Scenic Hotel Bay of Islands

We booked this hotel very last minute so I had pretty low expectations since it was one of the last rooms left in town. But it was lovely! The staff were very kind and welcoming. The rooms were clean and exactly as pictured. And the additional details were surprisingly thoughtful: local Manuka toiletries, lots of tea / coffee with real milk in the fridge and a nice breakfast buffet (plus when we accidentally turned up as it was closing they allowed us to take a plate to go at no charge, which was really lovely since we had a hungry four year old with us). Overall, very nice experience and great place to spend a night in Paihia!

On arrival the staff were nice, gave us our key and had no issues. Got to the room and it smelt damp and very unwelcoming, there is no microwave or cooking facilities at all in the rooms. The air conditioning sounded like it needed an upgrade and blew dust all throughout my room. I noticed on the information paper that was given to us by reception that there was room service but we were not provided a menu, so I asked reception if I could please have a menu and she rudely told me that room service was not provided (Why is this on the menu if not provided?) Parking was very difficult to navigate, the beds are uncomfortable & the television in our room did not work. There are also multiple stains on the carpet which is simply disgusting and leaves me to wonder what the stains are! Every switch in the entire room was sticky and I had to wipe it down with my own things bought from home. There was multiple scuff marks all over the walls including what looked like tomato sauce on the wall right by the bed! I had no choice but to be in my room due to my husband working down the road and needing the car, but let's just say I enjoyed it more being out of my room when I had the chance. I certainly won't be staying here again, absolute waste of money.

We stayed January 2023. Was okay for the price. The rooms were fairly spacious and clean and bathroom supplies were topped up daily, there was a damp smell as others mentioned but nothing terrible. The parking situation is not ideal, no allocated parks and is just a small gravelled area with no paths- not ideal when wheeling luggage and in our case a pram. Location was fine, within walking distance to bars and shops and the beach. The biggest disappointment was the restaurants inability to serve the hotels guests. The first night we stayed we decided to dine in, there was approximately 6 people in the very large restaurant. The waitress said she had to check with the chef if they could have us in the restaurant. They could on this occasion but next time we were to book- odd considering the restaurant was near empty. Food and service was fine inside the restaurant. The next night we decided to order room service. We were told no you cannot as the chef has a large group of people coming in so we cannot accomodate you. We were only after a salad and pizza. We called again the next night for room service and they again had to check with the chef if they could service our order - a bowl of wedges, which they could on this occasion. We last dined there for breakfast on our last morning- two coffee machines were out of coffee, milk had ran out, we struggled to find a clean table to sit at as all the tables had dirty plates and cups and ended up having to clear someone else’s table so we could sit down. It was a disaster. We decided to leave the Scenic Hotel a night early to return to Auckland. At checkout the reception staff didn’t ask how our stay was or seem phased that we were leaving a night early. We would have given them feedback about this if they had asked. This hotel has potential, perhaps we caught them on a bad week. Our booking was under Emma Craig.

We had a spacious room that included everything we needed. Good location on the outskirts of town. It was an easy 10-15 min walk to get to the center. The staff was friendly and the mini fridge in the room was nice. I was disappointed to see single-use toiletries instead of dispensers considering how eco-conscious New Zealand is. The breakfast had everything: eggs, bacon, sausage, and tons of sugar & carbs.

The staff were all pleasant and helpful,rooms were clean and tidy,location was great.

Really nice location on the edge of Paihia, great rooms and beautifully landscaped units. Unfortunately the reception desk and the restaurant service lets down the whole place. We were used to great NZ hospitality but felt that the catering and front of house needed some customer relations training.

We stayed for a few days and would recommend. The staff are very friendly and happy to help. The breakfast buffet is tasty but identical each day. The garden setting is lovely.

Amazing and comfortable, beds were great, pillows were amazing and the shower was hot as with tons of pressure!

We had a faulous time in the delightful venue and were served so well by very hospitable staff. The meals were great also as were the rooms ... with a lovely relaxing ambience and it was lovely to wander through the beautiful gardensWe would all definitely stay here again