Fox Glacier Lodge — Local services in South Island

I had an extremely disappointing experience with Fox Glacier Lodge due to their unfair business practices and lack of customer service. I made a last-minute booking and contacted them to confirm check-in details, but by a unfortunate circumstance I was unable to check in or use any of their facilities.

Despite this, they charged me in full, violating their own terms and conditions, which clearly state that payment is required upon arrival. When I raised this issue, their responses were dismissive, refusing to acknowledge the inconsistencies in their policies or show any goodwill in resolving the situation. They repeatedly ignored key points in my concerns, instead shifting the blame entirely onto me, and even lying to me stating that my last minute booking would’ve had effect on their business.

What’s worse, their handling of this issue could potentially violate New Zealand’s Fair Trading Act, as they charged me for a service I did not and could not use due to missing check-in information. Rather than offering a reasonable solution, they doubled down on unfair policies and failed to demonstrate any customer service or ethical responsibility.

I strongly advise against booking here. If anything goes wrong, do not expect them to handle it fairly. Instead, they will hide behind rigid policies while disregarding their own terms, leaving you out of pocket. A truly disappointing experience, and I will be taking further steps to ensure others are aware of this as well as reporting to the appropriate authorities, which I suggest anyone with a similar experience should do to ensure that companies like this are meeting their social responsibility and being held accountable for unfair business practices.

I have since reported this business to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), the Commerce Commission of New Zealand, and the Disputes Tribunal for their unlawful charging practices and...

Vicky and Joseph (hopefully I didn't get the names wrongly) were extremely helpful and nice. They were actively responding to my questions even before I arrived. There was a nice simple breakfast provided every morning (in my booking). I understand that you can also top up a small amount to get the breakfast, which I really do encourage you to do so too! They brought me on the glow worm tour even though I was the only person that night, provided a lot of insightful and interesting information about glow worms which made me continue to Google about it after I returned. Joseph also guided me on how and where to take photos! That was a very nice touch to ensure I have some photos and videos for keep sake. Vicky also drove me to the starting point of the lake when I shared that I wanted to walk there myself (an hour walk from the lodge to the starting point). In fact, I shared with them that they could charge a small sum for the glow worm tour, the drive to Lake Matheson and a star glazing tour as I actually paid for a very pricey stat glazing tour which wasn't as informative as what Joseph shared on the glow worm tour! On the morning that I was checking out, Joseph even offered to drive me to the intercity bus stop (though it was just 5 min walk away) as there was light rain. I really appreciate it a lot and think it's a very nice gesture. The room definitely was very nice and comfortable as per the photo. In fact, it was so comfortable that I stayed in for a full day (due to the rain) but had a very good rest since I have been traveling for almost 10 days on the road before reaching here. 10/10 for room, service, breakfast, and all the additional free...

We stayed here with our campervan in one of the sites, so we don’t know what the lodges are like. The sites are flat and even and you get power and water close by, there is also a dump station which is handy. Reception staff were nice on arrival, however we were a bit shocked at the state of the facilities for campers. We stayed in countless campsites since travelling in NZ for six weeks and these were the worst toilet/showers/kitchen we’ve seen. We’ve had cleaner toilets in freedom camping just to give an idea… at the price point of 45 dollars a night we’ve usually had much nicer facilities in other holiday parks. I understand it’s a very wet and rainy area so damp is an issue, but regardless of that the toilets have either no soap, not been cleaned, or have stains on the toilet seats. Damp sometimes can’t be helped but changing a toilet seat doesn’t cost much. The shower looked like they get cleaned once a month if that, there’s layers of mould in the corners and they’re constantly wet and stinky. The kitchen was also pretty dirty, which we know sometimes can be caused by guests but for example the kettle had a layer of grease and dust on it which had probably been there for 2 months. So they really need to re evaluate their cleaning staff or frequency, regardless of how dated a place is, if you pay 45 dollars a night it should be...