Halswell Lodge

this was the motel from hell. we arrived about 4pm and the access was via a steep narrow laneway. there was nobody there, the office was difficult to find and locked. we found a cleaner and he contacted and conversed with the "owner" via txt msg. he was able to find out our room and produced a couple of keys. we looked at the room in the back of an old house, access to through and off a communal kitchen. the room was extremely cold and damp, the bedding felt damp, the decor was depressing, there was a small electric heater, a TV that would not work (it was discovered that the Wifi did not work in that room and the owner admitted that it has never worked. the bathroom had been renovated albeit some time ago, and the toilet was situated so that your knees were hard against the vanity. The room had no ventilation at all, there were no smoke alarms, the room was situated such that in an emergency, vacating the room could be a hazard, and in the event of a fire in the kitchen area, no exit access. this brought to our mind a recent tragedy in a similar situation where there were 6 people who perished within 1 kilometer from this venue. we tried to find another venue to stay at as we were not happy with the whole situation, but there was nothing available at that time of day, as we were staying overnight to catch the interisland ferry early in the morning. the "motel" tried to charge us extra for overnight parking on site which was not disclosed in the booking. There was another couple who approached us who were just as disappointed, their TV screen was smashed and were moved to another room. they offered us another room, however it was up a long flight of stairs, impossible for my wife to get up due to mobility issues. The photo's of the venue show it to be a more than acceptable place to stay. TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY it is a dump and would advise anyone interested to rethink. Trip.com should remove this place from their accommodation offerings it is damaging to their reputation.