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RBres200
New York City, New York

Fabulous Lodge in New Zealand's Marlborough Wine Country

Review of The Marlborough
5.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 20 Jan 2020
We had the pleasure of spending several days at the Lodge near the end of December 2019. The Lodge and the surrounding grounds are beautiful. The restaurant is top notch. The property is well situated -- close to many of the local wineries, and about 25 minutes from Picton. The local star-gazing can be spectacular. Also, most importantly, the manager (Samantha) and all of the staff are super-friendly, gracious, and helpful. Among other things, several weeks before our arrival they helped us via e-mail to arrange several activities which we enjoyed during our stay (kayaking, wine tastings, etc.) The Lodge is not inexpensive. But it is worth it. We would stay there again in a heartbeat.
Date of stay: December 2019
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
5.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
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MarlboroughLodge, Manager at The Marlborough, responded to this review
Responded 22 Jan 2020
Dear RBres200

I have to agree the stargazing out by the fire is pretty special and so glad to hear you enjoyed that and all that we have going on in the Marlborough region.

Always good to hear about your experiences and glad that we could help making your stay special

Look forward to seeing you back this way sometime

Samantha
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The listings of booking offers for each property take into account the compensation paid to us by our partners. Prices shown may be for varying room types. Prices displayed are the lowest available, corresponding to the least expensive room type available, as provided from our partners as of the time of the user’s search.
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Reviewed 20 January 2020

We were booked for only 2 nights at the Lodge and I wish we could have stayed longer. The hotel feels more like a beautiful,elegant country house. It's very tastefully decorated and peaceful. The rooms are gorgeous as are the gardens. The staff we met were lovely and couldn't do enough to help us. The standard of service was without fault. All credit to the owners and the management team as their staff are a real credit to them. It was an absolute pleasure to be pampered for a couple of days!

Date of stay: January 2020
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Thank Gillian L
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MarlboroughLodge, Manager at The Marlborough, responded to this reviewResponded 23 January 2020

Dear Gillian

Thank you for posting this review which I and the team very much appreciate.

Loved having you stay and so happy to hear that you enjoyed our property which as you mention is quite unique

I will be sure to pass on your comments to the team and I agree that the team we have are exceptional

Glad that we could pamper you for a few days along your travels in NZ


Samantha

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 20 January 2020

Continuing our travels around NZ we arrived at the Marlborough Lodge- Wow a impressive entrance indeed!
We were greeted by Samantha the Manager, who was delightful and told us all about the history of the lodge which is just fascinating. We stayed in the Kingfisher room which was beautiful and suited us well with all our luggage!
The only failing part was the shower pressure was not great at all, we had been spoilt by great showers before. We did tell them about the shower but it seems nothing could be done to improve this. The windows in the kingfisher room are a delight, just wish they had a blind we could shut at night over the one opposite the bathroom as made it so bright in the morning. We later met Lyndsey who was a delight as well , we had dinners included in our stay and the restaurant was lovely. The breakfast was a bit sparse of fresh fruit sadly but the dinner was good, the menu changed daily but always seemed to resemble the night before slightly. But all was presented well. But certainly not like at the Matakauri lodge in QueensTown!
But what was special was every evening before dinner they servers canapés and drinks beside the outside fire in the garden which was delightful. They have a spa and bar area which is used if rainy and cold which is also a delight.
We had a wine tour which was super and the driver we had was from the town so well versed in the local history and area.
I had a massage in the spa one day which was lovey while my husband played tennis which they kindly arranged for him.
There are free bicycles for quests to use which is nice.
We had a private wonderful boat trip around the Marlborough sound which was super the boat was amazing and the crew were so lovely. It was a shame the Weather was not great but we enjoyed our trip anyway.
We would recommend the Marlborough Lodge for sure.

Date of stay: January 2020
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Thank SusanB387
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MarlboroughLodge, Manager at The Marlborough, responded to this reviewResponded 23 January 2020

Dear SusanB387

Thank you for taking the time to write your review which we very much appreciate and we are glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us

We will look into the menu items that you mentioned as we are always striving to improve where we can

