Skotel Alpine Resort — Hotel in North Island

I will review the restaurant separately. This is just a review of our stay at the hotel. First, as others have mentioned the view is excellent. The location is ideal. We literally walked out of our room, a few steps into the parking lot and into the trailhead. Unbeatable location! A few tips to enjoy your stay. If the weather is good, having a drink outside during sunset is so lovely, especially if you have one of the rooms that faces the mountains with a little deck or outside spot. So bring your own beverages to toast the day, and then you can go to dinner later and have a drink at the bar later. It’s such a lovely spot to be able to enjoy an afternoon with the cocktail in hand, so that you may not want to leave your room right away, but do consider going down for dinner. Again, reviewed later.

We were there just as ski season was closing, but we were not there for skiing, we were there for hiking, still cold though; it was sort of an odd shoulder season. So they were training some staff. We talked to some of the servers, and they said they were new. Everybody was delightful, but allow a little extra time if you visit on a shoulder season so that if your servers are students that are just hired, please have patience while they find out the answers to your questions.

Don’t miss simply hanging out downstairs or on the big porch outside. We were surprised at how big the porch was that abutted the bar and dining area. It, too, has great views.

The price for breakfast seemed a bit steep for us; if it was open till noon then that would be one thing because we could leisurely go down, but at that price we did not want to get up early and try to rush breakfast. We are late sleepers. Although I know a lot of folks like to get up early and hit the slopes or go hiking, we prefer a little bit of a lie-in after a strenuous day before. Would be lovely if breakfast was open later, but understand that without a big crowd that is not sustainable.

If you want to sit out on your deck or sit outside, the main bar area has cozy blankets that you can borrow. And a variety of nice colors. So wrap a blanket around you and go sit outside and enjoy your drink, even if it’s a little chilly.

Overall, you really can’t beat this hotel room for the price. It was not luxurious, but it was comfortable and cozy and had everything that we needed. Plus, the view and location really make this a four star experience. There were some areas that seemed a little dated, like the public ladies room was a little dated, and the hallway carpets, but certainly all still quite functional.

Also, I’ve never understood why hotels and inns charge to use a hot tub. We have a hot tub and have had one for years and we stay in lots of places with hot tubs and it’s not that big of a deal to apply chemicals. It would be nice if it was free but that you signed up for a slot and were only allowed a certain amount of time at your slot. But charging for it doesn’t make any sense, because there’s no real added expense to having people sit in the hot tub. That’s always a pet peeve of mine.

My husband loved this hotel and thought it was one of the favorites on our stay.

We will review our dining...

I will review the restaurant separately. This is just a review of our stay at the hotel. First, as others have mentioned the view is excellent. The location is ideal. We literally walked out of our room, a few steps into the parking lot and into the trailhead. Unbeatable location!|A few tips to enjoy your stay.|1. If the weather is good, having a drink outside during sunset is so lovely, especially if you have one of the rooms that faces the mountains with a little deck or outside spot. So bring your own beverages to toast the day, and then you can go to dinner later and have a drink at the bar later. It’s such a lovely spot to be able to enjoy an afternoon with the cocktail in hand, so that you may not want to leave your room right away, but do consider going down for dinner. Again, reviewed later.||2. We were there just as ski season was closing, but we were not there for skiing, we were there for hiking, still cold though; it was sort of an odd shoulder season. So they were training some staff. We talked to some of the servers, and they said they were new. Everybody was delightful, but allow a little extra time if you visit on a shoulder season so that if your servers are students that are just hired, please have patience while they find out the answers to your questions.||3. Don’t miss simply hanging out downstairs or on the big porch outside. We were surprised at how big the porch was that abutted the bar and dining area. It, too, has great views.||4. The price for breakfast seemed a bit steep for us; if it was open till noon then that would be one thing because we could leisurely go down, but at that price we did not want to get up early and try to rush breakfast. We are late sleepers. Although I know a lot of folks like to get up early and hit the slopes or go hiking, we prefer a little bit of a lie-in after a strenuous day before. Would be lovely if breakfast was open later, but understand that without a big crowd that is not sustainable.||5. If you want to sit out on your deck or sit outside, the main bar area has cozy blankets that you can borrow. And a variety of nice colors. So wrap a blanket around you and go sit outside and enjoy your drink, even if it’s a little chilly.||Overall, you really can’t beat this hotel room for the price. It was not luxurious, but it was comfortable and cozy and had everything that we needed. Plus, the view and location really make this a four star experience. There were some areas that seemed a little dated, like the public ladies room was a little dated, and the hallway carpets, but certainly all still quite functional.||Also, I’ve never understood why hotels and inns charge to use a hot tub. We have a hot tub and have had one for years and we stay in lots of places with hot tubs and it’s not that big of a deal to apply chemicals. It would be nice if it was free but that you signed up for a slot and were only allowed a certain amount of time at your slot. But charging for it doesn’t make any sense, because there’s no real added expense to having people sit in the hot tub. That’s always a pet peeve of mine.||My husband loved this hotel and thought it was one of the favorites on our stay.||We will review our dining...

Edit: wow I absolutely cannot believe the response from the Skotel owner. I sent them proof that I had attempted to contact them 5 times and got onto Wotif to chase them. To quote the email received from Wotif “ We apologize for the inconvenience caused that prompted you to contact us. This is not the level of service we expect our suppliers to provide our customers and it is never our intention to have dissatisfied customers”

I have absolutely no problems being blocked by this hotel, nor do I have any issues with never staying there again.

Very happy to share our email trail.

Recently booked through Wotif after hours. Had planned on staying just out of Ohakune with a group of friends prior to starting the Northern Circuit. Three of us ended up getting stuck in terrible traffic and realised we were going to end up arriving much than expected so booked a late minute accomodation through Wotif. I took charge of the bookings as familiar with the area and have stayed ant Skotel before. Immediately after booking I realised on their website it stated the reception closes at 8pm and I attempted to contact the reception (5 times from 8.20pm) to confirm the booking. This included trying to connect to the managers phone but had no luck. Knowing we weren’t going to be in whakapapa until after 10.30pm I contacted Wotif, attempted to find an alternative contact number and then ended up booking at Pipers as they answered the phone.

Despite Wotif's efforts to secure a refund, Skotel refused to issue one, even though Wotif reached out to them promptly. I also received a generic reservation email from Wotif, but nothing from Skotel with my name on it, so I had no way to confirm the booking directly with them. In response to the refund request Karen from Skotel suggested I should have driven to Skotel stating “The extra 5 or 10 minutes to drive to Skotel to ascertain that the booking had indeed come through would have been helpful” But given the late hour of our arrival (after 10.30pm) and no obvious confirmation or way of contacting Skotel I wasn’t willing to take that risk.

I explained that I’ve stayed at Skotel multiple times before, which is why I chose it for this trip, but Skotel responded unsurprisingly by saying they didn’t have a record of my previous stays. I’ve been skiing at Whakapapa since I was 6 with many different family and friends groups. Generally I don’t do the bookings, hence them not being in my name, would you like me to send you picture proof?

Skotel attempted to state they were at 100% occupancy, yet rooms were still showing available and anecdotally one group on the walk stated otherwise

In the end, the room was never used, and I ended up double-paying for accommodation. I understand businesses in the area are struggling, especially outside the peak season, but it’s disappointing that Skotel chose to keep the payment for a room that was never used. This one night’s fee is far less valuable than the future business I won’t be giving them, and I certainly won’t be recommending Skotel for any...