We’ve thought long and hard about what to write in this review. Previous reviews have been glowing. Unfortunately, however much we didn’t want it to be, our experience was not good.

Treetops is internationally renowned, and was planned as one of the accommodation highlights of our recent NZ trip. We were therefore really looking forward to our stay.

Things started off well. The directions to the property are accurate, and the entrance promising. We were buzzed in remotely, and directed to take the “adventurous” route to the main building as we were in a 4x4 vehicle. The drive through the native rainforest is nothing less than spectacular.

The main building & reception lodge is lovely. Beautiful setting, and very creative use of architecture & design to “bring the outdoors indoors”. Very large public areas, and lots of things to keep guests busy. We were met at the car with umbrellas to keep us dry during the short walk into the lodge, and were efficiently shown around. So far we were happy.

We were taken back to our car and led to our villa (about 0.5km away) by a member of staff. The drive there was also through dense rainforest – lovely. The villa was a disappointment though. Considering the size of the estate, we were surprised that the villas are semi-detached. We were given the villa right next to the service road even though there was only one other guest on the property. This meant that the serenity was broken by staff and delivery vehicles early in the morning and late at night.

The villa itself was well laid out – separate living room and bedroom, with huge natural stone bathroom. Very nice complimentary toiletries. Great valley views through enormous plate glass windows. Very large sofa, armchair and bed, with a separate dressing area. Cleanliness was patchy though. When we arrived, the staff member took our luggage through to the bedroom, trailing mud and grass along the carpet in the living room. This was still there when we left two days later. Bathroom was generally wiped down, but definitely not thoroughly cleaned each day. At the high daily rates charged, refreshments really could be complimentary.

We used the individual golf buggy to go to dinner both evenings. On the first evening we had a table to ourselves, and were well entertained along with pre-dinner drinks and canapés. The main meal was awful. We had read about the great food at Treetops, so were expecting something very special. We didn’t even get something mediocre. The main course (fish) and dessert were like school dinner fare, and gave my partner a mild bout of food poisoning. The next day the meal was marginally better, but still nothing special at all. There were more guests on the second night, and we were all seated together at the one end of a large table. We had expected that guests would be given a choice, and didn’t like the “forced” congeniality. Neither did the others it seemed, as we all went back to our rooms straight after dessert.
Breakfast on the last day was fantastic. I was puzzled as to how the meal standards could be so different, until it turned out the head chef had arrived back at Treetops after being away for a few days. So had the general manager.
We wrote to the owner a number of times when we got back home, but to date (three months later) have had no response.

The estate itself is wonderful. Beautiful natural setting, and (apart from the semi-detached villas & communal dinners) mostly very private. It is well worth going on one of the many nature trails. We walked to the Bridal Veil Falls – stunningly gorgeous.

Service was patchy. The skeletal staff running the estate when we were there (e.g. only two on duty our first night, including the cook) were friendly and tried very hard. They were inexperienced though, and shouldn’t have been left alone like that. We paid a lot to stay there, and expected service to match.

The overall experience was distinctly mediocre – severely let down by the low standard of meals & cleanliness. We couldn’t help but note from other reviews that things should have been better. Properties of Treetops’ calibre have no excuse for not offering consistent service. We stayed at a variety of luxury places in NZ, and this was the only disappointment. Otahuna Lodge, Eagles Nest and Delamore Lodge were far superior.