Awaroa Lodge

Beautiful tranquil location. Very nice staff who were flexible and willing. There was a lack of options for vegetarians however, meaning we are the same thing for dinner 3 nights in a row and had the same packed lunch 3 days in a row. A lot of things not available due to being the end of the season.

Stayed two nights here during our honeymoon. It is a truly incredible setting, accessible only by water, then a short walk. Staff at the lodge transport guests luggage from the beach using a quad bike/beach buggy. We checked in with a lovely English girl at reception, whose name we completely forgot to ask! She was very personable and knowledgeable on the area, providing recommendations and guidance on what we could do during our stay there. Including feeding the eels in the wetlands, seeing the glowworms and the local walking/hiking options. We stayed in a superior suite. The room itself overlooked the wetlands and surrounding hills, it had a large decked balcony which was very tranquil. The restaurant has a good number of beers and wines on option and the gourmet food was nicely presented and tasted delicious, and there was a good variety so we were both able to try different dishes each night, this also applied to breakfast and lunch. Unfortunately whilst we were there due to the season, the outdoor pizzeria was closed.

Great place to stay. Young receptionist helped us a lot with our lost luggage transport. Dinner was delicious and the hikers lunch was amazing. Friendly staff up for a chat and did everything to make our experience rememberable Beautiful beach out the front of the lodge.

The most depressing experience during our entire one month New Zealand trip. Staff was noisy and blunt, the place attracts loads of day-hikers and backpackers and has zero atmosphere. The rooms are outdated, tired, and poorly maintained (and not even cleaned properly). Don't bother booking a suite, when checking in we were told there are no suites, just rooms (and if you don't like it go talk to your agent). Our experience was so poor that we left after the first night. There must be better ways to visit Abel Tasman National Park. Life is too short to stay in places like this.

We had the most wonderful time visiting the lodge towards the end of our trek. We were kindly allowed to check in early as the room was ready, which was really appreciated. We ate lunch, dinner and breakfast at the lodge, all meals were delightful and the staff were really friendly. We even believe that our evening meal was some of the best food we had on our whole trip, so thank you! This is a gem of a place, in a secluded and magical location. We would not hesitate to recommend.

Amazing night at the lodge. Staff were amazing. Food was great. Comfortable bed.

We spent the day at Awaroa and visited the Lodge for Lunch. They need to pick up their game. Such a jewel this Lodge is for Nz but really when the food is second rate you have to wonder. Admittedly the Meze platter delivered was as described, but really! No effort has been put into presentation or product. This is a top Tourist destination. The chips were on the verge of being burnt. Dry and unappealing. We decided it wasn’t worth ordering lunch. I feel embarrassed that we in Nz can’t cater better for our Tourists. Very disappointing. Don’t visit for the food.

Our stay was disappointing. We are locals who have stayed in many places around the world and NZ in varying levels of accommodation and Awaroa Lodge is definitely not good value, even allowing for its isolated setting. Neither the service, the room nor the restaurant met our expectations of 4-star accommodation. The location is fantastic and it’s a real shame that poor management lets down a place with such potential. We paid $539 a night for a room that was only just ok. For a start, it is built over a swamp so that even opening the door just a fraction left it filled with mosquitoes, and there was nothing in the room to repel them. Two windows have screens but you can’t step out onto the balcony without letting the insects in. As well, the fridge wasn’t working until we called the maintenance man, the shower pressure was poor, and the shower drained so badly that it flooded the bathroom. The shower wasn’t even clean. The room wasn’t serviced for the 3 days we were there, which we were told was due to Covid. That should have been communicated to us before booking, with a commensurate reduction in price. There were none of the things you might expect of 4-star accommodation - no beach towels, robes, shampoo, conditioner, or even body wash. The restaurant service was a version of Fawlty Towers. We were brought a knife and fork to eat our Granola with at breakfast, and at dinner one meal didn’t arrive until we had finished the rest. Cutlery and glasses were mixed up, many different staff members attended our table (and there were plenty of empty tables) but none of them seemed to know what the others were doing. The food was average to terrible. One side dish (fried eggplant) was inedible and the ‘fresh garden salad’ consisted of a bowl of just one type of lettuce and sliced gherkins. The breakfast menu was limited and disappointing, the food average. We had elected to include breakfast when we booked our room, assuming it would be a buffet with plenty of options, but only once we sat down for breakfast on our first day were we told that we could only choose one item from the menu plus a drink and a coffee. This meant that the ‘breakfast included’ option is well overpriced. Even the booking process, and check-in and check-out, were disappointing, with questions going unanswered and requiring us to be proactive about our bags etc. It seemed like there was no overall plan about anything. These kinds of problems can’t be blamed on individual staff who were clearly poorly trained. This is a management problem, yet when I offered feedback to the manager, their response was defensive and customer-blaming. I would love to see this place be as good as it could be. PS By way of contrast, the pizzeria just 5 minutes away, offers really delicious pizzas and cold drinks in a lovely setting with excellent, friendly service. Far better value than the Lodge restaurant.

Beautiful lodge in an amazing environment, including lots of birds, tame eels, a nice restaurant and bar, great nature trail through the nearby swamp. If you’re walking the Abel Tasman then this is a great place to stay Ali g the track. We would visit again.