Karaka Tree Motel

Location - close to the lake. It was cheap, you get what you pay for.

Rooms are dated, it was very cold with only a fan heater to heat a large room.

Location was convenient. Had a view of the lake and mountain from the just outside the room. The spa bath was hot mineral water and filled up quickly.

The kitchenette was run down, the bench was un-hygenic and barely any cutlery let alone anything matching. No sharp knives. The chair was coming apart and super wobbly to sit on and we couldn’t push it back together, as was the table. The heater didn’t work, after inspection the guy brought an oil heater to the room. The bed was well used. The side of the mattress looked grotty (no material covering it/hiding it, so in plain sight). One pillow each. Had to request a blanket as it looked like a just sheets (they did actually put a blanket in between the sheets that wasn’t obvious). The spa bath didn’t look like anyone had cleaned the bottom. And to top it off the tv wasn’t working.

Location

Facilities

Helpful friendly staff

Terrible room. Mold everywhere. The fan doesn't work in the spa room and was almost hanging out of the ceiling. It's a cold frost and there were no extra blankets the beds had a basic comforter. The bathroom had no soap in the shower or at the basin even though it had canister for them. Mould all over the bathroom and curtain. We have stayed here a few years ago and it was great this time set its fate with us

Thermal spa

The property was in a great location.

It was very run down. A shower sliding door had obviously come off so a shower curtain was rigged up. The fan in the bathroom fell off and smashed all over the floor.

Nothing

Looks uncomfortable, no proper facilities, water kettle is very dirty and seems haven’t wash and use for long time. No proper heating facilities just a small heater. For 200+ for a night is not worth it. No wifi too.

Holes in roof, poor heating for kids, our tv didn’t work

Mineral spa bath, location to the lake

everything was very run down and needed replacing, walls were paper thin and could hear the neighbours all night. No substantial heater, just a little tiny fan heater

Nice big rooms loved the spa was absolutely fantastic 👌

Was a pretty good location and the room wasnt dirty, as some of the other reviews have stated. Was quiet - I guess because other people had read the reviews and didnt stay there... were only 4 other cars overnight.

No spa in room. They have removed them from the bottom floor rooms to make a "patio" that was just a chair on a slab. The booking website said it had one and their sign when lighted at night said they did. No wifi- the new internet went from reception about 20 meters... our room was about 50 meters from reception so no wifi and therefore no tv. Missing fire alarm in main bedroom. No side tables to any of the beds so you had to put drinks/phones on the floor. The wall heater didnt work so we had a fan heater (that wasnt on when we arrived so the place was freezing). Got a 2nd fan heater when i complained (was 2 degrees overnight so 1 small fan heater wouldnt have done 2 bedrooms). Extraction fan in bathroom didnt work and bathroom was in middle of the 2 bedrooms... so we didnt shower as we didnt want more damp air in the place. Toilet had to be turned off at the wall as would constantly leak from the tank otherwise.

Nothing, walked into the room it was full of mould, dirty no toilet paper etc.. called owner and asked for a refund.

Everything! Dirty and Mouldy!! Didn’t stay!

Honestly the only thing we liked was the location and the bed comfort

We didn’t like how dirty it was, no hot water in the shower or the tap and the fridge was very stinky and hot water jug wasn’t working either

Highly disappointed with this accommodation, room was very cold windows left open and no working heater. The room was very dated holes in the carpet and stains on the mattress. Tried to warm up with a shower and had no hot water left, there was no lights in the bathroom. Definitely not worth the few hundred dollars I paid.

Proximity

The bed was uncomfortable. The windows were mouldy. The net curtains didnt cover the window. I had to ring for milk which arrived 11/2 hours later. Had to step up to the shower with no grab rail. The shower faces the door opening so when on water gushes on to floor. The dining table seats were uncomfortable-need replacing. When the milk arrived had to get that person to fix lock on door which is another thing that is broken and needs replacing.the stairs to the upper rooms need cleaning. The carpet in room needs cleaning.

nothing

DO NOT BOOK- ACTIVATE SURVIVAL MODE - No hot water for the whole stay. We had lumpy beds, Survival mode had to be activated by us. We had to even ask for toilet paper as no room servicing. No rubbish or towels changed. The fridge froze my food. Overall no rating would be applicable but had to give a 1 as no negatives available. Cold air came in under door. The heating was a small plugin fan heater as the in room heating did not work. Blankets were thin, I went and brought another blanket. I feel booking.com should not have on their website and/or should come up with a warning to "check the reviews".

