Kaikoura Boutique Hotel — Hotel in Kaikōura

When we booked a "superior room" with a "partial sea view" at this hotel and paid NZ 270 dollars, we thought we would be staying at one of the rooms at the "hotel" building seen in the lovely photo. When we booked this room through Expedia, there was no description about the room explaining that our room would be situated at the back of the actual "hotel"!. The courtyard room situated at the one story building that we were given was not a hotel room, it was rather like a motel room. We would have never paid NZ 270 dollars had we known about the room type beforehand! We stayed 2 days in Kaikoura. Our travel agent couldn't book us a room the second night so we had to book this hotel ourselves because they did not have a contract with this hotel. On the first night we stayed at White Morph hotel and our room had a fantastic view of the ocean, very specious, and even had a large spa. So it was to our dismay when we saw our room at this "boutique hotel". At a price of NZ 270 dollars, we expected the room to be a similar standard to that of White Morph. Instead the room was small, the "partial sea view" was not to be seen because of the cars parked right adjacent to our room, the walls were so thin you could hear what the people next door were doing (the worst part was we could hear them urinating!). Seriously, I would like to ask the ownwers if they would pay NZ 270 dollars to stay at this kind of hotel? Would you call this courtyard building a "hotel"? Because there was no description about our "superior room" being located in the "courtyard" on the advertisement of this hotel at Expedia website, we feel like we were being deceived. Definitely an over...

This is not a professional hotel experience - and for the price it should be. From the beginning our experience with this hotel has been a nightmare. We booked rooms, and a month later received an email that they changed their policy, no longer accepted AMEX and we had 24 hours to provide a new CC.... uh... what? Then when we got to the island, a terrible storm blocked all the roads into Kaikoura. The road in is along the ocean, so a storm makes the waves swell INTO the road. We called the hotel about 15 hours before our intended check in to tell them we would not be able to come. The only road still open had an extreme warning based on NZTA and NZTA suggested once we got there, that road might close and we would be blocked in. The hotel phone line is really just someone named Jen's cell phone. She encouraged us to come anyways, even though she acknowledged the storm was coming. I asked about a refund, and she told me "let's just keep in touch." Then she proceeded to email me like 5 times over the next several hours suggesting i just come anyway, saying they were keeping the room for us, etc. To each email I reiterated we were not coming due to safety concerns. Anyways... fast forward to three months later and we are still in a credit card dispute with her because she's produced "cancellation policies" that she NEVER posted prior to our trip and NEVER told me in the moment when I was cancelling. Kind of a scam. Definitely not worth the hassle if you're looking to relax in a professional...

Absolutely stunned with this place, cosy, affordable and a welcoming atmosphere! Again we have been on the road and after getting off the ferry at Picton we headed south and we found this hidden gem based on the esplanade.

John took our booking late in the afternoon and got us sorted for the nights accommodation with no fuss at all, just with exceptional service. The Hotel is easy to find and parking is easy.

Our room was warm and inviting, perfect for the both us. My partner said the room is "cute as a button" and the bed is the most comfortable she had slept on/in our 2week journey! Now that says a lot, as we have been journeying both the south and North island. The room was comfortable for our overnight stay with a small coffee machine (pods) in the nook. Bathroom was clean and tidy and met our needs.

Breakfast was included due to their winter special and was delicious. Views from the the breakfast and the champagne area took in the open views of the bay.

Thanks to Deb & John and Vee for not only a very comfortable nights sleep but a memory of their stories and their love of the area!!!!

Ps. Give Harry a small...