Lakes Edge Holiday Park Camping Ground — Hotel in South Island

I have camped here on and off over the last 10 - 15 years and have stayed in both tents and caravans here. The camp has undergone significant change over that that time and a lot of money has been invested. Overall, the quality of the stay has improved and continues to do so, but some caveats remain.

Good points: the facilities have improved considerably with more toilets, showers and kitchen facilities. They are generally very clean and warm with heaters in winter. Unisex is gone, that's a good thing. longer shower times (now 10 mins and are free) which is plenty of time, more than enough in my view. power and water continue to be added around the camp so that most sites now have both, very close by. some new units with small spa pools attached have been built this year. Each with an awesome view out to the lake , lovely touch but note they will cost you. the location next to the hot pools, overlooking the lake and town not far away, shows the location is close to perfect. a new cellphone tower this year means users of the One (ex Vodafone) network, now have good reception - this has been terrible in the past. all of these features add significant value to the stay and probably justify the price which tends to be higher than other camps.

Concerns: the ground here is very stoney, sharp stones in fact, large and small. This part of the landscape and can't really be avoided, so despite a LOT of ground development work over the years, the camp remains stoney and getting even strong thick pegs into the ground, can be very challenging. I find the screw-in type pegs work best. Tenters and caravans with awnings, be warned. the emphasis and priority given to catering for camper vans primarily, is concerning. Yes, they no doubt provide the most income for the camp but that has resulted in the creation of numerous stoney gravel parking spots, next to small grassed areas, almost everywhere. These sites are not very suitable for caravans/awnings/tenters. There are some spaces available but they are increasingly limited in number due to the trend of accommodating campervans which limits the traditional kiwi camper considerably. new sites are quite short meaning middle - large size caravans may not fit onto a lof of the new re-developed sites and road space to back them onto sites, can be very tight. people with boats will need to ask for additional space which has been provided to us in the past but if the camp is close to full (and it often is), don't hold your breath.

Summary: I know the camp (and the surrounding area) is continuing to be developed which is great. The camp office is destined to be moving closer to the camp entrance for example and no doubt the owners have other plans in place. Overall, the camp has certainly improved over the years, I just hope the pendulum doesn't swing too far in favour of overseas tourists in campervans, who already receive a great experience at Lakes Edge...

11-12/06/2025

We stayed at a powered site here, but honestly, this campground gave us one of the most disappointing experiences we’ve had in New Zealand.

On the day of check-in, we received an email around noon saying that if we didn’t arrive before 5 PM, we might not be able to check in and wouldn’t receive any refund. We called the campground to clarify, and they simply told us that due to road closures, even if we couldn’t make it, there would be no refund. We expressed that this policy was completely unreasonable — they just kept saying “sorry.” Sorry? You’re charging us for a service we might not even be able to access, and your only response is “sorry”? That doesn’t solve anything. We had just arrived in New Zealand and were still purchasing supplies when we were forced to cut everything short and rush to the campground, hoping the road wouldn’t be closed. Later, they emailed again saying the road had reopened. Luckily, the road wasn’t too bad, but their handling of the situation was unacceptable. If guests are unable to access the campground due to uncontrollable road closures, full charges shouldn’t apply — plain and simple.

On top of that, they told us their dumping point was unavailable and that we would have to drive all the way to Fairlie to empty our tank. So what exactly are we paying for at this powered site? Completely ridiculous.

As for the facilities: the showers are timed, and in freezing Tekapo, there aren’t even any heat lamps inside — honestly, it was painful just to take a shower. The powered site costs $80 per night, and if you want a “front view” facing the lake, they charge an extra $20. But some of those so-called front view sites are partially blocked by trees, so you might end up paying extra for nothing.

Overall, this campground was incredibly disappointing, and I would not recommend...

Avoid This Place – Terrible Experience and Worse Customer Service!

Honestly, this place should be renamed “Highway Edge Holiday Park”, because that’s all it really is: a glorified pit stop on the side of a highway. If you’re looking for a relaxing camping experience, look elsewhere.

Let’s break this down: False Promises – When we booked, we were told multiple times we’d get a grassy site. Yet, when we arrived, as you can see in the first photo, there was no grass at all. Just dirt and rocks. Location Nightmare – They gave us site 306, which is literally right next to the highway. We could hear every single car that passed by all night long. The road was so dry that we could hear people walking to the toilets in the middle of the night. It was a joke. Incompetent Staff – We told them we have tents, yet they shoved us between two campervans. When we asked to move to an area with actual grass, near the other tents, we were told it was “fully booked”. Well, as the last photo clearly shows, that was a flat-out lie. There were three empty sites that stayed empty until we left the next day. So much for full booking.

To the reception ladies who attended us on 24 Jan 2025: A little flexibility and basic customer service would’ve gone a long way, but instead, we got zero empathy or effort to fix anything. You have no idea what customer service means. It wouldn’t kill you to show a bit of common decency and goodwill.

We stayed here with two young kids, and it was an absolute nightmare. The place is a dump. The kitchen looks like something out of a prison.

Do yourself a favor and skip this place. There are so many better options out there where people actually care about providing a decent experience. This was a complete waste of...