Chris P.
Yelp
My wife and I stayed at Hilton Lake Taupo for the first stop on our honeymoon. As participants in the 2014 Ironman New Zealand, we had a busy and tiring week ahead, and we hoped the hotel would be the easiest thing to deal with during our stay. We are happy to report that our expectations were met as we had a wonderful experience at the hotel.
Arrival - After a long haul over from California, we were thrilled to have finally arrived in Taupo. Taupo is a relatively small town so getting around is not a big problem. While the Hilton is located on a hill just on the outskirts of the town center, it is quite easy to find and only a couple minutes drive (or bike ride) down to town. We arrived in the evening, so the reception area was empty when we walked in, and the staff were immediately attentive. Our reservation was quickly found, and within minutes we had our keys. The very nice receptionist also took the time to acquaint us with the area map, make last minute dinner reservations for us, offered a few other activities suggestions, and arranged for a porter to help us with our significant haul of luggage and equipment. She also took the time to explain the special Ironman specific offerings from the hotel. When we reached our room, we were greeted with a wonderful hand written note from the hotel manager welcoming us and congratulating us on our marriage. The note was accompanied by a bottle of champagne. Quite a nice touch.
The Room - We were assigned a fantastic King room on the 3rd floor of the new building, facing town and the lake. The view from the sizable balcony was spectacular. Yes, these rooms do indeed also face the parking lot as other reviewers have pointed out, however the massive scenery of the lake and surrounding mountains made it rare that we were distracted by the parking lot. The balcony featured a full four seat patio table, and the balcony door is entirely glass with both large doors sliding completely open to let in the view and the breeze. Note that the balcony extended the length of the building and did not have dividers from room to room. Each room had its own patio table, but it was possible for anyone to walk by other rooms (goes to privacy). The room itself was very sizable, with ample room for our bike case, five bags, and us. We were swimming in space, which was a great surprise and very nice to have with all of our race equipment for the week. In addition to the plush King bed (standard Hilton duvet, sheets, and pillows), the room also featured a small table, two chairs, a large tv desk (no storage), in room safe, large closet, and wet bar area. The bathroom featured dual vanities, several drawers, ample counter space, towel warmer, soaking tub, and fully enclosed glass shower (all quite modern). The air conditioning was very strong, and the guest can set the desired temp on the electronic thermostat.
The Facilities - The hotel is split into two buildings: the historical and the new. As we were in the new building we did not have much exposure to the historical side, except for the one dinner in the restaurant (one of the highest rated in Taupo. Menu was good, but didn't exactly blow us away). Within the new building, the tower is broken up into 4 sections, each with independent elevator lobbies. It should be noted that these elevator lobbies are quite small and narrow, so they can feel a bit cramped. Also so strange fire door arrangements which can be a pain when trying to get your bags in (we had to go through the lobby door and two different fire doors just to get to our room door. Wifi is available in the rooms, but you will pay the expected fee unless you are an upper tier Hhonors member. Free wifi is available in all of the public spaces. The pool and hot tub were quite nice, and the gym was spacious with standard cardio machines. The facilities also include a steam room and sauna. Protected garage parking comes with a fee, but free parking in the lower gravel lot or any available space out in front.
The Service - all great. All requests were attentively addressed, and the staff provided excellent suggestions. Even late night munchies requests after the Ironman race were provided with a smile.
Departure - Quite easy to check out, and the porter support was again much appreciated.
Suggested Improvements - As the hotel is the official hotel sponsor of the Ironman race, we were hoping for a bit more support and can offer the following suggestions for coming years: (1) expand shuttle service to include more availability on race morning and extend until the completion of the race (some of us finished well after 6:00 PM...close to midnight, and we would have appreciated not having to drive ourselves back up to the hotel (2) offer expanded late night food options on race night, again as a any athletes finish quite late and would appreciate more than the limited late night room service options).
Overall, great stay, and we would certainly consider Hilton Lake Taupo again.