At the Mercure we had a lovely modern, large room that contained two queen sized beds, a hair dryer, a nice flat screen TV, fridge, kettle/te&coffee and spectacular views over the lake. These views must seriously challenge Canada or Switzerland for their beauty.
The resort is a little way out of town and probably a little too far for most people to walk. Its 5 mins by car. There is also a very steep hill before the resort which would be a challenge unless you are fit. But being out of town meant that it's was very quiet. The resort is quite dated; the carpets are a bit worn but with a $25.00 daily voucher and the strong Australian dollar, its a very good deal.
The breakfast was the something out of the 1970's. Large bain maries contained baked beans swimming around in their sauce, scrambled eggs, bacon etc the usual suspects. Why do they think placing food in these outsized containers is a good idea? The food looks so unappetising. No degree of aesthetics have been applied to the presentation. Its out of step and needs a big update. You would think they would make the amazing produce available in NZ a highlight and use it as part of the marketing. I would happily pay for that rather what we were presented with every day, and since we paid for breakfast I was not very impressed. Tinned fruit? Who does that these days? This of course also made me suspect that dinner could be as ordinary. Maybe other guests made the connection as we rarely saw people dining in downstairs.

We also thought it was strange that the windows did not have fly screens.This meant that you could not leave the windows open at night and enjoy the beautiful fresh air as the bugs and insects would be quite bothersome. Any interior light attracted moths by the dozen. I asked for a fan just to have a little air circulating in the room when the window had to be closed.
Those gripes aside I was quite satisfied overall as I loved the room and the view and it was cheap @ $121AUD per night. Service was good too with no request too difficult.

Very good hotel, nice location nice sized rooms and beautiful views. All the staff was very helpful and great restraunt! Would have been rated 5, but the bathroom was abit outdated. But was very happy with our stay and excellent rates :)