On our arrival at the hotel, just after 3pm, we had at least a half hour wait to be checked in. The receptionist was in another part of the hotel and poked her head in to the reception area just to say that she was busy doing something else but would he with us as soon as she could. We were one of 3 groups waiting to be checked in. I sensed some under staffing issues!

In terms of the room at this hotel, I would say it was just ‘ok’. We were in a room at the back of the hotel, in a detached set of rooms (ie not in main building). Not particularly spacious and a tiny toilet/shower room. Shower was pretty good though. The room was basic & had basic facilities. Double bed was small but comfortable. Single glazing meant we woke up each morning to condensation soaked windows and had to open them up to dry them out. That wasn’t particularly nice! So in terms of the room, it was just ok!

I think my biggest gripe about the hotel was the price of the drinks! We’d been to a pub just up the road where the cost of a pint of beer was about NZD 11 (fair enough) . We returned to the hotel for a drink a short while later and I ordered 2 drinks, one of which was a beer (ale). It was advertised as the same price as the pub so I thought that was ok. I was shocked when I was then presented with a small ‘wine glass’ with beer in it, which amounted to about third of a pint maximum. I was a little too shocked to say anything and thought that the lady serving must have given me the wrong type of glass, surely?!!! Needless to say it was the only drink we bought there during our stay.

On a more positive note, I would like to mention Tyler who was on duty on the morning of our departure. We became aware of a problem we would likely face further on our onward journey. Tyler was really helpful with suggestions to help us resolve the matter and allowed use the hotel phone for a good hour or so (albeit on a freephone number). Her friendliness and understanding about our predicament pushed our score to 3/5. We appreciated what she did even though we’d virtually checked out of the hotel!

A small boutique hotel on the foreshore at Kaikoura! When booking on line one is never really sure about location and comfort. This small hotel has some rooms in the original building and then some rooms built around a courtyard! Our room in the courtyard was small but extremely comfortable! Delicious bed and nice linen. Very quiet and great sleeping which is so important when on the road for two weeks. Attention to detail: excellent! Check in was a little difficult as the internet was playing up and we had a very rude customer jumped the queue which was not dealt with very well, however our accommodation was great!

We stayed in a standard room overlooking a pretty courtyard. The decor is different from what I expected but I enjoyed the design and the thought behind it.
Breakfast was excellent. Staff were really friendly and so helpful .
A charming little hotel and I think a real gem.