Creel House Bed and Breakfast — Hotel in South Island

We were so excited to stay here for three nights while in NZ but unfortunately, due to my own mistake (still not sure how this happened), we booked for the wrong dates! I only realized it when excitedly showing my fiancé the place and noticing the dates were for the week previous.

We assumed it was a mistake because we didn’t receive a call, email, or anything the week prior either confirming our reservation or checking in to see where we were. I called and they told us that they don’t check in with guests but charged us the full price as we were no shows. (They didn’t reach out once despite us being booked for three nights.) I apologized and took accountability for what happened, and I did ask if they would consider refunding us as this was a genuine mistake. Rosemary said she’d think about it and call me later.

I got a call from her husband the next morning and he was so rude. Immediately, he told me I had 7 weeks to tell them of my mistake and since I didn’t and it was my own fault, they were not refunding me. “It’s just business.”

Each time I tried to explain what had happened and that I’m not blaming him, he talked over me. We were already embarrassed and stressed because we had to find last minute accommodations, but he showed no kindness or understanding, giving me no grace. I knew it was a long shot to get a refund, and I’m not mad at that not working out. But I just wanted to share my experience as I felt he was unnecessarily rude and aggressive. It got to the point where I just told him, “I hear you but you don’t want to listen to me, so I’m hanging up.”

Overall, I’m disappointed by the interaction and solely based on that, would not recommend. Kindness goes a long way, and we were not shown that by Rosemary’s husband.

I don’t like leaving reviews like this, but I think this is a fair assessment of what happened and I think it makes sense...

We were warmly greeted by Rosemary upon arrival. We were a party of 3 and had booked the 2 rooms upstairs. The master has a separate bathroom but the views from it are exceptional! The other room has its own ensuite and has 2 single beds. Tea and coffee making facilities are located on the same floor between the 2 rooms. There is a staircase from the car park up to the house and another internal staircase to the top floor. The interior staircase is narrow if, like us, you are touring around the South Island for a couple of weeks with large suitcases. Certainly doable.||||As others have indicated location is perfect for exploring the area and the breakfast is very good too.||||Rosemary and Grant were wonderful hosts, sharing lots of stories/insights about the area and NZ in general.||||Happily stay here again when next we...

We were warmly greeted by Rosemary upon arrival. We were a party of 3 and had booked the 2 rooms upstairs. The master has a separate bathroom but the views from it are exceptional! The other room has its own ensuite and has 2 single beds. Tea and coffee making facilities are located on the same floor between the 2 rooms. There is a staircase from the car park up to the house and another internal staircase to the top floor. The interior staircase is narrow if, like us, you are touring around the South Island for a couple of weeks with large suitcases. Certainly doable.||||As others have indicated location is perfect for exploring the area and the breakfast is very good too.||||Rosemary and Grant were wonderful hosts, sharing lots of stories/insights about the area and NZ in general.||||Happily stay here again when next we...