A hotel listing promising a comfortable penthouse experience in central Wellington has attracted a Commerce Commission complaint after guests discovered broken ceiling tiles, balcony rails, windows and leaks in their room.
With almost every hotel in the city booked up for the Kingston Calling festival last week, the group of six are requesting compensation, saying they had no choice but to stay in the room at Wellington Hotel.
A manager for the hotel was frustrated with the complaints, saying they did everything fairly by offering the group free parking worth $100, or a full refund of $1278 if they went elsewhere.
Wellington Hotel is an inexpensive, small hotel in the central city on Manners St, with Trip Advisor listing a 1.3-star rating. The hotel is described on its own website as “budget” accommodation.
“I don’t want to let this go, because I feel like they think this is okay,” said Whirimako Hills, one of the guests who had complained.
Hills and her friends had travelled from Blenheim and Masterton to stay in the capital for four days - a trip they had planned and saved for a year earlier.
The room was advertised as a penthouse apartment with “stunning harbour views” and the perfect space for a “comfortable stay in the heart of the city”.
But Hills claimed she was met with a “raggedy” balcony door, and bubbles on the ceiling from water damage.
Photos online do not appear to show the damage seen in Hills’ pictures of the room.
She found the balcony “disturbing”, with holes in the wooden railing, and what appeared to be a broken door latch.
Hills understood the hotel was not aware of all issues, but claims they did know about the leaky roof.
“That’s a clear sign not to rent this room out,” she said.
The group resorted to putting a pot under the leak during a downpour until it stopped.
Previous reviews on Trip Advisor called the hotel’s service “unprofessional”, “extremely rude”, and “dismissive”.
A Google reviewer said they would recommend the hotel “if you love living like a vampire”.
Hills complained multiple times to manager Ryaa Vitnesh, who thought the complaints were unfair.
“Those things in the apartment were beyond our control, and if she were to check out, we can fix it,” she told the Herald.
She’d believed the business did everything it could by offering a free car park or refund, should the group forfeit their booking.
“They decided to stay the whole time, and after they checked out, they started complaining via email.”
Vitnesh said they were unable to offer the group a different room as the hotel was fully booked, along with everywhere else in the city.
When it came to the leaky ceiling on a rainy night, the manager said it was out of their control.
The room had now been blocked off to be fixed, Vitnesh said.
The manager said the balcony was not advertised as an asset of the room, and was locked off.
She said she did not believe the balcony door was broken, saying no doors were broken at the hotel.
Vitnesh believed the group hadn’t complained much during the stay, and was frustrated the customers asked for compensation after checking out.
“They did stay the whole stay, so I don’t see how it’s fair for us to do any sort of compensation even after giving the car parking for free.”
“I think it’s unfair that she fully stayed and then checked out and then she’s complaining.”
The Commerce Commission said it had received a complaint from Hills, and was awaiting assessment.
Sammy Carter is a journalist for the New Zealand Herald covering news in the Wellington region. She has previously worked at the Rotorua Daily Post.