I hope that the rest of your trip was just as enjoyable

Safe Travels

Samantha

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Reviewed 16 January 2020

Our family group of four had the pleasure of spending two nights at the beautiful Marlborough Lodge just before New Year's. The experience was flawless -- literally, there is not a thing we would ask to change. The Lodge has the air of an elegant old-world country house estate hotel, with gorgeous grounds, a fine and elegant old manor house (though in this case a former convent!), stylish public spaces, luxurious comfortable rooms, and delicious and ample food. But beyond these obvious charms, the key to the Lodge experience is the expert and friendly staff. All were just terrific. Christine put together perfect arrangements during the months leading up to our trip, including transfers to and from Picton, a wineland biking tour, and even accommodation (down the road) and coordination with our extended family who could not get a room here due to the busy season, all with prompt and friendly communication across the (18!) time zones. Flawless! Samantha's gracious greeting and expert management of the whole operation were absolutely top-notch. And Lindsey produced dining experiences that were among the best we have ever had in similar settings in the U.S. and Europe. Thank you, all! We hope to see you all again soon at your beautiful Marlborough Lodge.

Room tip: All are charming and comfortable -- there's not a bad room in the place!
Date of stay: December 2019
    • Value
    • Rooms
    • Service
Thank touringgal
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MarlboroughLodge, Manager at The Marlborough, responded to this reviewResponded 17 January 2020

Dear Touringgal

Thank you very much for your wonderful review we all thoroughly enjoyed having you stay and working through the logistics to ensure that you and the extended family could spend time together and experience as much of Marlborough as you could.

I will pass on your comments to the team as this means a great deal to them

Happy travels and hope to see you back this way sometime

Samanthan

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Reviewed 16 January 2020

Despite having emailed our food sensitivities months in advance, over our entire 5 day stay, the chef was too lazy to provide us with adequate replacements for items in their food service (example, instead of a creamy vegetable soup we were served raw grated cucumber/zucchini in a bowl). Also, we were made very ill following breakfast on Jan 1. My wife had emailed in advance asking for gluten free toast and/or cereal with almond milk as her breakfast. Sadly, the chef wasn't able to provide it until the last morning. How sad is it that a proper chef couldn't be bothered to order what had been asked and paid for, in advance.We couldn't get them to stop serving gluten cookies in our room during turndown service until the last night when we were offered a simple strawberry on a plate (ouch!) as a replacement. One single, small, lonely, solitary, sad strawberry with dirty greens still attached. We are fortunate enough to have traveled the world, and this was by far our worst experience ever. The good news is that all the servers we encountered were amazing! Lindsey, Mikaela, Florian, Paulina, and Stephanie!!! Bottom Line, I think the chef is burnt out and doesn't care, or maybe he is a sous chef and has been thrust into the role of executive chef. If you don't have any food allergies, you might be safe to stay here, but I'm guessing his attitude will spill over into regular food prep and "safe handling will become an issue". For $2,500NZ a night, would you want to stay here?

Date of stay: January 2020
Thank TimW550
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MarlboroughLodge, Manager at The Marlborough, responded to this reviewResponded 17 January 2020

Dear TimW550

It is disappointing that you would write this review after the care and attention that was given to you and your wife and having you both assure myself and the team that all was ok at each meal service as we were very aware of your sensitivities

At the first breakfast when you were taken through the items that had been bought in specially for you, your wife mentioned that she would like to use her own Gluten free bread and cereal rather than what we had bought in as she was unsure as to some of the ingredients and maybe sensitive to them.

All items in our kitchen were handled with great care due to your sensitivities to the extent that the team prepped your food prior to anything other, all utensils, boards, cooking equipment etc are all sterilised prior to use as is normal and that your food was kept completely seperate so that there could be no contamination.

Our Chef team are extremely proud of their food and are very diligent with their cleanliness and kitchen hygiene so to suggest our handling of food is substandard we most strongly disagree

As you continued to eat with us each night of your stay and chose to have an additional lunch with us and my conversations with you I am very perplexed by your review

I also note that you did not mention that on checkout you refused to pay your considerable alcohol bill because you believed that should be offset as you provided your own Gluten free bread !!

If you would like to discuss further I would be very happy to do so.

Please contact me on samantha@themarlboroughlodge.co.nz


Samantha




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Reviewed 13 November 2019

Fabulous luxury lodge set in the middle of Marlborough’s wine Region. Samantha, the manager, is a master administrator and Lindsey oversees the restaurant operation. Food and wine match the 5-star nature of the lodge itself.

Room tip: All rooms have great views.
Date of stay: November 2019
    • Value
    • Rooms
    • Service
Thank Cat_Abbott
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SamanthaTML, Manager at The Marlborough, responded to this reviewResponded 14 November 2019

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience at The Marlborough Lodge. We are thrilled that you enjoyed your stay with us and hope we have the opportunity to host you again in the future. Safe Travels

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