Lakeside Motel & Apartments — Hotel in Fiordland Community

We were excited about our upcoming New Year getaway and had booked a lakeview room at this hotel through Expedia six months in advance. However, upon arrival, we were informed that our reservation did not exist. Despite Expedia's attempts to contact/call the hotel, no one responded. It was perplexing that our pre-booked lakeview room was unavailable, and yet surprisingly an inferior room was available instead, during the busy holiday season. It felt like our original room may have been given to someone else who arrived a little earlier than us, which was disappointing. We spent more than an hour trying to understand what had happened by calling and chatting with Expedia, but the conversation was slow, and we were exhausted after a long day of driving. Eventually, we reluctantly accepted the inferior room because it was the only option available in the area during the busy holiday season.

Later, we discovered that our original booking had been confirmed through Expedia. It was disappointing that the hotel did not take responsibility for the mistake and instead insisted that we had no reservation. We had booked with Expedia numerous times before and found this situation to be very unusual. Despite our long struggle with Expedia and the hotel owner, we had no choice but to settle for the offered room since it was the only option available at that time of year.

Would not recommend this place, unless you can bear with surprises like...

I recently stayed at Lakeside Motel and Apartments, and I can confidently say that this place exceeded my expectations. The location is perfect—just a short distance from the lake, and town centre, though the views were a bit restricted due to the weather. Thankfully, the weather cleared up eventually, and the views were absolutely stunning!

The room was compact but cosy, offering everything I needed for a comfortable stay. The Wi-Fi wasn’t the fastest, but honestly, I expected that in a more remote area, and it was still more than adequate for my needs.

What really stood out was the customer service. The check-in process was smooth and easy, but the staff went above and beyond when I accidentally left my jacket behind. They got in touch with me promptly and ensured that my jacket was sent back to me in Australia, which was such a thoughtful and generous gesture.

I’m incredibly grateful for their care and attention to detail. Highly recommend this place for anyone visiting Te Anau—great location, comfortable rooms, and...

An absolutely brilliant location with an easy walk to town, and beautiful views across Lake Te Anau. For a view, you need to book a lakeview room (ours I believe was called "Lakefacing King Studio"). The upper floor gives a great view from the balcony outside, but the ground floor also opens onto the lovely gardens. Easy parking, accommodating staff.

The room was spacious and well equipped kitchen-wise but strangely lacking any tissues or kitchen roll, and rubbish bin in the bathroom. The shower takes bit of getting used to, and the bathroom layout was a bit odd, with no hooks on walls and just a tiny area to put your toiletries. But bed and pillows were good and we slept well.

The owners clearly love this place as it was beautifully kept, clean and tidy, with a gorgeous garden and attractive trees. We enjoyed our stay here very much despite my small nits...