We arrived probably at the busiest of times, between Christmas and New Years. I regrettably did not reserve enough ahead as all that was left was a one bedroom bunk room for our family of 4. Although it fit, I felt the room and space was super cramped as was the bathroom (which we had all to ourselves). Since their hot bath was out of service, we made reservations just a stones throw away for our own private hot tub in the trees. Location is perfect. Staff very friendly. Check in and out quick and easy. Laundry has plenty of machines. Recommend: Bring your own laundry detergent and time it right.

Lots of tours use this as their accommodation so lots of tour buses. Didn’t feel like a retreat but that’s probably because of the time of year with so many people going through.

It’s a beautiful property, trees everywhere. The room are cozy and have everything needed (microwave, cooking plates, coffee machine, toaster…). Location is very good and practical (depending on what you wish to visit) - it’s in town and walkable distance for for those who wishes to have dinner somewhere.

It’s very crowded for my taste. Sadly some of the guests lacks education and can be noisy or do not respect other common sense rules. Beds are too soft or too outdated (probably outdated) : I almost gave a 7 to this place but went for a 8 due to the fact that property is beautiful and that rooms are cozy.

We were in a Tree Lodge and had a great stay. The lodge was lovely and warm when we arrived which was much appreciated. The kitchen was well set out, and we appreciated the Nespresso machine. The bathroom was large and the bed comfy. The parking was just outside the door which was great for unpacking. The resort had a great laundry set up with lots of washing machines and dryers and it was good to catch up on the washing. Lastly the resort was close to the main street with restaurants, bars and the supermarket, so we were able to walk instead of having to drive.

Nothing

I had booked a ground level cottage several months ago which was upgraded on arrival to a Treetop Lodge which was a nice touch, not good for people with mobility issues as there are stairs.This was advised to reception during and after stay. Would have preferred the ground level cottage due to accessibility. Still it was a nice upgrade and was provided a lovely breakfast as compensation.

The initial conversation with reception when I questioned the upgrade, was told that there was a large group of loud people in the cottages and "I wouldn't get any sleep". When I asked why this group are still there if they were loud and rowdy, reception advised that they had advised management. Upon checkout, a different reception person advised they would "make it happen" if someone needed a ground level accommodation due to mobility issues. This was not the attitude of the first reception person.

Such a gorgeous place to stay while in Franz Josef. We got a free (and unexpected) upgrade to the 3 bed dorm instead of the 8 and it was absolutely stunning. Comfy bed, cosy interior with heating/cooling system, nice bathroom and complimentary tea/coffee in the rooms as well. The spa pool was under construction but the sauna was still in use and was such a nice add on! Kitchen facilities were amazing, plenty of cook tops/space for everyone to cook and loved the little sitting area with tv inc Netflix etc!

Genuinely don’t have anything bad to say about this place!

Oh my gosh, staying at this hostel was the highlight of my trip through this area! I paid slightly more to stay in their log cabin dorm and it was so so worth it. It is a new room style for them and it is sharing with others like the bunk dorms but instead there are 3 single beds and an attached shower. It is all decorated in this beautiful log cabin style which makes it super cosy and idyllic set among the trees. There was a spacious parking spot right next to the cabin where I could put my car for the night and lots of space inside for all your bags etc. There is very much a woodsy holiday village vibe to this place and the other residents were a mixture of travellers, tour groups and families which was really nice. There is a lovely hot tub on site which was fantastic after a long day, and also an onsite pub where you could go and relax with some food, drink and pool if you so fancied. All the staff I came across were friendly, welcoming and helpful. A really great experience!

Would be great to have somewhere to hang coats etc in the room. Would be great to have somewhere to put clothes/towels etc near the hot tub as you are outside and if the floor is wet/it's raining you are somewhat stumped!

Amazing location, amazing house structure, good for big group/ families but still spacious, especially the kitchen and dining area. There are separate bathrooms for most rooms as well. It is also very close to the heli hike place, the hot tub and to the really nice restaurants in town centre.

The lack of light when walking into the property at the back (from car park to small bridge to the room) made our super late check in a bit scary as we had to turn on all of our phome torches to see the place clearly. Additionally the steps are quite slippery which cause a couple of us to slip (no permanent damage though)

We liked the privacy of the cottage (the Kamahi holiday house) and the hot tub, which was very clean. Something to note is the 3rd and 4th bedrooms are accessed from the front deck, so no internal access to these rooms. This suited us with teenagers, who also loved having their own bathrooms, but for younger children it might not be ideal. We didn't realise this was the layout when we booked.

A minor detail, but...it was cold and spikey on the feet walking from hot tub to the cottage, as you generally have bare feet after getting out of a hot tub, and it's surrounded by gravel, which is freezing cold. Would be nice to have some stepping stones, or a timber path to the house.

Location, beautiful,rainforest rustic setting. Comfortable bed and nice rooms. Looking out to all the beautiful plants. Short walk to town. Monsoon restaurant was quite nice. Walked to Alice may restaurant was was beautiful. Went to the waiho hot tubs in the afternoon which was pretty cool.

Outside the room was a little run down and not very well maintained. It didn’t affect us at all, but for the price tag would,expect a little more maintenance.

The Rainforest Retreat is a very large multi-role accommodation operation in a popular tourist destination. As a result its rooms suffer a sustained high level of occupancy. Consequently, this has been the only motel of the 10 we've used on this tour of South Island that has clearly shown that wear and tear. The rooms in the mid-price motel are well designed and equipped, comfortable and spacious. However, in some areas, especially the bathroom, it was starting to look a little tired and in need of attention (e.g. extractor fan not working, one light u/s, floor sealing strip loose, basin scratched etc). This is a matter of fine criticism intended to assist the management, as these points didn't detract from our stay, which was very good overall.

See comments above.