Lakeview Lodge, Karapiro — Hotel in North Island

Review for Lakeview Lodge, Karapiro, New Zealand

The location of Lakeview Lodge is undeniably stunning, with breathtaking views over the picturesque Karapiro Lake. The venue itself is clean, and the garden is well-maintained, offering a tranquil setting for a getaway. Unfortunately, the positive aspects of the property are overshadowed by some significant issues that impacted our experience.

Firstly, the advertised "4 king beds" are misleading. In reality, these are two single beds pushed together to form what is meant to resemble a king-sized bed. This was particularly disappointing, especially given the high price point we paid, under the assumption that we were getting proper king-sized beds for a more luxurious experience.

While the owner, Helen, appeared friendly at first, we quickly felt uncomfortable with her level of intrusion. For instance, she attempted to enter our accommodation to "clean" already clean showers and wanted to change the bed linen mid-stay, something that should have been done either before our arrival or after we left, not during our visit. She wanted to change the winter doonas to summer sheets. This felt like an unnecessary and unwelcome invasion of our space.

The situation escalated when, one evening around 10pm, we noticed Helen watching us from her office window while we were enjoying some quiet family time on the property. After waving to her, she quickly appeared at our door asking if we needed anything, while trying to peer inside. This felt like a major invasion of privacy and left all of us feeling uneasy and unwelcome, which completely disrupted what was supposed to be a relaxing stay.

The driveway leading up to the property was very steep and unsafe. During our stay the owners had there workers place gravel along the driveway which wasn't appropriately compacted and rolled in place. Everytime we drove to and from the property the gravel material was getting ripped up which made it difficult to get traction whilst driving up and down the steep slope with a big drop on one side of the driveway.

For the whole time we were there, the owners were on the property keeping an eye on us. The owners were burning off on the property, which had an awful rubbish smell to it which made going outside unpleasant.

Every second day, a gardener would walk into our property to pick veges that hadn't even grown and to blow the ground with his leaf blower for the 2 leaves that were present.

The owner Helen, thought she had the right to come into the property when she thought no one was home. Never have we ever had people come in without our permission on any other Air BnB we have stayed out over the years.

In summary, while the location and setting of Lakeview Lodge have much to offer, the lack of transparency in advertising and the owners' invasive behavior left us disappointed and uncomfortable. For the excessive price paid, we expected a more respectful and professional experience. I’m afraid I can't recommend this place to others based on...

Review for Lakeview Lodge, Karapiro, New Zealand||The location of Lakeview Lodge is undeniably stunning, with breathtaking views over the picturesque Karapiro Lake. The venue itself is clean, and the garden is well-maintained, offering a tranquil setting for a getaway. Unfortunately, the positive aspects of the property are overshadowed by some significant issues that impacted our experience.||Firstly, the advertised "4 king beds" are misleading. In reality, these are two single beds pushed together to form what is meant to resemble a king-sized bed. This was particularly disappointing, especially given the high price point we paid, under the assumption that we were getting proper king-sized beds for a more luxurious experience.||While the owner, Helen, appeared friendly at first, we quickly felt uncomfortable with her level of intrusion. For instance, she attempted to enter our accommodation to "clean" already clean showers and wanted to change the bed linen mid-stay, something that should have been done either before our arrival or after we left, not during our visit. This felt like an unnecessary and unwelcome invasion of our space.||The situation escalated when, one evening around 10pm, we noticed Helen watching us from her office window while we were enjoying some quiet family time on the property. After waving to her, she quickly appeared at our door asking if we needed anything, while trying to peer inside. This felt like a major invasion of privacy and left all of us feeling uneasy and unwelcome, which completely disrupted what was supposed to be a relaxing stay.||The driveway leading up to the property was very steep and unsafe. During our stay the owners had there workers place gravel along the driveway which wasn't appropriately compacted and rolled in place. Everytime we drove to and from the property the gravel material was getting ripped up which made it difficult to get traction whilst driving up and down the steep slope with a big drop on one side of the driveway.||For the whole time we were there, the owners were on the property keeping an eye on us. The owners were burning off on the property, which had an awful rubbish smell to it which made going outside unpleasant.||Every second day, a gardener would walk into our property to pick veges that hadn't even grown and to blow the ground with his leaf blower for the 2 leaves that were present.||The owner Helen, thought she had the right to come into the property when she thought no one was home. Never have we ever had people come in without our permission on any other Air BnB we have stayed out over the years.||In summary, while the location and setting of Lakeview Lodge have much to offer, the lack of transparency in advertising and the owners' invasive behavior left us disappointed and uncomfortable. For the price paid, we expected a more respectful and professional experience. I’m afraid I can't recommend this place to others based on...

The accommodation itself was amazing, beautiful rooms and view.

Our experience with the owner did put a damper on the stay. I had contacted previously enquiring about any additional costs for more than 22 guests as we possibly had more guests staying. I did not confirm anything as it turned out we would have 21 people staying. On the day of check in we had people arrive at different times, my dad checked in with the majority of my family however when my friend arrived later she was informed by the owner that she would need to pay an additional $100. My friend called me and I spoke with the owner who told me quite rudely that she had taken a bond from my dad and this would not be paid back “if she finds out more than 22 guests are staying” I informed her multiple times that there is less than 22 guests as she would not let this point go and it felt like she did not believe me. She could have approached this differently and clarified with us the number of guests instead of assuming and asking for money from my friend who knew nothing about this.

My dad and I went and talked to her as we felt there may be a language barrier. This interaction left me feeling worse as she asked invasive questions about exactly what we were doing as I told her that some more family would be coming the next day but only for photos for my wedding and we would be leaving for the venue afterwards. She asked if we would have food and how no one can walk around with food or have it in the bedrooms. She also said that if anyone has had too much to drink they should throw up in the bathroom and not in the beds and that the bond would not be paid back if there is a mess. She did not say this once but multiple times as if we did not understand what she was saying when we assured her we understood. I felt like she thought we would not be respectful however we had not given any indication to her that we would be anything otherwise as we had just checked in recently.

On the morning of checkout there was a contractor washing the windows with a power washer and the owner stood outside the accommodation whilst we were packing up. I felt the contractor could have come after checkout which was 10am as we still were using the accommodation and having water misted over us whilst packing up the cars is not very nice even on a hot day. We were also not able to use a portion of the deck due to heavy water being sprayed there. Having the owner watching us pack up and kind of being in the way was also unnecessary and felt like she was waiting to catch us doing something wrong.

We did not break any rules and left the property in good condition. No one left a mess in the bedrooms and I felt like the assumption that we would be disrespectful left a bad taste on what would have been a nice stay at a beautiful accommodation.

This whole situation could have been handled in a better way as the owner made us feel at every step as if we were the ones...