Rosewood Matakauri

This review was a long time coming! I had the privilege to spend four nights at the Matakauri Lodge in May. Upon arrival, I was upgraded to a ginormous suite facing Lake Watatipu. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect stay. The room was beyond comfortable. It was so relaxing that I easily would’ve been content hanging out by the window or on the patio all day. Being about 10 minutes outside of town, I liked that the property was full board and included mini bar items. I wish all properties would just tack on a fee and include items to the room rate. Food in the dining room was excellent. You could order ala carte or opt for the tasting menu, which allows you to sample a little bit of most of the menu. I definitely have to praise the F&B team in taking the care to ensure my items were gluten free. The only thing that can be improved is their god-awful coffee, which tasted like jet fuel. Davide, the GM, discussed this. Among all my stays at various properties around the world, very few know how to really do coffee, which is too bad since som much effort is put into wine and alcohol programs. Before you arrive, be sure to contact the concierge and they can arrange all sorts of excursions and transfers for you. There are hiking trails right outside the door of the property, so the active visitor will always have plenty to do. Thank you, Davide and team, for making my stay at the Matakauri Lodge a memorable one.

A very special property in a spectacular location, the Rosewood is private and serene. Except if there's construction going on. We were told the pool and spa area would be closed during our stay, which was fine, but unfortunately we weren't told that the construction noise from said renovations would be audible from our room. After we checked in on the first day of our honeymoon, the noise was so loud in the afternoon that I couldn't quite believe what was happening. We tried to take a relaxing afternoon nap but couldn't due to the loud noises of heavy machinery just metres from our room. I considered cancelling our reservation and going straight to Blanket Bay, but we decided to stick it out - we'd planned lots of local outings and figured we'd be away from our room most days while the construction was going on. Luckily we weren't planning on spending four days holed up in our magnificent suite!! Our suite - a Grand Lakeview - was breathtaking. The view was magnificent, the decor stylish and on point, the bathroom serene, the walk in closet big enough for all our belongings. During the early mornings and evenings everything was perfect. A waitress asked us how our stay was going on our first night, and I mentioned how much construction noise we could hear from our room. She was sympathetic and said it should be quieter towards the end of the week. That was all anyone said - no compensation, no special offer to make up for the poor experience. We had couples massages in our suite the next morning, and even the massage staff commented on the noise. The food was excellent. The service was excellent - staff seemed eager to please, attentive, timely, helpful, someone always appeared just as we were leaving for an activity or arriving back after on outing - but maybe lacking a little personality; it felt a bit corporate. If it weren't for the construction noise - and lack of acknowledgement/compensation - this would be a five star review.