Arthur's Pass Ecolodge

Wow is the only word to describe the view as you walk in. That and the extremely warm welcome from the lovely Helen

Helen was a wonderfully welcoming host. Her ecolodge is very cosy with a woodburner and the most stunning view out over the river and mountains of Arthurs pass from both the sitting room and the bedrooms. Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed the fireside chat with Helen and the other guests very much before bed.

Very easy communication. Tasty food!

The dry toilet could’ve probably used some air conditioner or candles to hide the smell.

The views from the bedrooms were beautiful and the host was nice and welcoming.

The property was not what we were expecting based on the description and images shown. We were anticipating individual cabins, however what we got were bedrooms in someone’s home. This was ok, but we felt like we couldn’t truly relax staying in someone else’s house where they also live. A result of staying in a house someone lives in, is that the common areas, kitchen, and bathroom were not overly clean. This would be more acceptable if the accommodation was cheap, but based on what we paid we were expecting small individual clean cabins. Further, ecolodge means that the cabin is off grid. This would be fine if stated upfront in the description but arrived to find a list of restrictions and instructions for how to live in the ecolodge, including how to use the composting toilet which was not stated in the description. The smell from the toilet was strong and wafted out to the bathroom and living area. Lastly the drinking water was not filtered or treated which really should be a minimum for accommodation, or clearly stated in the description. It’s also not easy to pop into a nearby supermarket to get water as it’s in a pretty isolated area. Overall the bedrooms were fine, but we felt deceived by what was presented on booking.com website.

The relaxing atmosphere and stunning view is unique. Helen made sure that we felt comfortable in her home and gave us the best experience with her warm hospitality.

The view was superior throughout all bedrooms. While we were surprised a bit that it was a shared property, we had a nice time interacting with the other couple staying- Andy and Vanessa.

The title lodge is misleading. It is just a private room in a small cabin. Additionally, while eco is in the name, we were very surprised to find that it was a completely off grid location with quite strict rules of usage. To abide by them as close as possible, we didn't shower, we brought in our own food that didn't need any appliances to make, we took out our own trash and made sure to recycle and compost according to instructions, and we did not use any electrical outlets so as to preserve the energy and water of the place. That was fine with us, just quite shocking, as we didn't realize before coming. Additionally, we found the host quite rude. She told us we could go to dinner at her friend's hotel, but needed a reservation. We declined because I couldn't call in, but we also bought food already and didn't know exactly what time we would be in. I explained that to Helen and was met with a curt response that I could email for a reservation. It appeared she was irritated we decided to not go to dinner out of her place, despite her offering that we could use the kitchen. Mind you, we used none of her food offered, short of two eggs, which were offered by the other people staying. Additionally, she had an instruction on how to pause the water tank. My husband and I both reviewed it and did our best to follow the instructions to a t. Apparently we did not do it correctly and were met with a nasty email on New Years Day. This marred the experience for me. I would not recommend this place, as there are others in the area that are probably more suited to housing travelers that need a break after a long day.

The stunning view great location

I liked very much