Accommodation - Booking in Kaipara

16th December 2008
My partner and I did not enjoy our stay here at all and will not be recommending this place to any of our family or friends. $95 per night for 1 queen & 1 single beds. The motel is very dated. Definately 1960's style. The only good thing about this place was the hygiene. It was definately clean and tidy on arrival. No outdoor areas (i.e. picnic tables) though there was a BBQ available to use. The motel is just off the main road - so traffic could be heard from the highway throughout the night. It's also right next to some sort of park, we were awoken at 3am by loud drunk voices of men walking through this park. The kitchen has no microwave. Cooking utensils are minimal. I wanted to cook a breakfast of poached eggs (signs in the room stated that any strong cooking smells could incurr a $100 cleaning fee). The cupboards contained only 2 pots. I went to the office to ask for a Fish Slice and pan - the owner proceeded to give me a lecture about how I need to ensure every window in the room is open to ensure the odour of my poached eggs does not get me a $100 fee?! I then began worrying about the odour of my toast :-/ She then said I was not allowed to use a pan and to try using one of the two pots supplied in the room. I've never tried poaching eggs in a pot without a Fish Slice. I tried scrambled eggs instead. The milk provided in the fridge expired on 14/11/08 - I was there on 14/12/08. I went to the office again to ask for milk that had not passed its expiry date - I then found that the milk they gave me as 'replacement' also had expired on 14/11/08. I again went back to the office and had a jug of milk shoved at me. I do not recommend staying here. There are a few other places in Dargaville to stay - places that have nice outdoor areas and even pools for around the same price. Definately recommend shopping around.