Review: New Zealand Vacation, Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown, Fox Glacier HeliHike

Would not have stayed at  the hotel in Queenstown was below our expections which is the reason for not giving this review 5 stars,  There were two problems with the hotel and the major one was that it charged for continental breakfast without any indication that it was not included (price was not listed in check-in info along with menu and pricing for snacks, bar, and dinner nor was there any signage at entrance to the continental breakfast area.  The charge for breakfast was $19.95 each!  Had we known, we would have preferred McDonalds!  The other problem is that their subtitle service was not available unless reserved as they were using a taxi instead. One night the taxi was supposed to pick us up in town (along with 11 other guests of the hotel) and it did not arrive until 9:50 (and a guest calling the hotel).  The hotel appears to be individually owned units that are managed and rented out. In our first location room, the wifi would not stay connected and they moved us to another unit, nicer and better view and they gave us 24 hours of gratis wifi (normally on 30 minutes or $85.00/week with no daily option). However, that gratis 24 hours stopped working long before the time limit!

TRAVEL COMPANY COMMENT:

Thank you for posting your review we are delighted you enjoyed your time in New Zealand. We apologize that the hotel did not meet your expectations and there was confusion with the breakfast. As per your itinerary only meals specifically stated as included in your package are pre-paid, New Zealand hotels do not operate the same way as many US hotels in that they do not include complimentary breakfast in their rates. We will certainly pass on your feedback to the property and recommend they make it clear upon check in that breakfast is a specific cost which can be added on. The hotel was included in your itinerary to work within your budget and secure availability in Queenstown which was close to being completely sold out in October, for travel in February, when you booked your trip - the hotel is located slightly out of town and the room rate does reflect this. New Zealand continues to be an extremely popular destination where demand is out stripping the supply of hotel rooms and Queenstown is one of the most desired areas in New Zealand. I was pleased to read the hotel moved your room to assist with the Wifi problem and gave you complimentary usage for a limited time - unfortunately New Zealand does not offer Wifi in hotels complimentary, it is catching up slowly to make this a standard inclusion but it is not widespread as yet.

Thanks again for your feedback.