Punga Grove — Hotel in South Island

We stayed 2 nights at Punga Grove in mid March and the only thing which didn't work out for us was the weather! The motel has a lovely rainforest and mountain backdrop, but all we could see was very wet forest from the window and no mountains!!|We were allocated room 5, in the block across the car park from reception and on the 1st floor (the motel accom is in a U shape). This room was at the end of the block so we had windows on 3 sides - the bedroom had a view to the rear, facing towards the mountain (in theory - see photo!). It also had a balcony which faced the car park and reception but we had no chance to use this given the weather. I think it was good to be on the 1st floor rather than ground floor as the room felt light and airy. |The lounge was huge with a single bed on one side as well as two seater sofa and coffee table. The room actually looked rather spartan, as if it needed more furniture, as there was so much space. The kitchenette was at the end by the door. The room was warm which was good, with a nice hot shower. |We ate meals at Alice May (very close) and Blue Ice Philipino restaurant (5 mins walk up the road) - both very decent. There's a 4Square supermarket that's also walkable in the middle of the village for breakfast supplies. As well as the usual sights in the area, we enjoyed a hot soak in the Waiho hot tubs in the rainforest a few minutes walk away - a very nice way to relax after...

El hotel está situado en Franz Joseph Glacier, el pueblo es muy pequeño a si que se tardan menos de 5 min andando a cualquier parte del pueblo. |La habitación en la que nos alojamos era un executive studio. Disponía de una cocinita con vitroceramica, nevera, microondas y fregadero (también tenia menaje de cocina, un tostador, etc.), cuarto de baño con bañera de hidromasaje, cama king size y zona de salón con sofá y sillón y estufa de gas estilo chimenea. Ademas también tiene una pequeña terraza que da a un frondoso bosque, aunque no pudimos utilizarla debido al mal tiempo). |En general me ha parecido muy acojedor aunque hay varias cosas que no me han gustado:|- La primera noche, al meternos en la cama notamos algo duro bajo la sabana bajera y cuando deshicimos la cama a ver que habia, encontramos un destornillador (?)|- El cuarto de baño es bastante frío. Tiene un calefactor de aire para calentarlo, sin embargo, cuando enciendes la luz, se pone en marcha un extractor de aire situado en una de las paredes, junto al techo que da a la calle. Esto hace que por mucho q intentes calentar el baño, nunca se caliente porque el aire caliente (que se va arriba) sale por el extractor (que saca aire mas rápido de lo que el calefactor lo calienta) y el baño sigue muy frío. Ademas el extractor es un hueco en la pared que da directamente a la calle por lo que el baño esta siempre mucho mas frío que el resto de la habitación. Nuestra solución fue ducharnos con la luz apagada para evitar pasar mucho frío. |- El desayuno que ellos llaman "continental" es una caja con un zumo, un brick de leche (UHT), unos biscotes, mermelada y una galleta. Me parece un robo que cobre por eso 10$. Nosotros viendo eso tuvimos que acercarnos al supermercado a comprar pan de molde y leche fresca. No recomiendo contratar el desayuno ya que por mucho menos puedes comprar en el super y hacertelo en la cocina de la habitación. ||El personal del hotel me ha parecido muy amable...

My wife and I spent two nights here and loved the place. The room was very nice and the staff very pleasant and helpful. Franz Josef is a great location for visiting both the glacier (about 12 minutes away by car) and Okarito Lagoon (about 30 minutes away). Our room included continental breakfast, which was left in the minifrig each day. Nothing fancy but did the trip (cereal and milk, yogurt, a cereal bar of some sort, and juice, plus the coffee and tea and cocoa the room was supplied with).||I attach pictures from some of the hikes and other activities we did, including some of the...