Best Western Wellington

Beds: 3 queens (2 separate units)

Price: $290 per night (6 adults)

This was another screw up, but I’d consider it a minor screw up cuz we still had a room for the night huhuhu we made reservation for a 2 bedroom unit (just like everywhere else on our trip), but once we reached there, they said the room was not available but they have 2 separate unit on the same floor.. malas nk argue and we were tired so layan kan je.. izad n fiq took one unit with a queen size bed while we took the other unit.. one queen bed in a room and the other in the ‘living’ hall.. and since the photog is izad, there was only a pic for one of the room, which is hers.. so just imagine another unit, with a bedroom for the other version ok hehehe

The other unit had a kitchen area to cook.. can't remember if this one had too.. photog fail sket.. pic bathroom xde hehehe Since we had separate units, we sorta have 2 bathroom so it’s easier to get ready, xyah ‘queue’ panjang hehehe the bathroom was quite spacious as well tp xleh lawan matamata la.. kitchen area was ok, just that it wasn’t near the window so ventilation kureng sket..

the hotel wasn’t really easy to find since you have to be aware of this small junction that leads to the hotel but once you found it then you’re all set.. I missed that junction after the roundabout so we had to do a u-turn.. it’s in the middle of the town however, so the supermarket was nearby.. we didn’t go except for izad n fiq who went for a stroll in the town that night but only for a while since most of the shop closes rather early.. the countdown supermarket was less than 5 minutes’ drive from the hotel.. overall was quite a comfortable place to stay in, so I’ll rate it 7/10..

Plateau Lodge

Beds: 1 queen, 2 singles, 2 pull-out sofa

Price: $280 per night (6 adults)

packing.. let's go in..

It was super cold here in Ruapehu and after the long drive and disappointment of not ‘finding’ the Tongariro National Park, we were glad to be some place warm.. the town itself is very secluded and we weren’t sure we were going the right way.. but once you reached the town, it was quite easy to find the lodge.. can’t remember if there was any supermarket nearby cuz we didn’t do any shopping (or none that I remember of, anyway) the rooms were quite small, but comfortable enough.. mama n papa took the queen size bedroom while izad n fiq took the other room with the single beds.. it was yaya n my turn to sleep on the sofa bed..

the sofabed that yaya and i slept on.. nape pic blur izad?? hehehe 

One bathroom with a shower.. The kitchen area was quite small so good thing xdela beria sgt masak.. 4-seater dining table as well but luckily the living hall was comfortable enough to eat there.. Watched tv a bit sambil minum teh cicah biskut again.. sedapnyeee minum panas2 time sejuk2 hehehe I rate the place 7/10

Arista Motel

Beds: 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Singles

Price: $300 per night (6 adults)

Next up, is the Arista motel.. this was a last minute booking seeing that it was the Easter weekend.. plenty of motels around the area and there was a screw up for one of my reservation earlier.. thankfully the place had one available unit left which could fit 6 people.. see the sign above? by the time we got there, no vacancy.. so we were lucky..

the outside area, while we were checking in..

It was a two floor unit where the beds were all upstairs.. it had one King, one queen and two single beds, so just enough for us all.. not really a fan of stairs cuz sian mama kne naik turun tangga but luckily the stairs weren’t that high (unlike the one kt Queenstown huhuhuh)..

couldn't see the rest of the beds, but basically, you walked up the stairs and all the beds are laid out here..

Bathroom was downstairs and had a heater inside too.. they had a small hot tub at the back which we didn’t use but I’d think it’ll be fun if there’s kids around.. didn’t check out the back much cuz it was cold…

The kitchen area wasn’t that big but enough space for us to cook.. the dining table was a 4-seater only so couldn’t cater all 6 of us at one go.. the living area was just nice.. boleh lepak tgk tv even with all our bags lying around..

 

 the small living area where i spent the night makan biskut cicah teh yummm the right side is the small kitchen..

The motel is about 5 minutes’ drive to the supermarket and quite easy to find with the help of a GPS hehehe overall it was quite ok, for a last minute booking.. I’d rate the place 6/10..

packing up to leave.. 

Matamata Motel

*****
 All my post weirdly disappeared so i had to re-draft some of these post.. bummer..
*****
Now that I’m done with my NZ post (finally right hehehe) it’s time to move on to quick review of motels that we stayed there.. before we start, I wanna give a shout out to my baby sister who not only just helped take the pics of all motels, she was even the one who did all the survey & browse for the best possible places to stay.. she included all in the itinerary with the type of beds and rate, and all I had to do was made the reservations.. some we had to change cuz the ones she listed were fully booked cuz I was slow *boo* but even so, thank you so so much for all the effort hehehe ok, so first up is the Matamata Central Motel.. this motel sets the bar really high for the rest of our trip..

Beds: 1 King, 2 Singles and a pull-out sofa

Price: $260 per night (6 adults)

Matamata is a very small town but perhaps because of Hobbitton, they did have a lot of motels around the area.. we chose a two bedroom unit with a pull-out sofa and this was basically the standard units we were looking for throughout our vacation.. my parents took the king size bedroom while yaya n I took the two singles which both were just big enough to put our luggage.. each room have a small cupboard to hang our clothes as well which we didn’t use much since we were there for one night only..

the only downside to most of the motels there is that they only had 1 bathroom so we did have to take turns to shower n all.. but the bathroom here is the best one out of all.. it was very spacious and had a separate bath and shower.. again, it was a bummer that I didn’t forced myself to use the bathtub cuz that’s one of my favourite things to do when staying at a hotel hehehe and most importantly, the bathroom had locks on the door hahh!! Who would’ve thought that locks weren’t really a must-have on bathroom doors there.. (whuuttt?!??)

luas.. boleh tido sini kan hehehe

the unit had a nice kitchen area for cooking and a 6-seat dining table, so it was perfect for our first meal together.. the living room was quite spacious but we didn’t hang out much there since we were tired and slept most of the time.. of course izad n fiq conquered that area cuz they had the pull-out sofa to sleep on.. I hope it was ok for u two hehehe

Location wise, it was very easy to find.. it was located just opposite a supermarket which was very convenient cuz we needed to do grocery shopping.. we took a car there but it’s actually about a 5 minutes’ walk only.. we didn’t want to carry all the groceries across the street seeing that we might buy a lot of things.. overall, we were very satisfied with the place and service.. if I were to rate the place itself, I’d give it a 9/10 cuz really, it did set the bar high for the rest..