There was no hot water, no milk in room, mould all over ceiling, dirty and dusty walls, misty smell, beds super uncomfortable and leaking fridge water all over kitchen floor in morning.

The View

There were no towels or soap. Place was run down. We have there some years back and it was awesome

The location and the mineral pool. The clean bedding and thick towels.

The bed that should have been retired 8 years ago - the broken water heating system (the nice chap was trying to urgently get it repaired on a long weekend) so no hot shower and the table and chairs etc in the room that showed signed of previous water damage and were trying hard to not give up the ghost.

Everything, no hot water, no heating in one of the rooms. Rubbish still in the rooms, cobwebs everywhere, tv didn’t work, not enough towels no face cloths or kitchen wipes. Windows struggled to close.

The room was very old and tired and dirty.

As ABOVE

Not liked

The spa was not working tv was not working also we tried to call staff but no one bothered

Outdated, very very cold, definitely not a 4star, and overpriced.

The place is a bit tired.

Has a spa. Close to great coffee! Beds were clean & fresh. Bathroom was clean.

The room is a little run down. Needs a general renovation. Spoiled food left in the microwave from a previous guest. I’m aware that it’s easy to overlook a closed microwave when carrying out the clean, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Clean and comfortable. Awesome thermal spa. Great service.

The room had it's own hot tub. There was parking.

The bed was comfy and the staff friendly

The lock on the door didn’t work. The door handle was basically hanging off. The TV didn’t work. The whole place is sadly neglected and in need of major refurbishment.

The pool

The old as beds. No milk. No one at reception. Crooked picture. Cracks in walls

Mineral pool, location, free parking

Cold , no extra blanket or pillows, could hear the people in the next room, run down, needs some attention, not enough towels

Great location. I did get quite a big discount cause of the time of year and my rewards on booking.com so was good value for money. Reception dude was very nice and made it easy to check in. Just a simple room. Mineral pool in the room was nice. Actually spent quite a lot of time in there just soaking and made my skin feel amazing

If I had to pay full price I don’t think I’d be as happy with the stay. The rooms are a little run down, no couches in the rooms to sit on during the day. Kitchenette was like a big cupboard and kinda finicky to open the fridge. There was a bit of mould around the windows, small heater in the room, which didn’t work but it was warm enough that we didn’t need it. Random foot prints on the wall. I’m not saying it felt gross to stay in but could do with some paint and a few fixes here and there. The weirdest part was the TV was at the same level as the bed so you couldn’t really lay down and watch it, and because there was no couch you had to sit on a dining room chair to watch it.

Very dusty

Always amazing

Could do with some paint

Amazing staff and loved the spa in our room!

Great location ( easy access to/from main road) good parking ( especially for bigger cars) Clean.

No TV in budget room. Very tired and in need of TLC ( aged badly) Curtain falling down, all a bit sad. But great price

Washroom was so dirty no air dryer heater was not working not recommended

Bed was good.

Very run down and repairs were sub standard . Not all rooms have spa or lake view like you are lead to beleive. Smoke alarm missing . We stayed in the disabled room as my wife is disabled . There is no wheelchair access and the wheelchair would not fit through the doors to enter or to the bathroom, there were pot holes underneath the carpet that were a massive tripping hazard

Nothing

Sent my review

Quite and comfortable

Nothing

The fact there was no remote for the tv, bugger all heating no hot water for a shower! And how dirty the place was, smelt musty and there was mould and dust. The cutlery draws were not wiped out there was food stains in them. No milk in fridge overall just grubby would not stay again!

The view

Shet on the toilet bowel paper thin walls filthy hot tub yellow stains not clean blocked shower drain and an Indian guy knocking on my door to say shut up at 7.03 and the receptionist lying saying no one did that it was an Indian maid probably hom

It was great to have a natural hot spring bath in the room! Loved it! The facility is a bit old but nice and clean. And the bed was very good!

I guess ground floor rooms were occupied by rough sleepers? But they didn't bother us or made a noise. So didn't bother us much.

Great location. We only stayed one night. Staff were helpful and friendly.

Would have preferred a ground floor apartment due to having heavy suitcases and only being there for one night. But it wasn't really that big of a deal.

The spa pool

Dirty, poor communication, run down, couldn’t get hot water.

