My wife and I stayed for 3 nights December 2011 and had a great time at the motel and in Kaikoura. The new owners were very friendly, helpful and made good restaurant /cafe recommendations. Our room was clean, tidy and the double-glazed windows meant we didn't notice the road traffic. The free wireless internet access was a bonus. We had a rental car, so 3 minutes drive into town was easy. There's a 2 minute walk to a huge deserted sandy beach that stretches for kms in either direction. Plenty of things to do in and around town and the Whale Watch is very professional. No hesitation recommending this motel and we'll definitely stay here again.

No sleep at all for the whole night owner is very nice and helpful but this does not make up for no sleep I want a total refund fron Jasons

Stayed here in November 2009 whilst on honeymoon. We stayed 2 nights in Kaikoura to go whale-watching. Having not done the research on the area, and due to budget constraints we booked this hotel via Austravel. The main downside is that this hotel is a fair distance from the centre of the town in comparison to other hotels in the area. Beach Road is actually State Highway 1, the main road in the area! That said, the room was spacious, clean, comfortable with heating and electric blankets. We were made to feel very welcome by the staff. The centre is reachable by the Kaikoura shuttle service (usually arrived within 5 minutes of calling). If you're fit enough, you could take the long walk. Whilst the accommodation was lacking some of the luxuries of places such as Waves On The Esplanade, it served its purpose. As my headline says, it was clean, comfortable and we were made to feel very welcome. I have certainly stayed in places much worse than here.

Our usual perference the Bella Vista motel was full ( must learn to book ahead! ) so we stopped down the road at the Mediterranean. We took two units. Both were tidy but we missed the exra little things and that special new ness that we have become used to. The view of the mountains is very dramatic considering how close to the see Kaikoura is. The motel is out of the town centre but it was a nice morning walk down to the shops and beach.