Hobson's Choice Motel

I was driving down to Rotorua from the northlands on vacation. Great location, easy to enter and exit, close to the downtown area. The rooms were very clean, and spacious. No hotplate or stove but everything else you need including a microwave, fridge, toasters and french press coffee maker. Parking was easy, right in front of your room. The staff was friendly and helpful, taking you right to your room and showing you how everything works. Fast internet, which as a digital nomad is something I always look for. Great place to stay if you are in Dargaville.

We do not usually write negative reviews on T/A but felt this review was justified after our experience and for the benefit of other likeminded travellers. We recently stayed one night in unit 14, a two bedroom unit. This unit is certainly in need of urgent refurbishment and maintenance. We were invaded with crickets in the bathroom coming from a gap in the vinyl surrounding the bath. The hot tap over the bathroom hand basin has no flow, a section of the shower door is missing. The couches in the lounge are well passed their use by date – stained and very saggy, the rug under one of them is badly stained and better suited to a drop sheet, the TV in the lounge is not much bigger than a laptop screen. Most of the cupboard and door handles are chipped and in need of painting, the dishwasher didn’t work. You risk your life sitting on the three old outdoor chairs, beside the ashtray on a stand still with old cigarette butts in. On a positive note the person who checked us in was friendly, the breakfast included in our rate was good, on leaving a staff member did apologise for the plague of uninvited crickets.

Clean, nice staff. Noisy , close to the busy road. Plunger was broken. Fridge wasn’t working from the beginning

Wouldn’t go back. The place looked clean but didn’t feel like it. The reception was nice enough to accommodate an early check in for a short notice which was really helpful. The locks didn’t make us feel secured. Can easily be broken in. Pool was dirty. The location was perfect though. We decided to cut our trip short.

Our unit is in dire need of a renovation. We had the two bedroom street-unit on Victoria Street. It was very clean, hence the two-star rating, but the rest is very below par when it comes to what you would expect from a motel - especially when paying over $200 for the night (we did have 2 bedrooms). The smell of deodoriser was overpowering when we walked in, not a good start, despite all the windows being open. The owner was very nice and helpful when I asked for another bedside lamp for the queen room - but - I do need to list all the problems with this very shabby unit. A large stained area on the carpet was covered up with an upside down rug (tag up) as the other side of the rug was all pulled. The dining table is chipped all over. The two brown couches looked very old and kind of greasy - we would not sit on them. The paint was coming off all the door and cupboard handles. The shower door was broken and replaced with a plastic curtain. The very old tap in the bathroom had no pressure when turned to hot. The drawers and cupboards in the old, but large, kitchen were in need of repair. We were only there to sleep and shower but we would not have wanted to spend any more time than this in the unit. There is a small TV in the very bare lounge.

The motel was reasonably clean and tidy, but somewhat basic. The drive North made Dargaville a convenient stop. There are some excellent shops selling Swamp Kauri articles, which is a beautiful timber.

Booked for 2 twins bed BUT got 2 singles bed(false advertisement)shower not very good..very low pressure..

Had one of our guys working in town. Nice and central for him and everything is close.

Eileen and staff were very helpful and friendly.