Annandale Villas — Hotel in Banks Peninsula Community

We spent three nights at Shepherds Cottage and thoroughly enjoyed our stay:||The staff were very friendly and the “reception experience” (including a guided tour of the kitchen garden) was excellent.||Location was exactly as expected – remote with stunning views and great walks.||Shepherd’s Cottage was lovely, well furnished (though a couple of comfy chairs in front of the fire would have been preferable so the slightly uncomfortable bench) and we loved having a roaring log fire on the one evening that required it.||Food, too, was very good – of a high standard and showing imagination and flair on the part of the chef.||But was it good value for money? We think not. We have had poor value for money at inexpensive venues and experienced excellent value for money at very expensive ones, but Annandale fell short on the VFM test.||We knew that we would leave our car “at the gate” and be driven (about half an hour) to Shepherd’s Cottage and – had we stayed for the minimum 2 nights – probably would not have expected need of additional transport, but since we were there for three nights we decided to take a trip to visit Akaroa on day three … and were charged $140 (about £72) for the return “taxi” journey between our car and the cottage. I can appreciate that they have to legislate against the “taxi” service being abused, but you would think that additional nights would warrant one additional “ferry” to reception (after all, you are hostage to their taxi fares).||That smacked of greed – and made us analyse the VFM ratio a little more closely: After-all, at $1500 per night you should expect perfection (and that is what their website promises).||We reported that the blue tooth speaker was faulty, but it wasn’t repaired or replaced.||We asked for additional milk (the breakfast milk bottle is miserly considering that it has to last until the following morning … and you can hardly pop out to the shops) this was delivered on day two but forgotten again on day three.||My wife is 5’4” (not an unusual height) but the complimentary mountain bikes supplied wouldn’t adjust to anywhere near a suitable saddle height, so were useless.||Considering that the primary leisure pursuit at Annandale is to walk and explore the estate, we weren’t provided with a map on arrival (because their printer was malfunctioning) and then were given a wholly inadequate low resolution A4 copy of a map which didn’t really help us to make the most of walking on the estate – although we thoroughly enjoyed our coastal walk, a decent map would have significantly enhanced the experience.||We’re not serial complainers (our other TripAdvisor reviews demonstrate this) and these might seem like petty criticisms (there were a few more minor irritations, too), but that $1500 per night price tag (and that additional transfer charge) suggests that Annandale should deliver perfection and makes me less inclined to turn a blind eye to its shortcomings.||Although we enjoyed our stay Annandale, it is overpriced for what is delivered – hence the...

My partner and I spent 3 nights at Shepherd's cottage in April and it was a lovely stay. ||||The cottage is set in seclusion with views over the bay and animals roaming the grounds and is the perfect place to relax away from city life. ||||The house is self contained with all the amenities you are likely to need for a couple of days away. The food is delivered each day and is restaurant quality, easy to prepare and also showcases some lovely local produce (including what we were told were vegetables grown in their own garden). My only negative around the food was that I did mention that I did not like fish and we got salmon on the first night so make sure you are clear about your dietary requirements, in particular if you have allergies). ||||The house itself is rustic and feels warm and cosy when you enter. We were generally very comfortable throughout our stay and had a great night sleep each night we were there however the lounge in sitting room is need of an upgrade. We found it very hard to sit there comfortably for a period of time and as you are likely to be in the house for a lot of your stay (as there is nowhere to go!) this was a bit disappointing. The house has books and games and also has wifi which was handy ||||The grounds around the house are great for walks, though it was hard to decipher where the walking tracks were from the maps provided. We ended up just walking along the road and then stumbled across one which went in the direction we wanted to go. It's great to see all the cows and sheep but it's also probably a good idea to keep an eye out and make sure you don't end up with the bulls. ||||The views from the Shepherd's cottage are absolutely stunning and looking out into the night sky was one of the highlights of our stay. A great place to unwind and relax...

My partner and I spent 3 nights at Shepherd's cottage in April and it was a lovely stay. ||||The cottage is set in seclusion with views over the bay and animals roaming the grounds and is the perfect place to relax away from city life. ||||The house is self contained with all the amenities you are likely to need for a couple of days away. The food is delivered each day and is restaurant quality, easy to prepare and also showcases some lovely local produce (including what we were told were vegetables grown in their own garden). My only negative around the food was that I did mention that I did not like fish and we got salmon on the first night so make sure you are clear about your dietary requirements, in particular if you have allergies). ||||The house itself is rustic and feels warm and cosy when you enter. We were generally very comfortable throughout our stay and had a great night sleep each night we were there however the lounge in sitting room is need of an upgrade. We found it very hard to sit there comfortably for a period of time and as you are likely to be in the house for a lot of your stay (as there is nowhere to go!) this was a bit disappointing. The house has books and games and also has wifi which was handy ||||The grounds around the house are great for walks, though it was hard to decipher where the walking tracks were from the maps provided. We ended up just walking along the road and then stumbled across one which went in the direction we wanted to go. It's great to see all the cows and sheep but it's also probably a good idea to keep an eye out and make sure you don't end up with the bulls. ||||The views from the Shepherd's cottage are absolutely stunning and looking out into the night sky was one of the highlights of our stay. A great place to unwind and relax...