Goldfield Suites — Hotel in South Island

Families beware - one of the worst experiences we've had to date. We arrived at Goldfield Suites last night with our toddler, to be told on arrival that they do not accept children and we would have to find alternative accommodation. We felt completely blindsided, left standing there with a screaming toddler. The woman sat in her office and didn't engage with us at all, while the man just walked off and left us standing there. With all accommodation sold out for New Years, we ended up having to drive 3 hours back to Christchurch overnight with our poor kid asleep in the back seat.

I don’t fault these people for their policy, though they really need to be clearer about this, only mentioning their no children rule in the ‘terms and conditions’ page of their website, nowhere at all in the ‘about’ section or anywhere you might reasonably see it. I don’t expect them to change their rules on our behalf, but I would honestly expect a bit more understanding and hospitality no matter who’s at fault. I don’t know, a cup of tea or even a glass of water and an offer of a bit of grass for our toddler to play on while we desperately search for somewhere to stay the night. Instead, we were left standing in their carpark while they clearly wished we would just disappear.

I’m sure Goldfield Suites is a lovely place to stay, it certainly looks that way from the photos. But I can see upon looking at some of the reviews that guests have felt quite unwelcome at times. I feel like this wasn’t the kiwi warmth I’ve come to expect at home or like anything I’ve experienced overseas. I’ve never had anything like this. I wish these people the best and hope they update their websites and show a bit more kindness to weary travelers in the future...

EDITED TO REPLY: I mean, I couldn't have summed up the energy of these people better than the owner has done in replying to this review. I have wished you the best and urged you to state that this property is adults-only clearly on your websites, which I think is both fair and reasonable. In response, you have called me a petulant liar, accused me of deceptively trying to sneak my child into our room (I must have forgotten about this when I brought her up in conversation), accused my partner of being pushy and aggressive which we both know isn't true, you haven't even stopped short of insulting my toddler (by ‘running amok,’ I assume you mean ‘wanting to walk on a ramp,’ which is almost the same thing, I guess).

We clearly have very different interpretations of ‘doing our best to help’ as you simply walked away and left us standing there without a word. There were no other guests waiting for you to attend them. I’ve taken some time to look through your reviews on various websites and this seems to be a pattern of behaviour, where you insult and dismiss your guests when they’ve been displeased with your service. Having traveled extensively and doubtless encountered issues in some interesting settings around the world, this is without a doubt the rudest behavior I have seen and an absolute disgrace to New Zealand hospitality. You have also not issued a refund and seem to be at ease taking our money with one hand while flipping us off with the other. Given how you’ve chosen to respond, I have taken screenshots of what you’ve said and will be taking...

Honestly, I've thought long and hard about posting this review, but I think it needs to be said.

We arrived late to check in (2 hours late), I hold my hands up to that point. But the reason behind this was that in the welcome email there was no timings communicated about check in times and I unfortunately was travelling through areas with little signal so it appears I missed the calls from reception to explain myself.

The reception that we received on arrival was extremely aggressive, the man in question pointed a torch in our eyes and shouted at us asking if we were joking. This tone only changed when he realised that my partner was actually from New Zealand and we weren't tourists from the UK. As soon as he realised she was from Christchurch the tone changed immediately.

I appreciate that we made a mistake and we apologized profusely for it on arrival, but regardless of what happens, you should never be so aggressive to people who are paying to stay at your property.

Customer service is everything. I hope no one else receives the same treatment we did.

EDITED TO RESPOND

You have lied below, I have not confused your property with anywhere else, I have proof that I stayed there and you know full well what happened.

If you scroll through these reviews, you will also find a similar review of someone accusing you of being aggressive on arrival, it seems we weren't the...

We stayed at Goldfield Suites the Summer of 2021 and it was a wonderful experience. The owners greeted us warmly and showed us the grounds. We had a very nice standalone apartment/suite. The rooms were nice and bright and the bathroom was well done.

They had a dinner service in an open pavilion around the suites that we did not partake in, but it smelled great and there was no pressure to be involved.

There is a lovely wood fire hot tub a few meters into the Bush which was the perfect nightcap after a day of travel.

The position a little ways out of Greymouth but was not a hinderance, and added to the overall beauty of the trip. The views of the rolling mountains was quite tranquil.

The price was perfect for the experience.

Overall it felt very personal and comfortable and non pretentious.

I would highly recommend this place for folks who want a relaxing evening away from town life, or a small group who want to have a shared meal experience with...