Waipara River Estate

Beautiful vineyard location, very quiet, surrounded by gardens. Welcomed with a pack of ‘goodies’ for breakfast and nibbles, including wine. Bbq area for guests a real bonus, as was the availability of bikes/helmets to explore the wider wine trail. Wonderful hosts and staff couldn’t have done more to make our stay memorable.

*Rooms are clean *The estate has a strong potential with a very nice garden and outdoor areas.

We came for : having a rest in a quiet place while being able to access a laundry and cook for ourselves (did not want to drive all the timetw) and experience a stay in an authentic family owned NZ wine estate. That’s what is advertised by the Waipara estate. Eager to pay the price for this (quite expensive) but very surprised and disappointed by what we found : - Absolutely NOBODY on the estate during our 2-day stay. No one to welcome us or introduce the estate. Never met the owning family. A bottle of wine is offered in your room but never replace direct explanations and contact, even quick, in such places ; -Breakfast included is already prepared in your room and although in good quantity, products come from supermarket (industrial bred, flakes, jam and juice, flavorless fruits) ; - Never got access to the laundry - the contact person we called (laundry is accessible « upon request » to be formulated to this contact person) told us that as the owners were not there she was not able to open the laundry. We met the housekeeping woman before leaving and she told us that we should have had access to the laundry … something clearly went wrong… - Could not cook in the designated outside area (the weather was extraordinary good and warm and that s why we were here for) : the BBQ was extremely dirty as well as the cooking ustensiles. Moreover, the outside area has absolutely no lights so after sunset we were in absolute dark / impossible to cook / enjoy. Owners should tell that there is no one / no service onsite and (personal opinion based on many hotel experiences all over the word and in NZ) should adjust the price or improve the quality of the service. Felt overcharged and ignored. Forwarded our remarks to the contact person. She told us that she would transfer our message to the owners. Never get any answer.

Located in a really peaceful setting amongst the vines - just what we needed after a month away and the hustle and bustle of travelling for that period of time. our room was clean, comfortable and well-appointed and we really appreciated the wonderful breakfast that had been left for us

we would have preferred a Queen bed - as in all the other properties we stayed at during our holiday, however this is not meant to be a criticism as the double bed was really comfortable

swimming and bbq

Great bed, shower, location.

Yeah...maybe a bit expensive, but not ridiculously so We did hear the other couple a few times. If all of the rooms were occupied it could be a bit distracting.

nice rooms and a very nice property with the garden and views

nothing really

continental breakfast and wine from the estate; v comfy bed; quiet

nothing