Wanaka Springs Lodge — Hotel in South Island

After dawdling through the alpine beauty of Haast Pass, and descending down SH6, passing-by Lake Hawea to Wanaka, we were challenged to find our accommodation.|The lodge is positioned in the south part of the town, off Ardmore St, the waterfront, driving up Helwick St. passed several shops on both sides, crossing two roads Brownston and Upton, to Warren Street, down sharply on the left. We were given a spacious room, with a large king bed, and an outside seating area with views towards Cardrona Resort and Mt Aspiring National Park. There were a couple of areas, the kitchen/dining room and a sitting room/lounge, shared with other residents and a reception manned mid-afternoon until late afternoon/ early evening. Access later was via a secure digital locked door. The arrangements were unusual, but perfectly comfortable and quiet on the edge of the town centre, with restaurants and shops within easy walking down Helwick Street. We had time to swim in the lake on the two days we stayed in Wanaka, both days hot around 30c in mid-afternoon, relieved by plunging into the icy lake wqters. The experience contrasted with the daily cold-water swim our daughter had introduced us to back up in the Bay of Plenty, it was noticeably clearer, not buoyant...

My husband and I concluded our honeymoon in New Zealand in Wanaka, and spent three nights at Wanaka Springs Lodge. John and Glynis were wonderfully hospitable, and great to talk to. The space is very well kept and perfectly relaxing. We were welcomed with a local sparkling wine, which we enjoyed in the property's hot tub (outside, in the gazebo - VERY relaxing). The nightly "happy hour" was a lovely way to talk to other travelers and to John and Glynis, with local beverages and small bites. John and Glynis were very knowledgeable regarding the restaurants and activities in the area - they had great recommendations for where we should go/what we should do, depending on how much of an excursion we were looking for and also depending on what type of food experience we were looking to have. They booked us an incredible dinner at Bistro Gentil, and led us to a winery in the area and to delicious scones on our walk back from the winery. They also recommended this fantastic flight adventure that my husband was very excited about (and it did not disappoint). This was a great spot, and we definitely...

I am giving this 4 stars as the location is great, the garden lovely, and the rooms could be fine, but…this is totally dependent on other guests. One group left all their dirty dishes in the communal kitchen for me to confront for my breakfast the next day. The guests in the room next to ours left their TV on all hours of the day - sort of defeating the purpose of a quiet garden retreat. They had it on until midnight every night and as we are early sleepers, we could not get to sleep before then. When I asked the woman why they had the TV on all the time, she just told me they liked it on when they were in the room, but I noted, you are in the kitchen having dinner and it is on, and she said, yes, they just left it on. When I said it was disturbing our sleep, she just smiled and said they like to stay up late. Needless to say, we got only a few hours of...