Hotel Hot Springs di Otago, New Zealand

This was genuinely the most satisfying hotel stay of my New Zealand trip. I had emailed them in advance to book and let them know it was my girlfriend's birthday. The customer service team was incredibly patient, corresponding with me via email from the start and even arranging a complimentary soak. On the day, our room not only had a lake view but also a birthday card! The private soak was decent, though there was some ongoing construction outside. The hotel itself is very new, and as soon as you walk in, there's a pleasant, neutral scent. The whole atmosphere felt very comfortable, and it's super close to town! The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and perfect for photos! Loved it!

We chose this hotel because we expected to enjoy its winery/food. Otherwise, we should have stayed in Queenstown with a lot of restaurants and pubs. As we would arrive in the early evening, we put a note for our hope for experiencing their winery and food (or at least finger foods) when we booked the hotel, and received email that they cannot guarantee but will do their best to serve our need. Since then, no email was sent to us. When we arrived at the hotel around 6 pm, no one was in the information desk, so we had to go to the bistro to find out that they left the key in a safe box without any notice or sending us any email with its password. We had to wait a while for the bistro lady to make a phone call to whom it concerns, which was okay. Worse, we heard that their bistro was reserved for a group event so we could not use the facility at all. We had to drive 15 minutes to a nearby town and bought foods from a supermarket. I think the hotel should have notified us of impossibility of using their bistro/food service due to the group event and we have to prepare for our food. As I checked out, I left a note about the issues, and expected they would send me an email to express their sincere apology. Unfortunately nothing happened so far. Although I liked the room as well as the whole place very much, I think Kinross cottage needs professionalism to run their stay program. It could have been much nicer, memorable stay experience.