Fairlie Holiday Park — Local services in South Island

I did not have an enjoyable night and did not sleep very well at all.||With the bed being against the wall with the window above, I found it very draughty as I could feel the coldness coming down from the window and under the curtain onto my face.||The heater which I would have kept on all night (as it was so cold in the room) if it wasn’t for a constant clicking sound. When the temperature dropped the heater kicked back in, turned itself on then it would make the same sound when the temperature had been reached and turned itself off again which was very annoying and kept me awake. I have experienced these types of heaters before and I understand that they are on a timer and it is probably a safety thing to have these types of heaters that will not overheat, but they really are next to useless and barely took the chill off the room.||The nice crisp white sheets which are standard in accommodation places were very uncomfortable to sleep in and I could feel the cool air between the sheets and it made sleeping again almost impossible. If I moved, I could feel a new spot of coldness.||I went into the TV room early evening to watch a program but again the same type of heater was in there and it was just too cold to stay in there plus the furniture was absolutely disgusting. It looked filthy, stained and there was no way I was going to sit on it. Generally, the TV room looked very tired and needed a good clean out and spruce up.||The only decent heat pump was in the kitchen which was where I stayed until about 10pm until I reluctantly went to the cabin to go to bed. I was not looking forward to that.||I paid $90 to stay in what was basically a freezer!||Being concrete block doesn’t help either with there being no insulation in the walls. I am not a prissy type of person and have roughed it many times over the years and even at 63 I am not that precious that I expect the world but this was not acceptable for this time of year. Remarkably it was about 11 degrees outside that night and was actually warmer outside than in the cabin. I do not mind sharing the ablutions or the kitchen facilities and am quite happy to stay in a basic cabin but this was almost unbearable and I did consider packing up and leaving or even sleeping in my car.||I think anyone who stays in any accommodation has a right to a decent type of heating in a room, especially at this time of year, even in a cabin without additional facilities.||A while ago a read an article about being the owner/manager of an accommodation place and the writer said that he felt every owner/manager should stay at least a night in each of the various types of accommodation they offer to see things from a customer’s point of view and thus see the positives and/or negatives so they can see what is working and what they need to improve on. I challenge the owner to do that, I do not think they would enjoy it.||I was grateful to be given a towel and appreciated that very much, I did intend to stay in a self-contained unit so had not packed one.||I feel it is important for people to know what they can expect on a cold night in a cabin at the Fairlie...

Sorry for the novel, but worth read It if you are heading to Fairlie in the South Island||||So we booked into the FAIRLIE HOLIDAY PARK, SOUTH ISLAND via email, to stay 2 nights (Tues, Weds) arrived at the site around 1pm Tuesday, no one around and facilities all locked. There was notice on the office door to say they would be back at 4pm and just to find a park and park up. So we did. ||||Come 4pm went to pay for our 2 nights, asked about the facilities being locked and was told "it's just while we are not here to stop freedom campers using showers and laundry etc" didn't think much of it, paid for our two days. ||||After a rough night and not much sleep, we woke up late and went to have a shower but tbey were all locked up. As was the laundry, toilets and showers. This was at 10.40am. Again, no one in the office, the same note on the door saying they would be back at 4pm. Called the number from their website asked about the showers, etc being locked and was told it was because of Covid. (Keep in mind we are only in level 2 and nothing else has been closed down). When questioned about the day before, she said that was Covid as well (This was a day before the Covid announcement) when questioned further she told me they had to be locked between 11-3 because of Covid. When I tried to ask more questions about how we do our laundry or shower and use toilets, she said, there was plenty of time to do that this morning and "arent you self contained" then she hung up.||||Needless to say, we decided to leave but when I called back to let them know and to request a refund for the second night, I was told that they always lock their facilities between 11-3, however at the time this wasn't on their website or Facebook page, it wasn't part of the email and no signs around the camp to tell us. The man I spoke to he might come down after he had lunch and said " you should have a had a shower his morning when they were open" I ended the conversation there.||||||About 10 mins later he turned up with a piece of paper stating they close between 11-3 and said it was on the NZMCA website. We never booked the site via NZMCA, we wanted to stay in Fairlie and found the camp ground through their own website. The conversation ended with him again telling us we should have showered and done the laundry before 11am, and why didn't we just use the wheelchair access shower. (A sit down shower, with the shower head not even reaching chest height ...and I'm only 5ft 8). It all ended with him telling us "you lot only pay $20" so we told him to forget any refund and that we were leaving. To his reply which was "good" (so we left, as did another 2 travellers who felt the same as we did.||||So the moral of the story is if you're happy having no access to what you pay for between about 10.30am - 4pm, are all good why being belittled and lied to and don't have a problem with appaling customer service then the FAIRLIE HOLIDAY PARK, SOUTH ISLAND is the...

I don't usually write reviews but the Fairlie Holiday Park is a run down joke with a rude owner and an impossible cancellation policy.|We were trying to take our boys on a budget ski holiday if the weather played nice for a few days. Booked Sunday to Thursday (4 nights) then, due to the Parks 48 hours cancellation policy of full payment, nervously started following the forecast. It looked good Sun-Weds so we arrived intending to pay for the first 3 nights then possibly cancel the 4th on the Monday (ensuring 48 hours notice).|On arrival the manager had charged our credit card in full for the 4 nights, including $9 of fees, 48 HOURS PRIOR TO OUR ARRIVAL. I told her I had no intention of paying by credit card due to the fees charged and could she please refund my card in full so I could pay my chosen way. We were told no, and to add further insult, she suggested she would then be out of pocket and this was not her problem!!!|We then asked to cancel the 4th night which she refused, explaining I did not understand cancellation policies and that the 48 hrs notice starts from the beginning of the booking....ludicrous!!!|So we stayed...because she essentially took our money anyway, and if we'd left she'd have taken our money, then someone else's as well.||They do not care about customer experience at all. The rooms have an ill equipped heater and squeaky bunks. Communal spaces are dirty-vents in kitchen and bathroom are thick with black scunge and all spaces need a deep clean. TV room is filthy, small and contains a heater that doesn't work. Shower room has dripping walls due to a lack of ventilation.|Our son got locked in the shower room as the lock mechanism had corroded. He was in there from 6am to 7 am. Needing a screwdriver, we called the Park emergency number 3 times, no response. In the end a neighbour heard us and came to the rescue. |The heat pump in the kitchen stopped working for 2 days and nights. This is the only warmish space you can go but gets understandably busy.|SKIING WAS AWESOME |Pay more and stay...