Huka Lodge

Huka Lodge continues to be the finest of them all. Although expensive, it is well worth the cost.

We just spent three lovely nights about 15 minutes from Huka Lodge at Acacia Cliffs Lodge overlooking Lake Taupo, and my husband and I agreed, that for us, the small personal lodge, more casual atmosphere and wonderful, thoughtful hosts (Rick is a fantastic chef who used to own restaurants, but now is happy cooking for and talking to his 6-8 guests each evening) was a much more relaxing vacation than Huka Lodge. We did not have bad service at Huka Lodge when we stayed a few years back, but the feeling of being on the international tourist "lodge circuit" was not as appealing to us as a true hideaway that fewer people might know about. I hope Andrew Harper visits Acacia Cliffs soon; it is a great alternative.

We just arrived from our 2 week trip to NZ. We were in the south island for 1 week and the north island for one week. We decided to end our trip with a 3 night stay at Huka Lodge. From the moment of arrival, we were very disappointed. Upon arrival, We were not greeted by the manger as she walked past us to oversee luggage collection. She impatiently led us into the lodge and told us we were "entitled to a welcome drink" as opposed to "offering" us a drink after a long trip. As of this point she had not introduced herself yet. After receiving our drink we were left in the main room of the lodge for half an hour, feeing abandoned. A kitchen employee then walked out and asked what we needed and we told her we wanted a welcome and an introduction to the lodge and to be shown to our rooms. We continued to wait another 10 minutes until the same unfriendly manager swiftly led us out of the main room and gave us a very abbreviated tour of the Lodge (i did not realized there was a pool until a day later). Huka prides itself on a "private dining experience"...at the time of our swift tour we were asked where we preferred to dine without showing us our options. Once told about all the options, our first choice was promptly denied by a quick "sorry, that location is fully booked for the next 3 nights". Why then even mention it as an option? We decided on a lovely spot to dine and once we settled into our room we went for dinner and sat down at our private dining table on the beautiful porch. We quickly realized that our table was double-booked as 2 other guests were walking towards our table with a perplexed look on their faces. I had to speak to them about the confusion and offered
to move, but they graciously moved to another table. It was very embarasing and uncomfortable for both parties. The next day we went on a fabulous heli-tour of White Island (which i would HIGHLY recommend) and came back for a private lunch at the stunning jetty waterfront table that i had reserved the day before. Unfortunately, the table was occupied and we were told that we had not made a reservation for that table (again, the same manager messed us up). We ended up waiting 1 hour for our table and ended up eating lunch at 3:00 PM.

That night we were looking at the menu of off-property activities and there were a number of hikes in the area that were offered. we needed some personal advice as to which one to choose. I asked a couple of employees about their impressions of the local hikes offered , they both said i "should speak to reception". The same aforementioned manager was at reception (she was the only one on duty for our first 2 nights, otherwise i would have asked someone else). Upon asking, she said she was not sure, as she had not been on any of those hikes. She proceeded to read off of the "hike menu"; i had read the same thing about 20 minutes earlier. Needless to say, she had no idea what these hikes were about and could not offer any personal advice. Please remember that this is a very small property and there were no other senior staff members available at the time; i had no choice but to have to deal with this particular manager. This particular day was originally planned by our private travel agent as a "day at leisure" for us, but we were up to doing something active and get some exercise. I ended up calling my private travel agent in the states to see if she could help me with any of these activities. She was great, but i hate that i had to call the US for advice when we should have been easily steered into a great hike by the local staff. Anyway, at the end of our stay another manager which we had not previously met, had been advised of the several blunders made during our stay and, upon checkout, asked me to "fill her in" about our displeasure. I explained the entire situation in detail and she apologized. No attempt at compensation was made (not that i was expecting anything, and i was certainly not planning on asking). We were handed the bill, promptly paid and left the lodge. Having read so much good press and ratings about Huka, i planned our NZ trip with our stay at the lodge at the end, hoping to end our trip on a high-note. Quite the opposite happened. I will never return there and do not recommend it. I felt that the lodge and the staff was lacking in the small details that make a property world-reknowned. After checking out, my travel companion and i received an email from the GM thanking me for my feedback; however, he addressed my travel companion by the wrong name (after spending 3 nights with them). Yet another detail that was missed.

I believe they are resting on their laurels and feel that they no longer need to make an effort since they are constantly voted "Best" in many categories. Several properties we visited in NZ blew this place away in service, accomodations and setting. I hope this was not too lengthy of a review but, if you are like me, i want to know what i'm getting before spending thousands of dollars at a certain property.
Thank you,
CGV
Disappointed Traveler