Stayed only one night at the Motel but it is a newish place. Great accommodation, Separate Queen size bedroom, bathroom with shower and large Jacuzzi. Also it has a modern kitchen in the lounge area, all though we used the restaurant, which had good food at reasonable rates! Good value!

My family stayed in room 27 - part of the new wing (this room was upstairs). This is the perfect family stopover if you are visiting people you know in the area or simply calling through to continue a journey around the south island.

There are many motels competing for your money in Timaru and I've stayed in quite a few "quaint places" that were not up to scratch - this one is perfect in every way.

Trying to emulate a decent 4 star hotel, the Aspen has done a great job with the fittings in the new wing, the spa bath and the general amenities outside for the kids to get lost in while mum and dad contemplate a coffee or the next thing to do.

It is a very quiet motel (no road noise) and I suspect the old wing has had a spruce up. The Restaurant looked great although we didn't dine there.

The party of four (my wife and I along with two kids) were well accommodated in this room with a fold out bed (they had run out of rooms with two single beds for the kids). It cost is NZ$149 for the night which is good value considering the modern decor.

Pros:
Price
Nicely located just out of town
New (stay in the new wing if you can!)
Excellent child facilities to keep them entertained for short periods
Plenty of parking
Free broadband internet!!!!!

Cons:
Coffee (couldn't find the ground stuff even though the plunger was there)
Need more towels (kids use them like there is no tomorrow!)

Booked though wotif. Rate very similar to internet rate offered by hotel. We stayed in their lodge accomodation, which also doubles as there conference/event facility! It was on the upper level of a 2 storey block. There were three bedrooms. Our double room was huge. There were 2 further twin rooms. The unit had a full kitchen, with dishwasher and a large table with chairs. There was also a living area, with 2 sofas and a 42 inch plasma screen tv. The hotel has a free dvd library, which my youngest son (14) made full use of in his chill out time! The motel is on a fairly quiet road, a short walk from the Botanical Gardens and around a 15-20 minute walk into the town centre. The restaurant at the motel was reasonably priced and the portions were huge! At the back of the motel there is a trampoline and giant chess set. The bathroom was very retro, with busy tiles and brilliant red sink and bath. The bath was probably the funniest one we have ever seen, with several steps up and then about 4 feet deep and perfectly round! I understand that the new units are very up to date and fabby! We enjoyed Timaru, with it's sea and mountain views.