We loved the hot tubs and pools which were great after a days skiing and the big comfortable king size bed with electric blanket. However we were disappointed with a number of things. The room and bathroom were very small and lacked facilities and comforts expected in a 'Superior' room, we wondered what a Standard room would be like. We booked 2 rooms as a family with teenagers two months before and were very disappointed that the rooms we were given were in different blocks, staff offered to look into this but no one got back to us. The lack of insulation between rooms and entry doors meant you were woken by people coming to the next rooms. We had one small towel each - with a note saying we had to pay if we wanted another towel for use at the pool etc. The front door let in light from the outside door lights all night which you could not cover - there should be at least a curtain. When I went to call on my daughters in their ground floor room I was concerned with the lack of privacy, I could see one daughter in bed and also her getting up to answer the door, though the clear glass surround on the doors glass panel. My daughter's shower also went cold midway through a shower - this was promptly fixed but should not happen. The cups we used one day were not cleaned or the bench wiped. The restaurant food was good, smallish portions, but very expensive more in keeping with a top Auckland venue than the 'family' style restaurant full of families and young children at the resort. The rooms are very spread out, we were in a far block and the signage at night was not good when driving in and walking to the main area at night. This is more like a basic motel with a good hot pool area.

We stayed here for one night on the way from Oamaru to Queenstown. We stayed in a brand new room at the far end of the property. Likes - Great new room - Fantastic pool area - 2 pools and 8 (?) spa pools - Very quiet, didn't here another guest once - Friendly staff at reception - Good food at the restaurant Dislikes - Only one dislike, although it's a biggie! We went to the restaurant for dinner and were promptly seated. There were only 2 other tables occupied (one already eating their mains and the others mains arrived shortly after we did), we ordered and waited. And waited and waited for 45 minutes until our entree's arrived. For a nearly empty restaurant this is terrible and not once were we given an update or an apology for the length of time taken. The food was good when it arrived but they got the bill wrong and had to call our room to tell us later in the evening. Even then when we went to check-out the wrong price (different from both we'd been told) was on the final bill! Overall we liked this property and it definitely has potential but would definitely skip the restaurant and eat in town instead

My husband, 2 children (12 & 9 yrs.), & I stayed one night on 25 March at the Oakridge Resort in Lake Wanaka in a one bedroom unit with king-sized bed and a pull-out couch. The overall facilities were nice and the hotel is only about 3 yrs. old. Our kids really enjoyed their two heated pools which were the main "draw" for us since it was the half way point of our 20-day trip and our kids (Hawaii Water Babies) would need to burn off some energy in a pool. This was successful, but we were not informed that we could obtain towels from the cafe by the pool. There was no sign and it was not obvious. So, we went back to our room to retrieve our shower towels for the pool. Later, at dinner, we were told we could have obtained them from the cafe. The room was the second smallest we experienced in New Zealand (the smallest was at the Windsor Hotel in Christchurch at NZ$180/night) for the most money we paid in any location (NZ$300/night) and the kids had to share the pull-out couch - the only location where the kids didn't get separate beds. The other negative was the non-operational DVD player. My children wanted pizza in the room and to watch one of their DVD movies, but no matter what my husband tried, the player did not work. When we went to report it to the front desk, another guest that was checking out told me not to bother because theirs did not work either. The front desk heard this exchange and chose to ignore the problem instead of finding someone to fix it. Dinner in the hotel's restaurant (tuna steak for me and filet mignon for my husband) was very good and our server, Carola, was excellent! Overall, a nice hotel with heated pools for the kids, but I expect a working DVD and better information at check-in about things like pool towels for the money we paid compared to the less expensive places we stayed on our trip with much more spacious accommodations.

