Kamana Lakehouse — Hotel in South Island

VERY HONEST REVIEW

8 use to have a more harsh view but now my opinion has changed simply because of the awesome service of the staff at the hotel, however there are still a few things that are a miss in comparison. For me it's easy to separate the awesome service of the accommodating staff from the value that you are getting for the price of the hotel. This is only my opinion obviously take it with a grain of salt.

1.) When trying to find a park at night it was an annoying process, after a good night of drinks and meals you come back to a first in first serve system So your not garunteed to find a park in the parking lot and might be subject to park on the street. To be a 5 star rating you would expect to just show up and park your car with ease. Rather than hunting around for parks hoping to find space. 2.)No option to substitute simple food items on meals for breakfast. For example we requested a simple tomato, however, we were told that they don't do that as an option. I own a Cafe in New Zealand and majority of cafes and other hotels can meet that request simply. With a hefty price tag you're paying here you would expect a simple request like that would be doable. Also when they said they couldn't add the tomato the waiter than proceeded to give options of extra bacon and other items, but not a tomato?? Very odd, another note is, as a New Zealand citizen, and Cafe owner myself, they well and truly overcharge for their added items. 3.) You have to book for an allotment of 1 hr in a spa. My honest opinion is, not long enough to enjoy the view that comes with it an you feel like your on a time crunch because of it, it adds a sense of urgency and kinda makes you feel a little unease coz your keeping track of time. Again it comes back to that price tag versus value pack which feels a little uneven to the customer. Most hotels have a shared spa where you can socialize with others and spend a little more time in a spa without a time crunch which is a very popular aspect of New Zealand culture, I don't know why this is so different. They did explain to me that it use to be a pay to hire basis, and now they've made it a free service to be more accomadating which is generous of them, it's a gripe of mine that I wish the allotment could be more longer but still it is a beatiful experience nevertheless. So each individual can make their own judgement on this point. 4.) The vibe and environment inside of the building is a very neutral stance. In a sense as a New Zealander being in a New Zealand hotel I would expect some sort of culture or even a New Zealand welcome rather. To have a feeling of just neutrality strip's our beautiful countries welcoming and warm culture that makes us different from the world. I would of expected that coming from a hotel with this price point, as many northern island hotels that I have been pays some sort of homage to New Zealands culture in some way, justifying my point of it coming off as a corporate feeling hotel.

Staff was friendly and kind and provided great service. Rooms are what you expect, tidy and modern but small. Location is pretty good as it's close to town, beautiful views but at the price point that we felt was a bit much.

Overall in conclusion it's missing the mark of Value...

Booked Kamana for our honeymoon. Based on the photos of the king room, had us feeling like there was no other option for us to enjoy our honey in luxury.||||To our disappointment, on checking into the room, our view was far from what was advertised and instead, looked out to the car park. Whilst I acknowledge there would of course be rooms with less than ideal views, I wouldn't have picked that at a $500 per night price point, it would be our room.||||The rooms are very well constructed with an abundance of creature comforts & technologies such as smart lights, chrome cast etc. ||||There is something about the rooms which does make them feel like a chain motel room you'd find at a motor inn.||||Overall, happy with the room though disappointed with the views for the price point.||||Breakfast, avoid like the plague. At $45NZD pp, I would have expected a buffet/continental breakfast. Instead, you will find yourself with about 5 options, of which you can choose one.||||We went for the Eggs on toast with a side of bacon which for $45, I was certainly expecting some pretty special eggs.. much to our disappointment, it really was as advertised, a piece of toast, egg and some hard bacon.||||We gave grace initially after thinking perhaps the price point was simply Queenstown pricing however after looking at some cafes/restaurants in the town, we felt our concerns were justified. Breakfast rolls or big breakfasts ranged from $19 - $35. My recommendation would be to avoid the breakfast at all costs. ||||The service of Kāmana lake was fabulous with regard to the front desk staff. They were very attentive & kind.||||Where the issues from a service perspective appears to be at the restaurant/bar area which seems to be understaffed or just generally slow.||||For our breakfast, my wife, a coeliac, advised the staff of her allergies which we felt were heard.||||On arrival of the breakfast meals, the waiter essentially dropped the meals and walked off. My wife had immediate concerns for her meal and we pulled up the waiter who when asked if the meal was gluten free, responded with "oh, I forgot"||||The seriousness of this seems to have been lost on the wait staff.||||Later than evening we went to the bar for a drink and after waiting for an unknown period of time, I ended up just going and ordering the drinks myself in lieu of waiting for the table service. ||||About a further 10 minutes passed before the waiter came back around and asked if we wanted our drinks.||||Lastly, the soak bath. If you are looking for a relaxing & enjoyable time, book your soak bath elsewhere. Whilst Kamana does advise of the ongoing construction, I strongly feel they undersold it with the extent of the disruption||||The soak both glass and entirely frosted now so there is simply no view||||The construction is at eye level to the soak bath so as you're getting dressed/undressed, youre constantly locking eyes with the construction workers||||The noise is beyond comprehension with our soak lasting about 15 minutes ||||We were offered a refund of the breakfast though on reflection, feel this was the...

ABSOLUTELY APPALLING HOSPITALITY! I had always had my heart set on staying at Kamana Lakehouse whenever I finally made it down to Queenstown, and what a huge disappointment it was.

Hotel staff were not the friendliest. Considering we were staying for almost a week in one of their better rooms with the lake view, upon arrival we had no assistance from any staff to get settled in and had to drag our luggage all the way up to our room ourselves. Coming off a flight and staying at a 4 star hotel, you expect decent customer care and hospitality - well one would hope.

There had been a technical glitch with our booking and the receptionist made it extremely difficult when dealing with the matter. So much so, it was passive aggressive interactions through email whilst we were staying.

The hot tub is not worth the money and there is NO PRIVACY! There is no high fence line around the perimeter of the lease line at Kamana and given the far left hot tub, the house next door could clearly see my partner and I. I have attached photos for reference.

During our stay, we tipped the housekeeper $50 one morning in passing as a kind gesture and all of a sudden we had exceptional room service with towels shaped in animals and extra care put into our room - you would think this was the standard regardless when you pay the price you do to stay at Kamana.

When we left, not a single person farewelled us or offered assistance as our Uber for the airport arrived. All in all I was disgusted with the lack of hospitality and professionalism from the team at Kamana.

The Nest Bar and Kitchen is a standout, which is their in house restaurant. We had a superb dinner on our first night. The breakfast is not the greatest and gets very boring and repetitive. For what you pay for their breakfast, I do suggest heading into town and checking one of the many great cafes Queenstown have. Nonetheless, the waiting staff in Nest Bar & Kitchen were amazing. I wish the same level of customer care and elevated service trickled into the hotel staff as it is evident that there is some foundation work in basic hospitality needed there.

Since this trip, I have returned to Queenstown and instead stayed at the Novotel Lakeside. I was a little hesitant at first but it is a quarter of the price we paid with ten times better customer service and hospitality than what we received at Kamana Lakehouse. Not only that, I didn’t realise until our second trip how much time and money we wasted on Ubers. Unless you hire a car, Kamana Lakehouse is nestled up the hill so you will need to Uber into town every time you want to leave as I would not recommend the walk up and down the hill.

I hope the team at Kamana do invest in hospitality and customer training with their hotel staff. The accommodation itself is nice and clean and with the prices they charge for a view you can literally get anywhere else in Queenstown, it is nothing but...