When we decided to travel to the South Island...

New Zealand | Feb 16 - Mar 14, 2025

This truly is an amazing place. We were surprised by the spaciousnesss and luxury of our suite -- and we didn't reserve a tree house. First class service in all areas. We had several meals there (it is some distance to drive otherwise) and the food was very good, although the menu was limited (which made sense for them). We used this place as our base for going to Kaikoura, so we din't take advantage of all the amenities offered. We would have liked a longer stay here.

First class in all respects. We especially appreciated the courteous service by every member of staff.

This was indeed a "retreat". Its location is in Nelson, but one would think it was in the countryside once arrived. Lovely spacious suite with all the amenities. We appreciated the graciousness of our host and the special kindness she showed one evening when I was too exhausted from a hike to go out for dinner. She brought to our room a very generously-sized cold plate for dinner. We wish we'd had even more nights there.

This was a unique experience. To be clear, it is down the road from the Larnach Castle and that's a good thing -- much quieter and more upscale. In a word, this place is elegant. Lots of stone floors, wide staircase to the second floor suites, big drawing room, etc. Very comfortable room with all the amenities. We had the special dinner at the castle one night and were disappointed. It was expensive and the experience dragged on for 4 hours. The next night we cancelled a repeat dinner. Staff at the Estate responded by serving us a special cold plate, heaped with more cheese, cold meats, bread, etc. than we could eat. And a staff member had to drive to the castle kitchen to get it for us. That's the kind of place this Estate is. Very impressed.

This was not up to the 5-star experience we had enjoyed previously on our trip, so it suffered by comparison. It was certainly OK. This is a small homestead to be sure: up to 6 guests at a time. It was clean and our hosts were gracious. The bedroom was small and limited in amenities. The facilities like pool and hot tub very dated. The on-site dinner very tasty, but expensive. We did enjoy an intimate conversation at dinner with the other guests. A good place to go to "get away in the countryside".

We were put here by our travel agent who believed we'd enjoy being in this neighbourhood of Auckland. Turned out we were in the wrong location. The hotel itself is unusual: an older building converted to several small suites. We had been in a huge suite in an upscale lodge the nights before, so we were under-whelmed when we arrived here. We went out to at dinnertime to explore the neighbourhood on foot and found we didn't resonate with the younger, funkier crowd. We really wanted to be in the harbour area, so we asked to cancel our second night. Our host was most gracious, allowing us to move without penalty. And, we left behind an item in the room. Our host contacted us in the new hotel and drove the time to us. That generous act greatly impressed us. We conclude we'd have been fine there except for the location.

We had high expectations for this unusual place. It was challenging to get there -- both driving and hiking -- and it was tucked high on a hillside. Not a good idea if you are unable to walk up hills. The all-around glass building is quite something to experience day and night (we had one clear night for star-gazing). The place was clearly upscale in all respects. Very comfortable. The food provided was fantastic. We felt remote but still safe -- that was the idea and they delivered.

This was an overnight on a boat, part of a two day adventure on Doubtful Sound. The boat accommodated 12 guests plus two crew members. Our cabins were small, but quite adequate for an overnight. The crew made the trip especially memorable with their friendliness and knowledge. The food was fantastic, including lobster and fish that our fellow passengers caught during the day. This trip was a highlight of our month's adventure.

We really liked this first-class place. From the moment we drove to the door to when we left, we were treated with great respect and courtesy. As an example, this was the only place on our month long journey where they parked our car for us! Big place with everything one might want in a lodge. Our room had all the amenities we wanted. We used this as a base for a trip to Milford Sound, so we din't get to take advantage of all the services and features. Food was excellent.

We booked one of the two rooms there. It was modern, clean, well-appointed and looked out on a vineyard, overlooking Christchurch itself. It would be a great location for those who intended to hike the steep trails (which we didn't). The room was near the dining room which served until 5 PM. In other words, this is a lunch spot. Dinner items can be had, but that means an early dinner. We did so one night, and the food was excellent. It took about 20 minutes to get into the heart of Christchurch, but the traffic wasn't bad. Breakfast was brought to our room, but one of our days, the kitchen was closed that morning, which was disappointing. A highlight was the twin hot tubs on our very private deck -- very relaxing!

The Vicarage is, as expected, an older property that has been restored. Located in the heart of Geraldine, it was well-suited for us because we wanted to walk to our meals as this was a one-night stop for us. We walked to the local restaurant/pub and enjoyed being with the local folks at a sheep shearing contest outside. The room was small compared to the other hotels we stayed at on this trip. The bed was comfortable and the room clean. We never saw any staff.

For a small B&B, it was fine. Dinner was especially delicious and we enjoyed our conversations with our hosts. Lots of local knowledge. The room was dated but adequate.

Very pleasant staff. Very comfortable room (there were only 4). Beautiful view and a lovely deck where we had dinner one night. Close to Hokitika and the Gorge, but a car is essential. The breakfast was excellent.

While a little dated, this is a big property with lots of guests (some of whom, a tour group, were a little rowdy). The staff were gracious and knowledgeable. The glow worms walk and the eels walk were especially memorable. The food was satisfactory, but we had the sense they were cooking too many plates at the same time -- just didn't feel like an upscale restaurant. It rained all day one of our days, so we did not get to use their kayaks and go on their special guided tours.

We had difficulty finding the starting place for this trip. The boat was late. The sea was rough and our particular hike plan was aborted. We dropped off a t a beach and were told to do another hike to reach our boat pickup place. We had no signal on our cell phones. The 6 km trail was steep in places, narrow and with very limited places to rest. To our knowledge there was no one monitoring the trail and we saw very few hikers on the trail. Part way, I (78 years old) got into trouble walking and fell 3 times. There was no option but to carry on. It took us 4 hours and we got to the beach just in time to catch the boat. This was one of the most traumatic experiences I've had for a long time. It could have been much worse if I hadn't struggled on.

Well done! We enjoyed the ride, even though it was quite brief. Landing on the glacier made it special. The fog rolle din minutes after we landed -- we were lucky to have our flight.