Panorama Motel

We chose this motel as it was pet friendly and had good reviews, it didn't disappoint, staff were very friendly and helpful, rooms were clean and tidy, and had everything we needed, short walk to town and lovely views, will happily stay again.

The views! Snow on the ranges, the bay, it deserves the panorama title. Incredible staff! They should be proud of the work they do. We are both walkers so location was no issue for us. Now back to the staff … this is what makes a holiday turn great … so caring and helpful. Fresh little touches in the room every day. Also we went out on a fishing charter and were offered a burner and pot to cook a couple of crays in, out the back, away from the room. It was idyllic!

Very comfortable place to stay. It's very much an older place, and we were hoping it hadn't gone downhill since we were there last; it hadn't. Breathtaking views of the Seawards from our balcony in the morning, and locals will wave and say hello. Well-appointed, friendly management. Small shower was a minor drawback but hey. We'll be back.

Lovely motel with welcoming and friendly staff. It is in a wonderful position on the esplanade overlooking the sea. We had ground floor room with patio. The room was well appointed with large comfortable king bed with lovely crisp white bedsheets and pillows. There were two comfortable chairs to sit in & look out to the sea view or watch TV. There was well appointed kitchen with nice supply of teabags etc. The shower was wonderful plenty of hot water and nice smelling shower gel. The only issue in that the room was it was hot due to sun-streaming in through patio windows but once doors opened it cooled down & there is a fan. We were warned before we went that there is construction work at the motel - luckily for us not at the weekend when we were staying.

We stayed at this lovely motel for 2 nights. We had a one bedroom apartment on the upper level. A lovely cosy wood cabin style apartment with stunning views out to sea. It was well equipped, had comfortable beds and was spotlessly clean. There was a lovely helpful lady on reception when I checked in. I would highly recommend a stay here. It's a short drive into town for shops and restaurants, there is however a pub and restaurant a short walk away from the motel, The Pier Hotel where we had a meal on our second evening, I would suggest booking ahead as we failed to get a table when we turned up on the first evening. We had a lovely coastal walk while we were there, plenty of sea lions and a variety of sea birds to be seen, which was lovely. We also went on a whale watching flight, we were lucky enough to spot a ***** whale as well as pods of dolphins. Overall a great stay.

There are amazing views from the rooms, through full length windows, out onto Kaikoura bay. It’s a little out of town, so you do need a car if you want to get to most of the bars/restaurants, but none of the hotels in the town centre have anything like the same views. Internally our room was in the style of a log cabin, and had really nice soft furnishings. We had armchairs by the windows where we could sit and watch what was going on in the bay. The room was well equipped, with Sky tv, including sport and movies. The kitchen had a lovely big worktop. The only thing lacking was storage (cupboards/drawers) if you were staying a long time. We had a ground floor king studio. If we stayed again I would go for up an upper room, which would have slightly better views and a bit more privacy from other guests - why do people have to stare into your room when walking past! I’m normally put off from upper rooms because you have to carry your cases up stairs, but at this motel there are parking areas at higher and lower levels, so you still park almost outside your room. It’s nice to walk around the peninsular to the seal colony. The Pier hotel is also close by - it’s great place to have a drink and look out over the bay, and is well known for its seafood restaurant, but you need to book to eat there in the evenings,