Lake Taupo Lodge — Hotel in North Island

I booked for 2 nights at the Taupo Lake Lodge for my daughter who was turning 21. She decided she didn't want to spend her birthday there but rather go clubbing in Tauranga. So I phoned the owner/operator Gary to see if I would be able to cancel and get a refund or if I would be able to stay but that I had a 1 year old baby. Gary said it wasn't suitable for babies so I would have to cancel and he offered a 50% discount if I decided to cancel. I paid $2,150 for the two nights so this meant that if I decided to cancel, Gary agreed to repay 50% of that which is $1,075. I have been leaving emails and phoning since the beginning of April for an update on my refund, and asking that Gary phone me. He hasn't reached out yet so I phoned the office today and spoke to Shirley who said that while Gary offered a 50% discount, he doesn't have to honour it. As a business owner, this is one of the most disgusting behaviours I've encountered from a business owner and I will be seeking legal advice and pursuing a 100% refund. If you hadn't offered that discount I could have made plans to actually stay at the property. I do not recommend anyone stay here. I suggest you refresh up on...

We arrived one evening to a blacked out building as we arrived at 9pm. I rang the door bell a couple of times to be met by what came across as an angry man. asking me why I had not been in touch I advised him due to slips and the journey we have arrived late but he continued to ask why I didn't make contact. So we entered the lodge he then asked my wife the same question! The rooms are nice but dated, pink tiles and bathroom suite perhaps not my style. Breakfast was great although reminded again by the chief we were late the night before. We were then asked to move our car although parked in the only available space again because we arrived late. The dinning area and the grounds are stunning and the location is great. It just felt a little pretenciouse for my liking. For the price it's not what I would have expected I stayed at a number of properties over my 3 weeks in NZ and didn't feel this was...

TripAdvisor ||I have never written one of these before but if I could go back I wish I could be a little better informed. I unfortunately cannot recommend this property at this price point. It is clean, but very outdated (most importantly, the appliances (bathroom/TV) are from the 70s. Our biggest issue with the very pricey stay, was that breakfast is only offered from 730-830a with extreme pushback when sharing we were going to leave early and miss it for our plans for the day. We booked this stay as part of our honeymoon (transparently, the priciest stay of our trip) and this just is not at all 5-star. The staff is somewhat overbearing when it comes to attending breakfast and evening drinks— additionally you have to sit at a large table with other guests for breakfast, no privacy or intimacy. I could recommend it for half the cost, but simply is not worth the 1k a night...