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Check in time is 2pm but only having had a short journey I arrived at 1.45pm. I was allowed to complete the registration formalities but was told that I would have to come back at 2pm to get my room key - how petty and I have never experienced anything like this from a hotel of a similar standing anywhere in the world. I would add that the reception area is very small for the number of rooms they have. I have to say that this hotel was by far the most disappointing of the 8 hotels/motels I stayed in on South Island during my 3 weeks there. I was allocated room 73 - 'a de-luxe resort room' - if that is a de-luxe room then I simply dread to think what a standard room is like. It was certainly the smallest room I have ever seen in a hotel of its standard. Not enough room to swing a cat' or even kitten for that matter! I spent a good few minutes looking for the wardrobe and was told by reception that it was behind a white curtain that housed the ironing board. So the 'wardrobe was the width of the upright legs of an ironing board' and had 3 grotty , cheap metal coathangers. Clothes storage space was non-existent. In the UK, if you called a room like this de-luxe you most likely would be prosecuted under the trade descriptions act! I returned to reception and asked for an upgrade at my expense. To their great credit, the receptionist was very helpful and went to a great deal of trouble and personally showed me a 'studio apartment' This was a great improvement, albeit that it had a very a very nice and immaculate kitchen- marble work surfaces, loads of crockery, table and 4 chairs etc - which I simply didn't need or want. Anyway I willingly agreed to pay a quite reasonable surcharge of NZ$25 a night. I have to say that room 26 was spacious with a 3 seater and 2 seater settee and a patio door that lead out onto a patio area with 2 chairs facing a communal garden and pleasant views towards the mountains. Quite why you would need 2 large settees when I was told the room was for a maximum of 2 I am not sure. However I was not at all impressed with the very poorly designed bathroom coloured grey. Very small and containing the washing machine and dryer. The wash basin was the smallest I have ever seen with only a very small glass shelf above it for toiletries etc. The shelf was so positioned that when having a wash you had to crane your neck so as not to bang your head on it. Unbelievably a window was above the basin and the mirror to the right of it - not ideal when trying to have a shave. No bath - only a shower. Not great plumbing either. There were 2 apartments above me and when they used the facilities I could hear the sound of water rushing down the pipes. On the full day I stayed there, my room hadn't been made up at 3.30pm and when I returned to the room later, only the bed had been made. Bathroom hadn't been touched nor the bins emptied- simply not good enough in a hotel of this perceived standard. I had 2 meals in the very quiet restaurant - both good. Didn't have breakfast but again it was very quiet. There is plenty of parking and mostly you can park outside your apartment although it is gravelled and you can hear every movement. There is a lot of building work going on although not near my room which I suspect was one of the better ones and certainly the newer chalets did not appeal to me at all. The 'resort' is about 2 kms form the lake and a bit more from the town centre so transport is absolutely essential if you are staying here. Were my views of the hotel affected by the weather or the town? I loved Wanaka and its environs and the weather was absolutely perfect. Would I stay here again- not if I could help it. In my view Wanaka needs a nice hotel - Novotel type for the tourust who just wants a nice room as opposed to a motel/ 'resort 'type facility

We stayed in the Oakridge Resort at Lake Wanaka during a 3 week trip of the South Island with a family of four (2 adults & 2 kids) plus the grandparents. We were excited about staying here and were expecting ultimate luxury as this was by far the most expensive place we would be staying in during our trip. We had our own rental vehicle so were not worried about the short drive into the town. When we arrived we were shown to our rooms -one was a one bedroom apartment (for the family of 4) and the other a studio room. The rooms were beautifully decorated and the sofa bed was already made up for the 2 children in the lounge. The apartment had 2 flat screen TVs -one in the lounge and the second in the bedroom which was great for our family in the evening. The bathroom contained a washing machine and drier and a lovely shower. The kitchen in the apartment was well appointed, although we had decided to eat in the restaurants in town. However, the apartment was located at the 'back' of a new block which was located next to a section which is being developed by diggers & bulldozers and they create a lot of dust -so the outdoor furniture had to be wiped down before we could sit on it and the dust just kept blowing over which meant that we weren't really able to sit outside much and enjoy the wonderful mountain views. Thankfully the diggers did not work very early in the morning as we had expected, perhaps due to a morning of rain. We loved the apartment, but were surprised to find that it wasn't serviced on the second day that we were there and we would expect this type service from a resort like this. We did feel that we were placed in the back & beyond as it didn't appear to us at the time that the resort was fully booked - perhaps they like to have their guests spaced out more for privacy reasons. It appeared that our block was still being decorated or had only just opened. We also had a couple of issues with the pool area. The pool area looks fantastic and the spa pools dotted around the main pool are very relaxing and would look fabulous and feel great in the winter time after a ski. However, the pool bottom needs to be marked with white lines as it has steps in the bottom which can catch the swimmer unawares and cause an injury or two (stubbed toes and trips- deadly for the elderly). It appeared that the pool area and coffee kiosk were being attended by teenagers (working the holiday) who mostly stood around flirting and chatting with each other and trying to look busy by occasionally throwing a handful of chlorine into a spa pool (while guests sat in the neighbouring spa pool??) The second day we were there, the pool area was utter chaos with noisy kids and families and what appeared to be visitors from outside the resort as there were many cars in the car park and we hadn't encountered too many guests at the resort at other times. Guests were left to find their own chair or spot on the ground as the attendant didn't really care that there was a large crowd around the pool area and there was no control on the noise levels or the antics of kids around the main pool. It looked as though an area was being developed next to the pool area and we hope that it is for a new pool as the current pool area would not be large enough to accommodate all of the guests. This resort is still under construction and it will be great once finished -at the moment the prices are just too high.