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Reviews of Wonderland Makarora Lodge

2.5 out of 5
Wonderland Makarora Lodge
5944 Haast Pass-Makarora Road, Makarora

Reviews

8.0

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 55 out of 153 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 54 out of 153 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 29 out of 153 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 10 out of 153 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 5 out of 153 reviews" "

8.2/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

7.4/10

Amenities

7.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Stephen

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely secluded property. Good facilities and amazing views.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Lee

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Desperate need of a make over. Dinning expensive and limited no bar available.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from Noel on 23 Apr,2024
HiI am so sorry that you were a bit dissapointed with your stay. We are busy winding down as we close in winter for 4 months and we have cut down on our menu items to minimise wastage. During wonter we will be embarking on some renorvations. Please come and visit us again next summer.

10/10 Excellent

Christi

Travelled with family, Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Check in wasn't as friendly of an experience as I would have hoped. I'm in the middle of nowhere and have never stayed there before. I kind of felt like I was wasting their time a bit, but the restaurant staff were amazing! Other than that, we absolutely loved the stay and will book again if down this way.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Thomas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Really good location and facilities available.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

6/10 Okay

Bob

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Carolyn

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Judith

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The central cooking hall was nice and convenient. Nice location after a long day of driving
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

6/10 Okay

David, Saffron Walden

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Units a bit tired, no WiFi in units, price ok if have full occupancy but expensive relative to other options if only two people. Cafe prices on high side relative to service / quality but this is a remote area with few alternatives nearby. Staff pleasant.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Caryl

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Easy to find, quiet and convenient.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Jovana

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Paid for outdoor bathtubs that didnt work- water pressure so low that water was cold in the tub. The gas heater also stopped working during Otherwise the facility was quaint, adequate
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Calvin

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Couldn’t breathe
The carpet needed to be changed last century and the room smelled like the inside of a can of bug spray.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Aishwarya

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Teresa

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Worst camp site we have stayed at on the South Island! Cabin needs a deep clean, marks all over the carpet, kitchen a disgrace. Not fit for purpose. Antiquated cold and drafty. Electric blanket did not work. Whole place needs updating as still in the 50’s! Single glass windows and gap above the door! Keep driving!!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Mary

Wonderland Lodge
The A frame was quite dated, but location beautiful. For travelers WiFi was not easily available. Bed very comfortable but on wheels so be careful climbing in. A basic place overall.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Ashley

Travelled with partner
Only complaint with our stay is the booking includes breakfast at 8am, but staff does not show up until at least 8:30am. After waiting to go in for breakfast, we were told they do not serve breakfast. This was inconvenient for our early morning hike and put us behind schedule

8/10 Good

Frederick

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly lodge in great location for nature.
The Lodge is in great location, felt almost like a camp. The room came with a kitchenette which was basically a microwave, and some dishes. It was easier to wash the dishes in the lodge. The Lodge also had more cooking facilities. Wifi in the room was week, but centralized in the lodge if really needed.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Csaba

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Internet in the rooms
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Nick

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Еverything was just right...
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Mark, Hamilton

Travelled with pets, Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Our A frame cabin was perfect for our needs. The cabin was very clean, comfy bed. Private and quiet. Very clean toilet and shower within the cabin. Stunning scenery and location.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Elle

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Cute.
This was a very cute place to stay, it's a little dated but the room had everything we needed. The walls however are very very thin - would have preferred that guests were spread out as other rooms weren't adjoined but were empty. Ours seemed to be the only one attached to the back of another.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Drew

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, amenities
I enjoyed the surroundings and friendliness of everyone working there.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Achini

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Irene

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
The site has a lot of potential but is fairly run down.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Nadja

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

2/10 Terrible

Marcelle

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

8/10 Good

Amanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I liked the classic design of the chalets and the bush setting.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kim

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A real Wonderland
We had a fabulous stay in Makarora. The accommodation is rustic but it has everything you need, is very tidy, warm and functional plus it is in beautiful grounds with lovely views and a great little bush walk. Also we had a fantastic lamb shoulder meal at the hotel restaurant - it was the best of our weeks trip down south - beautifully cooked, wonderful service and extremely well priced. Would highly recommend.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great stay
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from RM on 28 Aug,2023
Thank you for the positive review Mark! We are glad you stayed with us.

10/10 Excellent

Kelly, Auckland

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Such a cute, romantic setting. Loved the outdoor bath tubs, would definitely stay again 😊
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from RM on 28 Aug,2023
Thanks Kelly for the lovely review! You are always welcome, and we are so happy you enjoyed your time here!

10/10 Excellent

Maria Luciana

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from RM on 20 Jul,2023
Thank you Maria for the lovely review! We do hope that you enjoyed your time in Makarora with us.Mucho Gracias!Rachel and the Wonderland Team

6/10 Okay

Meghan

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We stayed at this property specifically because it had a stove top in the cabin but it turned out after booking despite the description and pictures stating there was a stove top to cook, we had to use the lodge kitchen as we only had a small fridge in our room and no kitchen to cook. It turned out okay but wanted to ensure others were aware when booking. The shared lodge for kitchen is nice and was a clean shared space.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Cm on 16 Jul,2023
Thanks for notifying us about the inconsistency in our description. I will have a look into it and sorry it wasn't available to you.

