Review of Hotel Kia Ora Resort & Spa 4*

I struggle with writing this review. I'd like to give 3 stars. I just can't justify it. Let's start with the main issue, deferred maintenance at the property. We reserved an over water bungalow, which is advertised on their website as air conditioned. There is an air conditioning unit, and it was running; however, average daytime temperatures in the room were 83 degrees (28c) when it was approximately 86 (30c) outside. The average nighttime temperatures in the room were 79 degrees (26c). Immediately upon arrival, we requested someone from engineering to come look at the a/c unit. No one came. Several hours later, we made a second request with the front desk. Finally, that evening someone came, looked at the unit and left without fixing anything or communicating with us. The next day, I stopped by and asked to speak with the general manager about the problem. I was told that he was not available. I requested again that someone look at our a/c unit. While I was out, someone did stop by and told my wife that "it was working properly. " We were never offered alternative accommodations or contacted by anyone from the hotel staff or the general manager to see if our issue was resolved. It most certainly was not. We were extremely uncomfortable in our room and no one seemed to care. So, we made arrangements to leave the property after 3 nights of a pre-paid 6 night stay. When the staff were made aware of our plans, they did not bother to attempt to solve our problem, they only made sure to quote their "no refunds" policy. I attempted to visit the GM again on the morning of our new departure date, he was again, not available. So, I emailed him and explained my concerns. His response was polite, but unsatisfactory in my opinion. He explained that he would have been happy to move us to other accommodations, given the opportunity. Well, why wasn't that offered while we were still on property? They had 3 days with us on property to resolve our issue. I'm not going to make any assumptions about how much or little they care about guest comfort. I can only speak to what did and did not happen. In my email to the GM, I offered to share some additional concerns regarding other deferred maintenance items, if he was interested. He did not indicate any interest in the additional feed back. If he had been interested, I would have shared with him my photographs of the rusty hardware in the bathroom, the dark moldy/mildewed grout in the bathroom shower, the multiple rips and tears in the wallpaper all over the bungalow, the fresh air vent window screens in the bathroom that were totally clogged with dirt and dust, and the generally poor state of repair of the bungalow. The pictures on the Kia Ora website must have been taken soon after the 1998 opening. They do not remotely resemble the actual condition of the unit we experienced. As a result of our experience, I asked the GM for a refund of the 3 unused nights. (Without asking any compensation for the 3 very uncomfortable nights we experienced) He offered a refund of 2 unused nights. I explained to him that I thought 3 nights refund was more than a fair compromise from our perspective since we had a serious unresolved issue that left us very uncomfortable for the 3 nights we were there and was the whole reason we felt we had to leave the property. He disagreed and said 2 nights refund was "more than fair. " In fairness to the GM, his written correspondence was not confrontational, albeit tone deaf. To recap, beware the website does not accurately depict the overwater bungalows condition and do not expect the staff to be proactive in helping you resolve any issues. We were not treated rudely at anytime. I would say it was more that we were treated with indifference not befitting the expected level of hospitality of a "4 Star" property. Rangiroa is a beautiful place and the scuba diving is absolutely amazing! With a hospitality focused management team and some additional maintenance budget, this property could be special. I wish I could have given it a better rating…