My husband, baby and I stayed at Solitaire Lodge last month, and had a wonderful time. I've just read the other posting and can't really understand the negative comments made, as we found Solitaire Lodge to be exactly as we had hoped - a beautiful quiet getaway that was in such a special spot with so much natural beauty. Our suite (the Miller suite) was really nice. It had fantastic views over the lagoon, and we found it to have plenty of room for our baby as well.The staff were friendly and helpful - always going out of their way to ensure we had a pleasant stay (eg organising a babysitter for us so we could enjoy a quality dinner together and cleaning our car). We loved the artwork in the Lodge and room - the Kiwi painting near the dining table is particularly outstanding. So too is the terraces painting. The food and wine were really good too and gave us a great taste of the NZ produce. The chef even prepared a special meal for our baby! (He loved it - I've never been able to replicate anything like it!) If you go to Solitaire, be sure to go for a walk down to the jetty, and then around the penisular. Even though it was drizzling when we walked around, it really was spectacular. And the swans on the lake are really tame (we got some great pictures within a metre of them). We would really recommend Solitaire Lodge to anyone considering a great relaxing getaway in such a special place. Enjoy!

I was not going to write a review of this property until I read what has already been written. I think that the other reviewers might lead you away from a special experience. I must tell you that the lodge and service that my family of 5 experienced was completely different. First of all, if I recall, there are only approximately 10 rooms. I am not sure what the other reviewer was talking about when he stated that this property is large and not intimate. We too stayed in the Tarawara Suite. It was not spectacular from a decor point of view but I am sure that was by design. The emphasis is on its sense of place. As to the comment about cheap landscape paintings on the wall, I do recall in a painting of the lake in the entry done by Patrick Hughes - Mr. Hughes is a hugely accomplished painter who has paintings in major museums and private collections worldwide. I was actually quite surprised and pleased to see what Mr. Hughes did with the spectacular view from the veranda of this beautiful suite. We were there in the winter months. The staff was fantastic. They took care of all of our needs but knew how not to be effusive. They adored my children. The food was great. We discovered wonderful NZ wines at the lodge that were pared beautifully with local fresh produce. The lodge has its own dock on the lake and the lodge offered up its luxury pontoon boat to my family for a day on the lake. It is a gorgeous lake! They also took the liberty to have a floatplane waiting at the dock to take my family on an exhilarating tour of Rotorua and the unique geology that prevails in this part of NZ. There is so much to do with kids from the Agridome to the land luge to the Kiwi Encounter. All within a short drive. This was the first SLH (Small Luxury Hotel's of World) property we stayed in. The Solitare experience motivated us to stay in SLH properties in Ireland and Italy. Each has been unique and has reinforced our desire to avoid the hyped chain hotels and find the unique and intimate stays when we travel. We have been blessed to have traveled on 4 continents with our children. When we began to plan our next adventure we asked our children of all the places we have visited so far, what was the most special - the answer was "Solitare Lodge'" Cheers from the road - TFRW

We stayed in the Terewera Suite for 2 nights. The room had great view of the lake but the lake was not itself very impressive. The room was comfortable but design not special and the walls were adored by pedestrian landscape paintings. Dinners on both nights were nearly not edible - the meats were of such inferior quality they were either tasteless or so tough they cannot be cut with a normal knife. We paid US$900 per person per night. It seems very petty even at this rate, they were charging us for non-alcoholic mini bar drinks. Some of the staff were quite nice but the management overall lacked warm and hospitality. Stay away and save your money to spend it on something more worthwhile. I am told the hotel just changed owners in Feb 2007. Perhaps it was once a nice hotel, but surely no more!!