Chateau Tongariro Hotel

As an American that had traveled to several countries, and been to Chateau Tongariro twice many years ago, I just want to say: Don’t you DARE close this magical wonderland for good. If a dang earthquake and/or volcano eruption occurs, that’s a sacrifice those folks have to take. This place is like the last hold out of true beauty and class without EXCESS!!! Long live Chateau Tongariro!!!! That being said, keep my trashy fellow Americans away from this place. Yes, if this place made a cameo on American Twitter, it would probably never have financial woes again, but also the Americans would destroy it.

Really, really impressed. We stayed 2 nights with our 2 year old and everything was perfect. On arrival we were given crayons and colouring books for our daughter which was so thoughtful. Our room was tidy and spotlessly clean with everything we needed. Only minor negative was the walls were a bit thin but we weren’t bothered by anyone else - only worried about our little one disrupting others! Dinner and buffet breakfast both outstanding. Very fine dining and such an amazing experience. The dining room was very grand & impressive. Everyone serving us during all of our 4 meals were very attentive taking orders promptly, filling up our water glasses and clearing dirty plates quickly. Every single staff member we came across were so friendly to us and so lovely to our little girl making sure she knew where the kids playroom and movie theatre was (which are both SO cool!!!) We purchased the grab one voucher and you get so much bang for your buck it’s worth every cent. We we’re a bit nervous to come after reading the negative reviews lately but we were honestly blown away and wouldn’t hesitate to return again in future. Big thumbs up to all of the staff on (especially the dining room staff) working on 19th-21st April. Thank you :)

Where do you start with this place. The once grand hotel really feels tired and certainly not worthy of its reputation. The positives? It’s an amazing place to sit - have a drink or two and gaze out to the National park … but the service to get a drink is slow and the fries we ordered were cold by the time we got them. The staff are generally friendly apart from the front of house on arrival who are either not suited to this type of hospitality - genuinely rude or just overworked. We stayed in the Chalets - it’s a place to put your head down after a long walk but they need work. The rooms are very tired and there appeared to be no housekeeping. We ran out of toilet paper and it was not replaced. The bed was not made. We opted not to eat at the hotel due to the rather high prices (I’m eternally let down with my expectations of hotel food) but did have breakfast. It was ok. I wouldn’t come back and I wouldn’t bother going. Please don’t bother with your stock standard apology about how you can do better. Just do better. Shocking - so disappointing.