Paparoa Park Motel

We had a very comfortable stay here when we visited the nearby Pancake Rocks in Puakaiki. The unit is very well furnished and the owners have clearly put a lot of thought into making sure that visitors have a comfortable stay. It looks as if the owners also own the Pancake Rocks Cafe but unfortunately as we arrived late one evening and left fairly early the next, we weren't able to talk to them to tell them how much we enjoyed our stay. There is a very welcoming Tourist Information Centre (run by the Department of Conservation I think) near the Pancake Rocks entrance which looked as if it had just been opened. As we found throughout our NZ trip, the staff in the TIC were very friendly and helpful.

Peaceful and well presented, easy self checkin and a number to call if you needed any support. Cabins are all arranged to give privacy and maximise views so they all look good really. There is an older motel style block at the front near the road that are obviously different to these. Gardens well established and bringing in birds which add to the scenery. We came in winter and were warm and the cabins were snug and kept out the wind without any problems. Kitchenette had facilities for simple cooking. The only drawback is that there is literally no where to buy bread, milk or any grocery essentials in the town which would have been good to know when we booked, and their booking site listed an on-site laundry which they don't have, inconvenient but if you knew in advance it would be easy to plan around. Overall a lovely location and very beautiful and comfortable cabin.

This motel needs a refurb and deep clean.Units were old fashioned and it's very much faded glory !.If this was carried out it could sparkle.I wanted to steam clean the carpets and wash the bedding.No human greated us on arrival I just felt it was drab.Didn't appreciate being warned that if guests blocked drains they would pay to have them cleared with a note above wc stating it would cost $$$$ to clear.These laminated sheets seem to be the harbinger of doom - both have heralded a bad experience.I understand drainage as I am public health inspector in the UK.It's a shame as with a bit of money the place could be great again

PROS: Fantastic view of the beach Kitchenette with Hot Plate for cooking Lots of windows for views and spacious feeling Local Weka walk up to the windows and look at you CONS: NO SCREENS on any of the windows (Sandflies will eat you alive) No Closet Storage. Shelves available, but if you need to hang something, no dice. No spatula for fry pan The bed CREAKS with the slightest movement This place is nicer than the reviews would lead you to believe. The Views are fantastic. When we arrived the interior was too warn. No Fan was available, so we opened all the windows. Which worked great until we were over run with sandflies. Then we had to close all the windows to save ourselves from using deet before bed. The bedroom was too warm to sleep with the windows closed so I opened the outside deck door and slept on the couch — to hell with the bugs. Later in the early morning it seemed safe to open the windows to cool the interior down for sleeping. The windows are such that screens can not be added, but it is a real shame with the heat and the bugs. You need the windows open to be comfortable, but the bugs will come in to join you. Having the unit air conditioned or at least providing a fan would go a long way to making it better.

We have been touring NZ and we drove to Punakaiki to visit the national park and see the pancake rocks. It was definitely worth the long drive on the west coast in a rainy day: the pancake rocks coastline is an incredible supernatural wonder that one can only be appreciated in person. In addition, the Paparoa Park Motel was an excellent overnight experience: it is definitely the coolest room we have ever stayed in. I admired the architectural design of the units and the construction with beautiful wood and natural materials and it's functionality. The room was clean and comfortable as well: we wish we had booked it for an extra night.

The Paparoa Park Motel is well situated on a hillside about 1k from the Pancake Rocks. There is very little in Punakaiki - just a cafe, clothes / gift shop and visitor centre both set up for tourists who stop to do the 20min cliff walk around the rocks (which by the way are well worth a trip, especially at high tide). We booked Blowhole Cottage for two nights. The Cottage has lovely views over the distant beach and a small terrace. However it is really tired inside, patch of damp, broken mirror, poorly equipped kitchen, no air con, no mosquito screens on bedroom window etc etc. To make matters worse, when it rained heavily during the night we had to move the bed as water was dripping through the roof onto us as we slept! So far, so bad. We made the management team aware of this the following morning. They responded really well and quickly and moved us next door to Seaside Cottage which was fantastic. Beautiful views, modern, well equipped, air con and really comfortable with a huge attention to detail. Everything that Blowhole is sadly not. So - a story of two very different nights - one bad, one very good! I can only imagine that Blowhole is due for an upgrade.