Nugget Point Hotel — Attraction in South Island

I want to preface this by saying I have never, not once, left a one-star review in my 30+ years on this earth. However, given the current circumstances I'm not sure there is any other option. In short, while halfway through a two-night stay at the Nugget Point Queenstown Hotel I returned to my room to find arguably the most precious item in my possession had disappeared. For context, this item (a small cloth) belonged to my mum and had been in my possession every day for the last 29 years. Having come close to losing it before I'm always careful with it and leave it either tucked away or in a very visible area. While on holiday I don't like to take it out with me given the risk of losing it. This particular time I left it on my bedside table amongst many of my other belongings. My friend (who paid for this particular stay) and I tore the room apart looking for it. Disassembled the beds, the fold out couch, packed and repacked our bags, etc. I spoke to the manager who assured me it was not touched by staff but even so I asked to go through the dumpster in case it had been mistakenly thrown out. (Yes, that is how important this is to me, ready and willing to go through a literal skip bin). He, once again, adamantly denied that the staff would have touched it let alone thrown it away but I spent a good 30 minutes with my friend trawling through the dumpster. As soon as the cleaners were onsite the next day I spoke to them as well as a different duty manager and provided photos etc. The cleaners were very sweet and even offered to help me look through my room. Unfortunately it was not located before I had to check out but the manager confirmed they would do their very best to locate it and keep me updated. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty emotional (read: I was very, very upset). After a few days of back and forth phone calls during which I had to prompt the staff to talk to the cleaners who were in my room, it was discovered that unfortunately the cleaners had thrown it out. Management claimed it was found under the bed, which is A. somewhere I would never leave it and B. blatantly not true as my friend and I both saw it on the bedside table before we left that day. The only reason it may have ended up there was if it was disrupted during the clean. The team said that the cleaners believed it to be rubbish which was confusing in itself as actual rubbish was left on the floor of the room. Regardless, while I was relieved to have answers I was incredibly upset that the initial manager on duty was so adamant it wasn't touched by the cleaners (you best believe I would have gone through that dumpster with a fine tooth comb if I had have known it was actually in there). In short, while management did apologise and admit fault they only offered a partial refund in an effort to make things right. As previously mentioned, this stay was a gift from my friend so a refund on her card actually doesn't have anything to do with me at all. Additionally, after numerous phone calls from myself and my very kind friend, it appeared that the team at Nugget Point did not understand (or even try to understand) the magnitude of what they had lost. While a complimentary stay was confirmed (in lieu of a partial refund) on the phone, this was withdrawn at a later date and my friend and I were told "...considering the unpleasant experience, you had at our hotel, we suggest you stay at some other hotel, which would be more in line with your expectations and standards." I completely understand that mistakes happen and do not begrudge the cleaning staff (although in my opinion it would have been better to either leave it where it was or check with the guests as to whether they recognised it before disposing of it for good) but I am incredibly upset by the reaction and lack of ownership. Guests belongings should never be touched, regardless of the situation, and I feel if this was an item that the team saw as "valuable' i.e. a diamond earring, this situation would have been treated very differently. Sincerely, A...

