The Waterfront Hotel was one of three New Plymouth establishments conned by a Taranaki man out of thousands of dollars.

A young man duped three New Plymouth hotels into thinking he was in town on business - and ended up fleecing them out of $15,000 worth of accommodation and food instead.

Despite making promises to pay and turning on the charm to get his own way, Javon Laurie Paul Reweti-Evans slipped out the back door of one luxury hotel when confronted by staff who wanted to settle his hefty bill.

It took an extensive police investigation to track the fraudster down - and officers eventually found him living at his parents' home in Hawera.

The offending, two counts of obtains by deception to which Reweti-Evans pleaded guilty, even had Judge Garry Barkle scratching his head regarding its audacity.

"He's 25 with no previous convictions and then gets into this sort of situation," Barkle told the Hawera District Court.

"It's pretty blatant dishonesty."

Sergeant Steve Hickey said Reweti-Evans checked into the Auto Lodge Hotel on Devon St East on November 22 and stayed only a short time before checking out and moving to the nearby Quality Hotel Plymouth International. The two hotels are owned by the same company.

Until December 7, Reweti-Evans moved between the two hotels and stayed in different rooms throughout his stay, Hickey said. When he told staff he planned to check out, his bill was prepared and Reweti-Evans explained he needed his business partner to sign off on the expenses.

Hotel staff let the defendant leave in order to sort the payment out but it was not forthcoming. Hickey said the defendant then told the hotel management he needed to drive to Whanganui to get the financial approval to cover the bill, but he was not heard from again.

On December 8, several attempts were made by staff to use the credit card Reweti-Evans had provided when he checked in but all transactions were declined. The defendant's phone had also been disconnected.

As a result of the deceit, Reweti-Evans owed the Auto Lodge $2066.25 and the Quality Hotel $1870.70.

Hickey said on December 28, the defendant checked into an apartment at the Waterfront Hotel and told staff he would be staying for three days. Hickey said Reweti-Evans continually extended his stay and did not end up leaving until February 22, eight weeks on from when he first arrived.

When he went to check out, Reweti-Evans again used the excuse of having to get approval from his business partner to settle up.

"While the management were busy dealing with other hotel guests, the defendant left the office through the back door, without management knowledge, to an awaiting vehicle," Hickey said.

At this point, hotel staff had locked up Reweti-Evans' belongings, which he had left behind in his haste to get away.

On February 27, Hickey said the defendant turned up at the Waterfront Hotel full of promises to pay. During the conversation with staff, "he managed to convince them to release his belongings" before he left again, he said.

Reweti-Evans' unpaid bill at the Waterfront totalled $11,635.95, which included accommodation, room service and internet use.

Hickey said a "lengthy investigation" finally tracked Reweti-Evans to Hawera, where he was arrested. He said while debt collectors were involved, police would still seek reparation on behalf of the victims at sentencing.

Reweti-Evans was remanded on bail to re-appear on October 26 and Barkle asked for pre-sentence and reparation reports to be prepared.

When contacted about the case, management for the Waterfront Hotel and a representative of the Auto Lodge and Quality Hotel both declined to comment.