Ascot Motel, Rotorua

Advantages: Great culture, lovely people
Disadvantages: A bit quiet in places for those that like a hectic nightlife!

...’t expect to see any sharks over 4ft long! Rotorua Later that day we hit the road and drove for 3 or 4 hours to Rotorua. Rotorua is built on a geo-thermal spring and really stinks of sulphur! There are dozens of national park sites where you can walk around and gaze at the steaming craters, mud pools and geysers (picture). It really is impressive even though it stinks of rotten eggs. We stayed in the Capri Court apartments that were quite pleasant but were motel style so quite impersonal. That night we travelled into central Rotorua and experienced much the same as we did in Napier. Most places were closed and there weren’t very many people around at all. The guys went for a Chinese meal that night but I walked back to the motel and bought some bread and ham from a 24 garage. Sometimes you get sick of full meals! Arising the next day... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Superb scenery, ecological and ethnic interest
Disadvantages: Hard to reach and even harder to explore

...too quickly, and his warning excited my interest, not to mention my foolhardiness. We checked the map (see below). Te Urewera doesn’t look far off the beaten track, being only about 50 kilometres from Rotorua, which we intended to visit anyway but where we didn’t really want to stay, since it has the reputation of being a tourist trap. We looked on the internet for somewhere to stay on the way up from Rotorua towards Te Urewera. Nothing was apparent. But the map showed a town called Murupara ideally situated on the threshold of the national park. By sheer persistence with International Directory Enquiries, my wife tracked down a motel in Murupara. A breezy Antipodean called Simon answered the phone. “Do you have a swimming pool?” asked my wife, who likes to cool off after a long journey and believes in coming straight... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Easy to find with spacious rooms
Disadvantages: Ground level rooms subject to car noise

...Do not be put off by the reception being to the rear of the Motel. This is to avoid the crowds waiting for a table in their excellent restaurant. The rooms are spacious with large bathrooms and all the usual facilities such as multilingual tv channels and mini-bar. Facilities include a gymnasium and large swimming pool, with a sports shop to purchase those forgotten items. A general shop is located at the front of the Motel for more mundane items and gifts. The bar, situated to the rear of the Motel, is large and comfortable with sofas and armchairs, and has a view of the pool. Outside of the Motel are facilities for local sports teams and competietive games are held there. You are only a short, walking, distance of Animali which is a smal zoo. Eindhoven is only a short drive (3km) and you are at the side of the A2 with direct access... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful