Hotel Terbaik di Fox Glacier dengan Spa

First time staying at The Westhaven Motel. We usually stay down at one of the motels on Cook Flat Road but this time chose to stay in 'town'. Sadly not too many people around Fox Glacier township and a number of businesses have closed. Stayed 2 nights. Room was large. Self catered one night and ate out at the White Pub the next. Did both the classic Lake Matheson walk, and the longer and steeper Lake Gault walk on seperate days (starts off the main Lake Matheson walking track). We would stay again at The Westhaven Motel. Price had reduced than earlier advertised, was very reasonable being $100 pn

There was a heater in the bathroom and the bedding was warm and cozy. Fast and free WI-FI to book your glacier activities for the next day. Stargaze on the shared veranda or watch the trees light up with glow worms on the short Minehaha Trail in the forest next door. Possible sightings of native birds and non-native deer or possum. Restaurants and other businesses were less than 5 min walk from the hotel. Clean laundry facilities. Fox Glacier Village is also closer to Lake Matheson for hiking and breakfast at the cafe.

We stayed here one night. Franz Josef Glacier is a nicer place to stay, but we wanted to be positioned at Fox Glacier so we were better positioned to do the early morning walk to Lake Matheson. Many of the accommodation options in Fox are closed due to COVID, others seemed to me to be ridiculously expensive. This place looked okay on paper. I booked on line. When we arrived our first impression was that it was closed. The entrance looks unkempt and the car park area is full of ****s. However there was a woman behind the reception counter. The first thing she wanted was for me to pay in cash, because their eftpos machine was not working. Needless to say I did not have enough cash - who carries much cash around these days? I asked her if there was an ATM in town, but she did not know. I logged onto their wi-fi to find for myself that there is no ATM in Fox Glacier, the nearest being in Franz Josef. We were not driving back to Franz Josef to get some cash! On reflection, at this point, I should have said we would go elsewhere, but instead I offered to try and get some cash out in the town in conjunction with buying a meal. We were allowed to drop our gear in the room and we drove back into town (hotel is a little distance outside the township). Not many options for a meal, but we found a very decent burger and chips at a cafe. But they could not provide me with the amount of cash I needed for the hotel. Back to the hotel, to be told the eftpos had been fixed - presumably by the guy we saw arriving as we left to go back into town. So we paid for the room and settled in for an early night. We were the only occupants. The owners/operators didn't appear to live on site, so we must have been the only people in the building overnight. There was absolutely no sign of life and it was a bit spooky. They did not provide any phone number to contact anyone if we had a problem. The rooms are nice enough - spacious and comfortable, with everything you need. There was mould on the curtains. The hotel restaurant is of course closed at the moment, thanks to COVID. Reception hours were something like 9am to 7pm. We left in the morning about 7.30am. Not a soul to be seen. We left our room key in the box on the reception counter, unlocked the main door to leave the building and departed. Had to leave the door unlocked. This was not a pleasant experience, but I am sure it would have been better if things had been ”normal”, and COVID was not hurting everything. We would definitely not consider returning to this hotel.

Room was new-ish, in good repair with many appliances, including a microwave, dorm fridge, toaster, and electric tea kettle) and a mini-kitchen (two-burner electric range). Bathroom featured a jacuzzi-style tub we could not use due to a boil water notice from the local water supplier. Two dings kept us from rating higher: the front desk staff only spoke Mandarin Chinese (we checked in via teleconference with someone who I presume is their son or business partner), and the boil water advisory. This motel appears to be aimed mainly at Chinese tour groups, for whom the former, at least, would not normally be a problem. As my party was the only one apparently in the hotel at the time, I read from this that their trade is mainly in summer, when presumably they would be better staffed. Otherwise a fine stay.

The host was welcoming and provided us with helpful information pertaining to local walks, restaurants, etc. The room was of a good size with nice, clean furniture. The King Sized bed was comfortable and there were extra pillows and blankets if needed. A super-efficient heater was a bonus. Plenty of hot water and good pressure. The only (very small) negative was the room slept three people but there was only cutlery for two people - thankfully we didn't have a third person! Excellent covered parking right outside the unit. All in all, we recommend this motel, and would definitely stay here again if in the area. It is just off the main road, so nice and quiet with friendly hosts and easy walking to the local restaurants and the main road for grocery items. (PS - Highly recommend Betsey Jane for dinner - just a few doors down from this motel)

we enjoyed our one night in an executive studio. The bathrooms are very well fitted out with great hot water and good pressure. Room has a fridge and cooking facilities with lovely stainless steel sink. the property is in a quiet location - hear the birds chirping in the morning and there is a lovely view to Mt Cook. Gavin was an amazing host - nothing was too much trouble.

This is a find, had the most friendliest greeting ever, we had a lovely spacious cabin, heating was on when we entered which was nice, it’s in a lovely setting and no noise, the chalet was fully equipped, bed and pillows were so comfy didn’t want to move, our hostess made sure we were ok, and even came and sat with us for a while, her name was Stella, and even came and fussed us when we were leaving. By the way Stella is a loving dog , better than any hotel, definitely recommend the rainforest motel

We stayed upstairs in a queen bed room in the main lodge. The room was large and well appointed. We were very comfortable and enjoyed all of the windows we could open to control the temperature. They offer a guided walk to see some glowworms in the forest nearby. It was a very fun walk, even though it was raining. It was a nice bonus. The facilities are somewhat minimal but we knew that going into it. We enjoyed making ourselves breakfast in the morning and talking to some of our fellow guests around the table. It was a different stay than the other hotels we used on our trip and we found it to be memorable and fun as a result.

Fox Glacier is a tiny town with barely a handful of eateries and a lot of tired and old accommodation so aesthetically, Distinction FG stands out. the rooms are a good size and the overall look is like a 3.5 star motel with basic furniture and decor. The included breakfast is pedestrian: hot food selection, condiments and toast, Cornflakes and Vitabrits with milk and bottled juices. throughout NZ, a lot of the customer service roles seem to be filled by travellers on 1-year working holiday visas so who you get and their level of service and ability is all very patchy. The current crew at Distinction FG seem competent and eager but when we checked in, the front desk was unattended at 3pm. We could hear someone out the back swearing and yelling but no one came forward. then we noticed a small sign mentioning that if the desk is unattended, ring the bell. So we did. and we were met with someone who whipped around the corner to look, without making eye contact with us, yell, ”Where the f*&k is she??!!!??” We assumed ”she” was the person who was supposed to be manning the desk. then a young girl appeared from behind us to check us in. Needless to say, her boss/owner disappeared and left the girl to do the menial check-in task. Of course this may have been a one-off incident and and there may be some explanation but I not sure if it's ever appropriate to use that kind of language when guests are standing in front of you, let alone within ear shot.