stayed at hundreds of hotels over the years, none of them 5 stars, and have been granted late checkouts many times. Finally, there is only one very tiny bathroom and shower for six rooms, which isn't enough for 12 guests and can lead to some near emergency situations... If you catch my drift... The kitchen is a nice touch though. You should just imagine it as a cheaper hostel and then your expectations will be managed."

"Had organised a booking here for one nights stay via booking app, a good week plus in advance, get a call from the owner one day before my stay to just casually tell be the rooms been double booked, took no responsibility and carried on to instruct me on how to book elsewhere and asked for me to cancel booking online witch makes it out to be my fault, not professional. Will never book here again"

"Lovely place and friendly, informative staff. Not sure where to go next? Try sandy feet! It is wonderful and the rooms are stocked with hot chocolate (as well as tea and coffee) The city is only one bus away, the milk is provided and for the low cost of conversation you may get help figuring where to continue the adventure. Myself and partner have stayed at sandy feet twice and we happily and highly recommend."