Oaks Queenstown Shores Resort — Hotel in South Island

If I could give zero stars, I would. I came to New Zealand for a peaceful vacation, not to feel like I’m staying in a construction site. Flying all the way here only to be greeted by constant construction noise is absolutely unacceptable. Construction Nightmare The hotel is under construction, and the noise ruins the entire experience. It’s loud and disruptive from the moment you arrive. I came here to relax, not to feel like I’m living in the middle of a construction zone. Why wasn’t this mentioned anywhere during booking? Terrible Parking Situation The parking spaces are tiny and unsafe, yet they still charge for parking. To make matters worse, there’s a sign that says, “park at your own risk.” Combine that with unclear signage, and you have a frustrating and stressful experience just trying to park your car. Check-In Delays Check-in is advertised as 2:00 PM, but our room wasn’t ready until 2:35 PM because they were still cleaning. Another family checking in at the same time was told they had to wait an additional 40 minutes. Waiting this long after traveling is frustrating, especially when the staff doesn’t offer anything—not even water—as an apology. Room Not Ready & Privacy Violations Even after finally getting into our room, it still wasn’t ready. Shockingly, a staff member entered our room without knocking or asking for permission to continue cleaning after we checked in. They were running in and out, completely disregarding our privacy. This was a huge violation and completely unprofessional. Unsafe Connecting Doors The connecting doors between rooms were left unlocked. When we opened what we thought was a closet, it led directly into someone else’s room. This serious safety and privacy breach was terrifying, and I cannot believe a hotel would allow this to happen. eliberate Dishonesty and Manipulative Billing This was the absolute worst part of my stay and what angers me the most. I prepaid for my booking through Booking.com, yet the male front desk staff outright lied and claimed I hadn’t paid. They charged me again and demanded I prove I had already paid. When I came back with proof, the staff casually asked, “Did you book through Booking.com?” This clearly shows they knew exactly what was going on—they’ve likely dealt with this issue before—but they still lied and deliberately charged me again, forcing me to waste my time proving their mistake. Even after acknowledging their error, they refused to refund the credit card processing fees, claiming it wasn’t their responsibility. Why should I pay for their dishonesty and incompetence? This is unacceptable and downright infuriating. Terrible Staff Attitude The front desk staff was rude, dismissive, and unapologetic. The male staff member acted arrogantly throughout the process, showing no concern for the inconvenience they caused.

This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. The noise, the delays, the unprofessional behavior, and the lack of basic hospitality made this stay unbearable. I strongly advise everyone to avoid this hotel. It’s not worth the money, time, or frustration. If you’re coming to New Zealand for a vacation, stay somewhere...

Terrible service and disregard for customers—extremely disappointing!

My family and I stayed at Oaks Queenstown Shores Resort during Christmas (December 21-24) for three nights, spending a total of 2,362.05 NZD. I chose this lakeside hotel and paid more than five times the usual price to ensure a memorable holiday with my family, enjoying beautiful views and excellent service. Unfortunately, the experience was ruined by the hotel’s poor facilities and appalling attitude.

First, my bedroom had no windows, and there was an exhaust fan installed on the ceiling. This fan could not be turned off, was extremely noisy, and certainly not designed for a quiet environment. Worse still, the air it emitted reeked of sewage, making the room uninhabitable due to both the noise and the stench.

Second, the central air conditioning was another major issue. When we woke up around 8 a.m., the room temperature had risen to over 30°C (86°F). It was unbearably hot and uncomfortable. I have photos to prove this. Such an environment is unacceptable, especially when staying at a so-called high-end hotel.

That night, I repeatedly communicated with the hotel staff, but they told me that the fan “could not be turned off” and offered no solutions. It was already midnight, and since my child was asleep, switching rooms was not an option. Left with no choice, I spent the night on the couch, completely ruining my experience. Paying such a premium only to sleep on the couch is beyond infuriating.

What angered me further was the handling of the situation the next day. The staff had promised to escalate the issue to the manager and provide a reasonable explanation, but no one reached out in the morning. I had to find the duty manager myself to explain the problem. The manager’s response was dismissive, merely acknowledging that there had been a “report about an odor” but claiming there was nothing they could do. She then turned away to handle other tasks, showing complete indifference to my concerns.

As a paying customer, I made no unreasonable demands. I only expected the services to match the exorbitant price. Instead, I was met with poor facilities, inadequate service, and a lack of basic respect. This experience made me feel disrespected, ignored, and deeply disappointed.

I strongly urge anyone considering Oaks Queenstown Shores Resort to think twice. This hotel not only has outdated facilities but also offers shockingly poor service and dismissive attitudes toward its customers. If you don’t want to pay a premium to endure such a nightmare, look...

My husband and I were visiting this resort's restaurant in the morning, to have a nice breakfast. We were staying at Oaks Club for 3 nights, with the total of $1200 spent for our room. We came into the restaurant at Oaks Shores, asked for price of the breakfast, which was 25$ per person for the buffet, and carried on with our breakfast. First of all, they didnt have many choices of food which was no big deal, we just needed a quick bite before our bus tour starts. I didnt really like their scrambled eggs, and decided to just eat a banana. They had only cut into pieces bananas which were turning brown. I then politely asked 2 women at the bar (Kaila and Gaby) if I could get a whole banana for myself, and i got a quick no, stating that they come pre cut and they dont have just whole bananas (LOL). I then went back to the table and told my husband. Of crs he thought it was rediculous and he reached out to another server- Lance, and see if he could help. Lance started making his way into the kitchen and Kaila rushed there from the bar saying "I already told her she cant have a whole banana". My husband then was standing by the kitchen and saw chef dicing whole bananas. Kaila topped it off with "if we are gonna give a banana to you, then everyone will start asking for a whole banan(are you seriously saying that????) I then got very frustrated with the whole situation and asked for a manager, which was Gaby, and only after the confrontation, she went into the kitchen, brought out a banana, put in front of me and said "Chef made an expection for you, Happy New Year" I really did not even know how to react...The lack of customer service and rudness of the staff in response to such a simple request to just have a banana when you are paying $25 for you breakfast was unbelievable to me. Its just beyond horrible of what i have ever experienced in a whole time i traveled around the world. They kept saying "those are the rules". I guess they have a chefs rules handbook and that rule can be found under "whole bananas" section LOL I guess at that place "rules" or moods of the staff is more important than customer service and just decent human behaviour. This rediculous story will be told to many of our friends and to the future customers- if you want a decent service and good...