I have to agree with the earlier review that this lodge is not value for money.

We stayed at The Farm for 4 nights. Having stayed at some of the best hotels in the world, in light of the price of this lodge we were expecting that the service would at least match (if not surpass) our previous experiences. We were unfortunately disappointed.

Positives

- The surroundings of the Farm are unique and very scenic. The drive from the entrance to the lodge and the view of the Cape is very beautiful.
- The restaurant staff were excellent. They were attentive and flexible and we were very impressed. The kitchen was also very accomodating when we had special requests. The food was very good.
- The manager of the lodge did try her very best to make our stay as comfortable as possible even in light of the below.

Negatives

- We were disappointed at the attitude and the level of service of the reception/concierge staff. The manager did try and make efforts to correct this but unfortunately the damage had already been done. I would not expect to have to chase staff all the time and be misinformed. We had made it very clear that we wanted to take a white water rafting trip and on arrival we confirmed the trip and asked for details to be provided including a set of directions to the meeting point. On the 2nd day (day before our trip) we asked when we would have the full information re. what to pack, where to meet, the schedule, the cost etc. of the rafting trip. We were told that a "pack" would be ready for us that day. We returned that evening and asked at reception where the pack was – we were given a terse reply that 'we will have it ready for you tomorrow morning (i.e. the morning of our departure). This was quite unacceptable. We needed to know what we needed to pack and what to expect from our day. We made it clear that we were unhappy with this and the guy at reception (with a bad attitude) then said 'actually the best place to find the information is on the website' and asked us to walk to his side of the desk to look at the company's website. I had already done this previously so I am not sure what he hoped to achieve from the three of us bending over a computer screen. He then proceeded to go to googlemaps and use his mouse to show us the route from the lodge to the meeting points. I told him that if he was not going to give us detailed directions then he would at least need to let us know an address for us to put in the GPS and a phone number for the company if we got lost. He said he would have this for us in the morning (even though we had been told we would be given a detailed pack on the 1st day) We also asked whether the day would include the tour of the goldmine which we had previously read about in the rafting company's materials. He replied that this was available in Queenstown (what? the company does not have a sister company in Queenstown!), not this trip. We corrected him and said we had specifically seen this on this rafting company's materials. At this point, his manager overheard our conversation and sought to rectify the errors and poor service and asked him to prepare the driving directions, address and find the relevant materials. It turned out there was a whole list of things we needed to pack e.g. towels, a picnic lunch etc none of which we would have been informed of if we had not chased up. It also turned out that the directions to the meeting points were less than straightforward (and not available on the website) so it is lucky that we chased them for this. This is not the level of service we expect even at a 3* hotel, let alone somewhere that charges 6* prices.

To top it off, when we looked at the website ourselves we discovered that the company actually charged NZD115 per person for the trip even though the lodge had told us that it was NZD135 on the two occasions I had asked them to confirm the price. We immediately called reception to ask why there was this price differential and they said they would revert to us first thing in the morning when we got to breakfast. Unfortunately no one reverted to us at breakfast, and again I had to bring this up with reception before they told us that the price as in fact NZD115 as they had forgotten to update this new company's price. No apology for the mistake was given

- The reception staff pushed a few times for us to take the more expensive options where possible in relation to activities. On enquiry as to how to get to a meeting point (we had rented a car so we were happy to drive) but the staff asked twice whether we would want to take a helicopter ride which of course would have been unnecessary expense. In addition when there was in fact no helicopter pad at the location of said meeting points so I am flummoxed as to why the staff even suggested this before conducting proper due diligence!
Further on enquiry about the different wineries in the area, they tried to make us take the lodge's "guided tour" which again would have been a waste of money when we easily drove around the different wineries ourselves. On one occasion, when we were trying to ask one of the staff at reception a question her colleague was literally shouting on the phone to someone and we had to shout over her to speak to reception.

- Housekeeping seemed to be in an inexplicable rush to clean our room. Given that this is a small lodge where the reception had direct contact with the housekeeping staff, you would expect better coordination. On one occasion, we went for breakfast and forgot to put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door of our lodge, the lodge reception knew that we were at breakfast. We came back to our lodge to find housekeeping staff already in our room even though it was quite obvious that we would need to return to our room to pick up our belongings to go on our tour of the wineries. On a second occasion, we had the DO NOT DISTURB sign on our door and went to breakfast, we returned to our room to again find housekeeping in our room. The manager profusely apologised for this and the explanation was that housekeeping had seen the DO NOT DISTURB sign but then had returned shortly after and did not see the sign (apparently the sign hung securely on the doorknob must have been blown away by the wind) so they proceeded to enter the room. Surely, given that it is a small lodge where everyone had means to communicate, housekeeping and reception could have communicated and realised we were still at breakfast and they could have waited 30 minutes before rushing in. Further, what is the rush to get the rooms cleaned so quickly? Why could they not wait until we had left for the day which we obviously were going to do.

Perhaps we have been spoilt with the first class service we have experienced at other resorts but given the price of this lodge and the level of service they claim to provide, we were disappointed with our stay.

We were blown away with all aspects of our stay at Cape Kidnappers.

The staff were friendly and attentive. We were warmly welcomed at the entrance and were immediately taken for a tour around the complex.

The food was outstanding. The night we stayed there, a highly acclaimed chef from Australia was flown in to cook for the evening - it was a fabulous ten course experience!

The rooms were amazing - tastefully decorated with only the finest bedding, furniture and fittings.

The views across Hawke's Bay were second to none. As part of our stay we were able to access the world renowned Cape Kidnappers golf course - a wonder to behold in itself!

The Farm at Cape Kidnappers is a truly unforgettable experience. Highly recommended!!

What a stunning property in a privileged location. An oasis with easy access to some of the best wine and wineries in the world, a demanding but beautiful golf course, lovely walks from the property from a few minutes to a full day past sheep-strewn hills, plunging cliffs, and a rare gannet colony.

And the rooms! In a month long trip full of luxury hotels, the Cape Kidnappers room was one of my favorites. Cozy, luxurious, and with lovely framed photos and art. Fantastic bed. Nice little pool and hot tub with great views.

Unfortunately we had bad weather the day we played golf and only made it through 10 holes, but it was enough to appreciate the spectacular but very tough course. Service at the entire property is excellent. No request is too much. After a long day of touring wineries we came back with loads of bottles that we baically just dropped at the front desk and they had packaged and shipped to us at our home in Hawaii for a very reasonable cost. We were so spoiled we assumed some of the other places we stayed at later could do the same only to be told 'no!'

It's hard to say which hotel, this one or the sister property, Kauri Cliffs, was better, they both have their strong points and both are not-to-be-missed. I prefered the golf course at Kauri Cliffs, but the food was better at Cape Kidnappers. The rooms at both were great. The spa at Kauri Cliffs was much nicer. Both had fantastic walks on property. Cape Kidnappers gets a slight edge in location being near to Napier and all the wineries.

My husband and I have stayed in some magnificent properties around the World, but, for us, the allure of the Farm at Cape Kidnappers does it for us every time. Splendid views, meticulous service, divine food, heavenly Spa treatments, world class events ...the list just goes on. Why even consider travelling abroad when Heaven is right on our doorstep right here in beautiful Hawke's Bay? Don't just take my word for it - try it once and you too will become an addict. I can't wait for my next fix! After more than 7 or 8 visits it just gets better and better.