Nil

Nil

The spa bath

The room was so badly dated. Mould on the net curtains, damp room. Poor quality towels uncomfortable bed. Be warned. Photos make it look better than it really is

Location.

The photos didn’t match the rooms. The room looked completely different from the photos. There was blood or a red substance on our walls. Mold in the shower.

Location and the spa

The bed and shower

Location was really the only plus

The cost was very high. The place was run down. The office smelt of curry. Half finished plastering in a number of places. Holes in other places. Not very clean. Hand sanitizer from previous occupant behind pillow on couch. Left 2 days early due to cyclone. Asked for refund based on that but not forthcoming.

The bed was big and comfortable. Very good location for access to the lake and walks.

Wasn't overly clean. Had to ask for an extra blanket and breakfast bowl as these weren't in the place. Poor fella looking after the place seemed surprised each time I talked to him. Ants. Small and noisey heater that wasn't up to the task.

Disappointing

Cleanliness and interior poorly maintained. Furniture was terrible.

The location, was close to everything.

I dislike giving bad reviews, unfortunately this one was not met to my expectations. From the start, our key code wasn’t allowing us to get access to our key to which we tried multiple times until it worked. We entered our room and everything is outdated. Our heater didn’t work. Was blowing cool air and to which heated was placed under a table which we couldn’t find at first. And there was a small thin throw in the cupboard which didn’t even suffice. We had called their staff to which the guy did supply us with another blanket and a small fan heater. The bed is really hard, and feels as thin as card board. There were no dish towels in the kitchen and really watered down dish soap which I didn’t feel did a good job with washing dishes. The bathroom sink didn’t have hand towels and there was no hand soap and shower gel and we received 2 small sachets of shampoo and conditioner. The worst of it all which I didn’t even bother to try was the spa pool, it had full rusty water in it and the bench was broken. Overall not worth the money at all and wish I could get my money back.

Bed are so hard

I booked the wrong room without a spa pool and the owner let me charge rooms no extra charge. The first room they cleaned that day for us but he let me change rooms at check in time which I found to be great customer service. Got our awesome spa bath. Missing the beautiful spa to relax in now that I'm. Back home.

I thought our room had no kitchen, which was disappointing. Until I opened up which I thought was the wardrobe and found the kitchen :) so in the end, nothing disappointed me.

Pleasant and helpful manager. Comfortable beds. Spa bath was great.

The TV was complicated to use and would not turn off or change channels easily. Only a few tea bags and a few sugars. Teabags had a terrible taste. Dilmah tea would have been nice. No hairdryer for my wife to use.

Location

equipment

Nothing to like at all, except location

As soon as pulled up.got a bad vibe, weeds in driveway, gardens not done no pride taken with first appearance's here Very disappointing stay,the unit was unclean and clearly in need of repairs and proper maintenance. Could not get the TV to work..just kept buffering,, cleanliness of the unit was a major issue,there was hair onthe toilet and walls, the shower had orange mold showing a lack of proper cleaning, kitchen facilities we were to afraid to use as will below par...not even to boil water for coffee Room not sound proof..sounded like people sharing same room as us, mineral pool dirty, be nuts to use Overall the room did not meet basic standards Due to cyclone Vaianu approaching had to head back to napier, asked for refund for 2nd night got told to go through Booking .Com, didnt see why motel could not refund applied to Booking. Com..haven't heard anything..bit of a scam. Advertising photos certainly outdated

Was nice and quiet even tho was on a Main Street. Rooms very spacious and lovely kitchen space.

We couldn’t turn the tv down as we didn’t have the right remote.

Close to lake.

No room service, room looked like it was under repairs,spa bath looked unhygienic .

the only okay thing was the location

says daily housekeeping but not once were towels changed or rubbish taken. we were there for 5 nights. Shower curtain wasn't even clean. Not at all like the photos on booking.com or their own website

clean beds

bathroom and kitchen outdated

Location

Funny wet smell. No door on shower or lock. The room was very rough with damaged worn fittings. The pictures on the website showing the room we booked were nothing like the actual room. Very run down facility.

NA

The bathroom was disgusting and had water or pee all over the floor so my guest didn't even stay the night. Checked out straight after that and stayed somewhere else

Location, spacious and geothermal spa

*Only one chair for dining table *no coffee only tea. *bathroom not very clean and quite dodgy to get in and out of shower *need a mat by spa as is very slippery when you get out. I slipper over *bed hard and uncomfortable *oudated, has so much potential