Te Waonui Forest Retreat

its a nice hotel，has the comfortable room，the reception was so friendly，special the chinese stuff ，thank u so much，would introduce the hotel to friends

Good food

The resort was located in a good position with easy walking distance to the village area. The resort itself was very clean and the staff friendly and helpful. Our room was clean, bed comfortable and the shower was great. Dinner and breakfast were both very good. Spa facilities available but not used by us this time.

This is difficult to write completely. Te Waonui bills itself as a five star luxury hotel with a five course degustation dinner. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the waiters do wear white gloves, that’s all you’re getting. The food is frozen and then thawed and cooked. It’s just terrible. It’s basically a place for huge tour buses to stop for the night and have a ton of tourists spend the night at a “5-star” luxury hotel and they probably entice customers with that offering. And while it might be the better option in Franz Josef, the hotel is just not how it’s described. It’s dank. No one meets you outside (not that we needed that but it’s also on the website). The dining room is truly depressing and the staff just do their job. For our three night stay, we decided it was just a place to sleep after long hiking days and deal with the really bad mattress and pillows. It was so humid that anything we washed for laundry took the full three days to dry. We skipped dinner on nights 2&3 and ate out instead (Alice May & Monsoon). So much better to eat out with the Franz Josef visitors. Such a great eclectic group. For breakfasts, after viewing Te Waonui’s offering, we went to Full of Beans every morning. Amazing breakfasts there with quick and attentive service. In the end, while Te Waonui wasn’t a particularly awful experience, it’s just a place to sleep. Don’t eat there and don’t expect anything close to luxury. If you go in with that in mind, it’ll be fine for your Franz Josef stay.

We had a supper experience at this hotel. Lovely rooms overlooking a garden full of local flora so it looked like the forest. We were greeted with hot towels and a welcome drink before being shown our room, which was spacious, nicely decorated and with lovely toiletries (and a bath and shower!). We were on the bed, breakfast and dinner 🥘 a cake so enjoyed a five course degustation menu in the hotel restaurant which was very pleasant. Drinks were reasonably priced and service was prompt and friendly, Lots of free parking on the hotel grounds. Breakfast buffet was diverse answer cooked. A great stay!