Kinloch Manor & Villas

Posting my letter to John Sax the owner which received no response from anyone at the company. Decided for yourself. No staff and no other guests made for a very bazaar experience at this resort. Hello John, My wife and I had a stay at your property in Kinloch last week. Both front desk attendant as well as the chef were very kind and accommodating. However, I must let you know that having no staff beyond the two of them was quite a surprise for such a property with luxury aspirations. We were left to load and unload our luggage from our car to the room ourselves, did not receive any turndown service our first evening and our room was never restocked with even water after our check in. While your property was breath taking in location and view and the structures and rooms are quite beautiful, it was not particularly clean, the service fell well short of our expectation or our experience in similar resorts with your price and positioning. Having the person who checks you in and out of the resort be the same person tending the bar and clearing dishes is awkward for the guest and reflects poorly on the owner for understaffing and not taking proper measures for a positive guest experience. I hope you accept our comments in the spirit of transparency and accountability. Regards,

We stayed here two nights and didn't want to leave. From beginning to end the service and hospitality were over the top! Jeff, Sandy, Tom and Jo looked after our every need. The dinner and breakfasts were delicious with great service from Annie and Katie. And then the villas! Just spacious and beautiful with deck to enjoy the summer sun and views. We'll be back for sure!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Kinloch for three nights. We played 2 full rounds and 9 holes on the final morning, we also played nearby at Wairakei which is stunning. We were the only guests staying which was a bit unexpected but having an international level golf course to ourselves more than made up for it. The fairways and greens were like velvet, the most beautiful course we’ve played (albeit challenging!). The room was large and spacious, permanent containers for hair/shampoo/body wash would be a suggestion over plastic pump bottles (and a spa menu in room as I forgot this was available). The stunning food for every meal and service were fantastic, we enjoyed every dish, thanks to the chef, Jo and Sandy from the lodge. Tom and John from the golf course were so accommodating and awesome, nothing was a problem so thank you. We can’t wait to come back! Monique & Steve

As a full-time travel writer for 30 years I'm not easily impressed but the rooms-- both public and private-- at Kinloch Lodge were among the poshest, most original, and most thoughtful I've seen. And the food was spectacular.

John, the Owner, also owns Treetops. Both facilities have a reputation for “high-end” New Zealand lodges. We stayed at Kinloch five nights. The price is high, the services next to zero, although Harry, the manager, is a nice fellow and works hard. The chef was excellent. Our room was ok but certainly not worth the price. A feeling of a ghost town One afternoon we drove over to Treetops. A nice place. The “Manager” is a graduate of Alabama, there temporarily and very honest about there being no help. We waited 30 minutes between courses. John may have been successful in the land development business but has zero ability to invest in the appropriate staff supposedly available for the price being charged. A competitor, Wharekauhau, is the opposite. Price higher but service even higher.

We played Golf on the magnificent Course and then followed that up with a fabulous Degustation Menu at the Manor. The staff were super friendly and we felt at home from the moment we walked through the front door and met Lynn. Kinloch exceeded every expectation we had, and the standard of both the villas and the entire property was sleek and well run. We will definitely come back.

It is with huge sadness that I am writing this review. I enjoy sharing my usually great travel experiences and it is unusual that we visit somewhere that was disappointing Sadly - this experience was that. During the last two years we have enjoyed redirecting our travel dollars to our New Zealand travel in great levels than previously. This has included some fabulous treats at some top end lodges. Each have been fabulous - except Kinloch. The "journey" started when trying to make a reservation. If I were spending just my own cash I wold have self selected out at this stage. However we had been gifted a night via a supplier and we wanted to add on an extra night. The e mails bounced back; the phones didn't work and no one seemed to care. It took significant work and commitment just to make a booking. It seems that there has been a change in IT systems but it was clearly poorly installed and not tested. They are also only open for 3 days a week which meant that our mini break was planned around them rather than our travelling preferences. We arrived on our first day just after 5.00pm after travelling from Wellington. There was no one at reception - in fact - the main building was pretty deserted. I tried ringing their number in case someone was carrying a hone - but of course - the phone system doesn't work!! After a bit of a hunt a staff member was found - who then found the manager. We were then told "I wondered where you were". I said that I wasn't aware that there was a deadline and was told that pre dinner drinks started at 5.30pm; and that check in was at 2.00pm. I've never been anywhere where checkin was the arrival "target" - and given our journey and the terrible weather that day - it was a surprising comment and pretty inhospitable. If we had known that pre dinner started at 5.30pm we may have adjusted our travel plans - but then - why would they send pre arrival information? We did our best to get over our feelings and were shown to a fabulous room which was certainly the highlight of our stay. Actually - room is the wrong word. They are incredible suites and very well styled. While we were at dinner someone came and lit the fire which was lovely. It would have been great to have this service the next day - even to have the fire re set - because when I wanted to use it I had to set it and I'm not super great at lighting fires. We quickly got changed and had a pleasant time at pre dinner drinks and nibbles which was well hosted. We were then moved through to the dining room for dinner. Dinner had moments of brilliance and certainly was;t poor - but for what we are paying I do have high expectations. I do expect them to have sparkling water available - after asking I received the last bottle. Breakfast the next morning was lovely but the service was slow. We had an incredible time playing gold (which was included in our package) and the hospitality in this area was outstanding and flexible. The next evenin

As it turned out we were the only guests in the hotel during our stay so there was only the chef preparing our meals (included) and no other service was available. There was an intial hiccup with our TV and lack of hot water so we had to change rooms but playing a round on the Kinloch Golf course is well worth the trouble.