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The iconic Whakatane Hotel is located in Whakatane central, directly over the road from the information centre. We are next to the Whakatane river walkway, Intercity buses and our tourist activity centre. Enjoy the most convenient access to Whakatane's finest Irish Bar, 'The Craic'. Our Hotel caters for everyone. We have rooms for those traveling on a budget all the way up to Queen ensuite accommodation, for those who look forward to a little extra comfort.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Centrally Located
Languages Spoken
English
Location
79 The Strand, Whakatāne 3120 New Zealand
Whakatane Hotel
3 reviews
Getting there
Good for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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This old fashioned hotel oozes character. The decor is replete with Irish motifs and the furnishings are distinctly old style. The guest lounge could belong in an 18th century gentleman's club, with deep leather sofas and a picture, not of the queen but of Marilyn Monroe. The carpet and fittings are worn and in need of refurbishment. But please not renovation; that would spoil the character of the place, and there are so few like it left. The management warns that it can be noisy but during my midweek visit the noise from the bar downstairs was muted. My single room was basic, but clean and comfortable. The guest kitchen is basic too, but adequate. The central location is ideal. The bathroom facilities are shared but quite private - separate rooms, not cubicles.
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Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Off street parking is available behind the hotel.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This hotel has definitely seen some better days. This is definitely better described as a hostel than a hotel. It is in a great location and is in walking distance of restaurants and shops. The rooms are basic but has everything you need. Unfortunately a previous guest had been smoking in my room and they tried to mask the smell with a cheap air freshener. The bed is very old and soft, and I woke up very sore.
The wifi was slow but worked most of the time. Luckily, it was not as noisy as I was expecting on a Saturday night.
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Date of stay: June 2020
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Outdated and wall paper coming of walls. Internet is barely working. Carpets are really worn. Pub underneath sending noise up till early hours. Curtains really thin in front of window letting in a lot of light. Kitchen very small.
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Date of stay: June 2020Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I suppose booking into an old Hotel for only $120 per night your expectations should not be too high. BUT my experience was really bad and to be honest could have been avoided if the staff cared. Firstly I turn up to check in at the accommodation office, it was unmanned, There was a bell so I rang it and rang it and rang it with no response from anyone. So I go into one of the bars and see a young woman behind the bar, she wasn't really interested in helping, but said oh, you are supposed to come to the bar, no sign or anything indicating this in the office reception. Anyway she begrudgingly goes to office and checks me in, with little to no personality or care. So we get to the room ,OMG we've gone back 100 years, small, dated, lumpy mattress and really soft non supportive pillows. To be fair although it was relatively clean. So down stairs for a beer after hours of driving, go to the same bar, nobody to be found, ring another bell continuously, no service, go outside to find 3 staff members sitting at a table smoking away and really not looking like they want to be there and definitely do not want to disturb their smoke and serve someone. The same inspiring women that checked me in, looks up and her mate says do you want a drink? yes please that's why I have been standing at the bar for ages getting no service, so miss personality drags herself into the bar and gets my order wrong. As you can imagine we only stayed here for one drink and did not risk dining in, we went down the road to a superior establishment. I must add though, Friday night after eating at a fine restaurant down the road, avoiding the pub for dinner yet again, we came back to our boring bar to watch football and have a drink or two before going upstairs to bed. There were different staff on, a young (really young) male and a young female serving us they were 100% more efficient and friendly than our staff from Thursday afternoon. So that's a good thing and some hope for the pub. I have since read more reviews on this Hotel, wish I had read them before booking in, the common denominator is POOR service and lazy staff, if you don't fix this asap management you will get no repeat business ever.
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Avoid at all cost
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Looking at the inviting photos on the web site to actually going there is a big difference. We booked a queen room and were given a double room, as it appeared to be a double bed shoved into a corner, wall board falling off the wall, a shower that need attention and running water that sounded like a jack hammer when used.. Sure the building is old and needs attention, all part of the character. Unfortunately though what you expect to what you get isn't the same. I wished we had checked the room out before payment was made. As for the establishment, cool old pub.
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Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Read the reviews
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This hotel is ready for a bulldozer for a new development. On a hot night a fan is available in the room which is on a one hour time clock , letting you sweat for the rest of the night. It is in a time warp, worst place to stay. You need earplugs on Saturday night as a nightclub opens till 3am playing head banging music.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This place was daylight robbery, $190 for the family room for a night. It is a hostel not a hotel and the place is filthy. We had no other option than to stay here as the roads were closed. We enquired within the hotel first if they had any rooms and we were told no. When we checked booking.com they had a room - shock!
The showers are falling apart and the rooms are in desperate need of renovation.
I would have been able to see past the imperfections if the room was a reasonable price.
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Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The accommodation at Whakatane Hotel is a series of rooms above a pub.
The rooms are basic although the price isextremely cheap. The hotel is in an excellent location on a corner of the main street of Whakatane.
When you check in, a notice reminds you that you are above a pub and no refunds will be given on the basis of noise. Fair enough.
I was there on a Tuesday night, and though the pub was quiet there was a function on in another part of the building. This was in a different wing but still the noise was very apparent. Sound travels well in this building.
The most amazing thing, though, was that at about 11pm one of the staff unlocked the door to my room and tried to put another guest in there - while I was in there, in the bed! Clearly she somehow hadn't worked out which rooms were occupied. Budget is one thing but that is pretty unforgiveable.
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Date of stay: August 2010
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here at the beginning of our Jan 2013 East Cape tour, It is basically a backpackers hotel. And if you were one of these, you couldn't fault it. As we are getting on in years we chose a queen room ensuite. For $75 it was a steal. No TV, but there was one in the lounge, two doors down, with a balcony overlooking the main street below. No kettle, or fridge,or toaster, but there was all of these, in the backpackers kitchen next door. For dinner there was two well priced restaurants downstairs. With a little planning for breakfast, you can get dinner bed and breakfast for the price of a room in a motel. And the people are friendly as well.
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Date of stay: January 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:choose your price for what you get.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paper thin walls; filthy kichen, 'private' bathroom was far from private!!!! Truly awful - also used by local workers (?) as bedsits - no way should this be advertised as a hotel. Good location though! Stayed here because it was close to White Island tours but proximity was a very poor substitute for the complete absence of comfort....
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Date of stay: June 2017
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Avoid it entirely!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from WhakataneHotel, Guest Relations Manager at Whakatane Hotel
Responded 8 Aug 2017
Good afternoon It has taken awhile to respond and I do apologise. I must say your review took me by complete surprise . Our private bathrooms are private. We certainly are a hotel with bars and restaurant below the rooms. I am very sorry your stay was not enjoyable. We do get very good reviews and pride ourselves in the cleanliness.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Auckland, New Zealand147 contributions32 helpful votes
Hi there! As the hotel is right in the middle of town, you will find parking in a car park which is a minute's walk to the hotel. It is a public car park but the hotel has designated parking spots. There is also on road parking outside the hotel. Have a great trip!
There are more places to choose from in the Whakatāne area.
PRICE RANGE
$97 - $99 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
New ZealandNorth IslandBay of Plenty RegionWhakatāne
NUMBER OF ROOMS
28
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