I stayed here for about a week over late December 2021 and early January 2022. New Zealand was still largely closed to international tourists due to COVID-19 border restrictions and a number of accomodation providers were't open. There was good availability with accomodation providers that were open. Te Anau was busy without being crowded, very pleasant. In many ways the Bella Vista Motel is a delightful place to stay. The owners are friendly, welcoming and helpful. It's only five minutes walk from the town which has a good supermarket and some excellent cafes, restaurants and food caravans. The bed was incredibly luxurious with a comfortable mattress and 5 star hotel quality sheets and linen. However, the room was small. There wasn't a lot of additional space apart from the bed. One of the reasons I choose a motel rather than a hotel was because of cooking facilities. Most motel units have a kitchen or kitchenette. The Bella Vista has different kinds of rooms, some with full kitchen facilities and others with more limited cooking options, and their online reservation system did specify these. Moreover, due to browser issues I found booking online to be quite complicated. When I checked into my room I found that the kitchen facilities were extremely limited, almost non existent. I could make coffee and tea and prepare toast in the morning on the extremely small bench space and that was it. There might have been a microwave, but I don't use microwaves so it wasn't an option. I ended up getting most of my meals for dinner at the amazing Bao Now caravan, some of the best street food I've ever had anywhere. The kitchenette area, a small bench above a fridge also did not have its own tap, water or sink. I had to get water and wash dishes in the bathroom sink, just along from the toilet, which wasn't particularly pleasant. The other aspect about the rooms were that, at least surrounding the room I was staying in, there was virtually no soundproofing. I could hear almost everything in other rooms - conversations (even when people were speaking quietly), television, showers and flushing toilets. This was not generally a problem as fellow guests were quiet and respectful and lights seemed to be out by 10pm. The limited soundproofing (at least in the room I was staying in) didn't cause any major problems sleeping, but it could if the rooms were occupied by guests who like to stay up late. Generally the lack of full kitchen facilities, small room size and limited soundproofing didn't cause any problems as I was out everyday hiking, cycling, and going on float plane and helicopter trips. However, when staying for a reasonable amount of time in a place (such as a week) I sometimes like to have a break mid-week and relax for a day where I'm staying. This wasn't really that possible here. Admittedly I did get the smallest and cheapest room. I would have paid more for a larger room with full kitchen facilities (these are availa
Outstanding
5 Reviews