I do not recommend staying here. We had numerous issues during our stay and were incredibly disappointed as it was our anniversary. When I booked I specifically requested their most popular room that was shown a lot on social media, with a gorgeous view from the bed and spa pool on the balcony. I described what I wanted to book view email and sent photos. I was confident I had booked that room and the staff member was helpful and friendly. When we got there we were greeted as if we should not be there and the staff were bored. We were taken down a long hallway and were outside a room and the concierge said, oh, wrong room. He took us back down the hall to another room - it was not the room I booked! The bedroom was separate so you could not see the view from the bedroom. The bed was in a separate room, it was dark and dingey, with old dusty furniture - not what you see on social media. The lamp was broken, curtains were dusty and broken, the blinds and windows were filthy with bugs and dust on the blinds and floor. The bathroom was incredibly dated and thete was a lot of mould in the shower. The entire room and bathroom, and furniture was incredibly dated. There was a spa pool on the balcony, but there was a direct view to the windows and balcony from the restaurant! I would expect all this from a poorly maintained motel! I let reception know that it was the wrong toom and they said there was nothing they could do because someone had just booked the room we were after/I had booked last minute! I think we were being taken to the correct room to start with then for whatever reason we were taken to that other mess. The pool room was freezing and the nice looking indoor bath was luke-warm. We could not use the hot pool on the balcony as it was not private and it was filled with leaves, bugs, and mould! To compensate we were taken to the 'movie theatre'. There was no fresh air, it was so dusty and smelt like mildew! We could not get anything to play so we left. The staff had zero interest that the room was incorrect and that it was filthy with broken fittings. It has taken a while to write this review because I have been too mad and disgusted. I found out later that the room we were put in was privately owned henced the very poor conditions! If you go there, only go for the restaurant or the spa services - both of which were fantastic. I am still so upset at the staff and the disgusting room and the fact that it was not what I had booked. I believe the first person that booked me via email did a good job, but after her the service was terrible. We were SO excited when we arrived, but within seconds of walking to reception, our excitement faded, only to be completely ruined by that room that nobody should have been booked in until it was cleaned top to bottom and all broken items fixed or replaced! Do not waste your money booking here! I see they are refurbishing - hopefully a change of staff too! None of them smiled, nobody said hello when we got to the counter - we were just stared at, it was just a horrible experience with staff that did not care at all. I'm still so mad I booked the gorgeous looking room and got put in that other mess. The photos I sent and links specifically showed a bed in the main area looking out floor length windows to the gorgeous view. Instead we were in a very dated creepy bedroom with minimal light and dusty blankets! I requested our money back so we could stay elsewhere as we had only just walked into that room and staff refused. I had selected to ensure it was fully refundeable as I can't trust flights leaving Wellington due to the weather. But because we had 'taken the room key' and entered the room, we could not be refunded even one cent. I still think that was utter bs from terrible staff. This place could be amazing! What a waste. The views are just stunning! The staff in the spa area at the time were lovely. Do not book to stay. Just take a day trip for the food and a massage. Seriously - so many bad memories here. Still so...

I used to be a regular at Nugget Point over the last 6 years, and I rated the hotel highly, but not any more I'm afraid to say. ||I stayed at Nugget Point in Nov 22, again in Feb 23, and my last visit was in 7th March 2023.||On the good side, the view of the Shotover River from the river side rooms is still great, it's a bit hard to change that.||So, what was bad?||1. I always book the same room type through an agency, a River View Suite, on the March visit I was downgraded to a River View Room, this is a BIG down grade, cost wise, and was a surprise as it was my 3rd trip in 4 months!||And a bit hard to notice as the rooms are significantly different in quality.||I suspect that due to the agency discount price I received for the booking 4 months in advance, the hotel chose to sell the suites to make more money and downgrade me as I had already prepaid the rooms, but I cannot be sure.||No explanation or compensation was offered.||This is a bad look for the agency as well, if you cannot guarantee the room you book is the room you get.||I made inquiries at the reception and received an indifferent reaction from the hotel employee, who actually tried to pretend she could not understand English, which seem perfectly ok when I checked in, extraordinary!||I asked to speak to the Manager and she declined to get him, or even inform him of my issue. ||To me, this is rude, and unacceptable customer service.||Nugget Point is not a cheap hotel.||2. One of the reasons I choose to stay at Nugget Point is the restaurant and its great view. ||In November the restaurant was closed due lack of staff, COVID, etc. I was assured that this was only temporary and next trip it would be open.||In January the restaurant was again closed due lack of staff, even though it seemed to be cooking for a private function, but would not even do room service, I was assured that this was only temporary and next trip it would be open.||On my 3rd trip the restaurant was closed, again, and when I inquired I received indifference from reception on when, if ever it would reopen.||This is despite the fact that Nugget Point advertise on multiple booking sites, and in the hotel rooms that they have a restaurant.||Perhaps agencies should review this aspect of the Hotel as to me it is a service they do not supply and a draw-card they do not have.||3. The hotel complains by signage and though staff that they are understaffed and cannot supply service levels they continue to advertise. They even stop supplying milk satchels in the rooms due to a "nation-wide shortage of milk in NZ".||Not something I experienced in the 3 weeks I spent in NZ or at any other hotel.||COVID is essentially over in relation to travel restrictions, and it is obvious walking around Queenstown and trying to book tours that the tourist levels are high for this time of year.||Staff are short, yes, but many other establishments appear to be coping and provide the best service they can with the available staff, and speak to customers.||Perhaps there has been a change in business model or management at Nugget Point in the last 12 months, but it's not the same establishment it was in the past and they won't be seeing me again.||I don't suppose...