10/10 Excellent

Heidi

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from CM on 16 Jul,2023
Thanks :)

2/10 Terrible

Kelsey

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Staff at front desk was only present from 4pm-7pm to check in. If you try to check in after hours, the staff will post a piece of paper to pinboard with your name and room key. While checking into the hotel, the staff stated they sent me an email to inform me that the restaurant on site was closed. I thought that this was my error due to the inability to check email during the day. I went back later and thoroughly looked through my email, an email was never sent. After driving there to check into the hotel, during the 3 hour check period, we had to turn around and head right back to Wanaka (1 hr drive) because there was no restaurant closeby. One restaurant was located in Haast but at this point, I did not want to risk driving all the way there (1 hr drive) in case they were not open. The room had an attached bathroom with private shower and toilet. The water pressure in the shower was not more than a trickle. It would have been better to shower in the rainstorm. There was no hairdryer either, this was the only hotel in NZ that did not have one. I cannot believe the price of this poor quality facility. Avoid, not sure why any one would even want to camp here? I would recommend to stay in Wanaka for the night and drive to see Lake Hawea, the northern part of Lake Wanaka and the blue pools.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from CM on 20 Jun,2023
Hi Kelsey, Thank you for taking the time to review, My apologies that it did not meet your expectations. I can assure you an email was sent, it was sent on the 30th of May at 1:30 pm. Our reception is open for check-in from 2pm-7pm and the piece of paper with you're name on it is directions to the room you booked and a map of our area. It was also stated in the confirmation email sent on the 27th that our cafe/bar hours where limited but that there was another cafe 5km from us open 9-2pm. We are a rural accomodation with a small number of staff and although we would like to operate 24/7 it isn't possible. We have tried our absolute best to give guests as much information as possible about the area and our limits. I'm sorry that the location of our accomodation didn't suite your preference. Thanks for bringing the shower pressure issue to our notice I will have maintenance look at it. Finally we do have hair dryers available on request. I do appreciate your feedback as it all helps with going towards improving our service for future customers so thank you and all the best in your travels.

8/10 Good

Mike

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from CM on 16 Jul,2023
Thanks

8/10 Good

Tiffany

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
There weren’t any staff when we arrived or checked out, which was awkward. Space was clean and kitchen well equipped. Beds were a little cramped by the a-frame design. Setting is stunning. Good value for the price.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from cm on 6 Jun,2023
Hi Tiffany, we have moved into our winter hours and operate a self-check in/out procedure as we have very minimum staff over the next few months. Apologies we would have been around the camp. :)

10/10 Excellent

aileen

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Star gazing at night. Shared kitchen needs upgrade as many facilities are out of order. Quiet and romantic place Quiet
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from cm on 25 May,2023
Thanks for feedback :)

8/10 Good

yan mei

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location and worth the money.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from cm on 21 May,2023
Thanks so Much.

6/10 Okay

Karen

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Great place with lots of potential. The communal kitchen /dining area needs a big clean and tidy up. Checking of pots and cooking implements. Firewood needs to be provided for wood burner. Loved our chalet. Especially the bed and wooden throw.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from cm on 21 May,2023
Thanks Karen, we are slowly working on it and making improvements. Appreciate the feedback :)

8/10 Good

Victor

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Love the sound of the birds!
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from cm on 21 May,2023
We think its beautiful to. Thanks :)

10/10 Excellent

Grant

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great for a stopover. We stayed in a cabin without a bathroom. Others in our party had cabins with ensuites which would have been a much better option in retrospect as the amenities block was a bit basic and minimal, also tricky to get to at night without a torch. They do have prepared food available in the evening, but we didn't need to check it out. Camp kitchen is roomy and social.
Response from cm on 21 May,2023
Thanks for the feedback, hope you can come back in the future :)

10/10 Excellent

Fay

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The chalet was perfect, warm and dry. The setting was awesome Sadly the bed wasn't so comfy and within the toilet block I used, 1 toilet had a broken seat and the other had no toilet paper
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from cm on 21 May,2023
Thanks for the feedback and notifying us of problems within the camp. :)

8/10 Good

carolyn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from cm on 25 May,2023
Thanks :)

8/10 Good

Sara

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from cm on 25 May,2023
Thanks :)

6/10 Okay

Marek

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The cabin is dated and in a need of refurb, but it is spacious, with extra room for additional guests. The bathroom is small and one wall is the slanted roof of the cabin (watch your head). The kitchenette doesn't have sink, so washing cups/dishes means walking to communal kitchen or fiddling with small sink in the bathroom. All in all a decent place to stay one or a couple of nights, given the choices are limited.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from CM on 31 Mar,2023
Thanks for your feedback :)

4/10 Poor

Pieter

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

8/10 Good

Maree

Travelled with family, Travelled with pets
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
A great place if you have dog... awesome walks and beautiful scenery..
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from cm on 26 Mar,2023
Thanks we are glad you enjoyed staying in the area :)

10/10 Excellent

kerry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great place to stay. Enjoyed the road trip along the lakes to your peaceful cabins.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from CM on 26 Mar,2023
We love the drive to Mak, thanks for your review :)

8/10 Good

William

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from CM on 31 Mar,2023
Thanks :)