Legacy Te Waonui Hotel Franz Josef

Probably the most luxurious option in Franz Josef. Walking distance to everywhere including the helicopter tours. The food was excellent. We stayed only one night and opted for the 5-course dinner menu which was excellent and plentiful. The rooms are nice. The hotel is not new so som areas are a little dated, but all fixtures showers etc have been fully remodeled giving it a modern feel. Overall a solid performance.

This review is for the restaurant only- Dissapointing dining experience here. Coming in, we were expecting a 4-5/5 culinary experience based on the marketing and based on the hotel rates / reviews. For context, we did not stay at the hotel rather, we were just looking for a nice dinner out. When we came in, we were seated immediately. Following sitting at the table, we were immediately asked what we wanted to drink. The menus were just placed in our hands. Then our server changed. They asked us the same question within another 45 seconds and asked us if we were ready to order our meals. It felt like a mad dash to get our orders in. Then our waiter changed once again, this time a nice gentleman who took his time and took our drinks. Then, another waiter came over, clearly not having talked to anyone else, asking us what room we are putting this on and if we were ready to order. We were external diners on the reservation, it was made that way and being asked this several times was an annoyance. Our soup was bland, my $58 salmon portion was tiny, undercooked, and also bland. My wife's sides were all bland but her steak was good. Our entres were served literally 10 seconds after our last bite of appetizer. No dinner wines were offered. Rushed, over-priced and disorganized is how I would describe this experience. 2-3/5 experience at best. Half the restaurant was full so we just didn't see any reason why it would be like this. On a good note, our waiter/the lead on the floor made things right when we voiced our dissapointment. He was understanding and offered us many other options. He did a good job accomodating us since we were disappointed. He promised to share feedback as well which was great.

2 day stay at this wonderful hotel. The five-course meal was absolutely fantastic, and the hotel’s location was truly beautiful, but what really made our stay special was the staff. They were exceptional. In particular, Brenda from Mexico, and a lovely young lady from India (whose name we unfortunately can’t remember), and the wonderful Kiwi couple. I Everyone was so attentive and genuinely caring. They even checked on us when we’d been out cycling for a while and kindly helped my sister-in-law with remedies for her bites. Every member of the team was delightful. Well done for assembling such an outstanding group of people.

Stayed at Legacy Te Waonui Hotel for 2 nights over Christmas. Because it was Christmas the rates were quite high, over 1000 NZD a night. However, I was overall quite satisfied by my stay. The hotel is really the only luxury option in the area, so there's not much choice. With that said the rooms and service is generally up to standard. The room is large and quiet, and the bed is very comfy. On Christmas Day the dinner was a buffet, although personally I would have preferred a course meal. While there was some seafood, otherwise the spread was quite mid and the taste so-so. The same goes for the breakfast buffet spread. Although, given the remoteness of the location, I suppose this is expected. The full course meal at the dinner the next night was surprisingly good. Whilst not fine dining level (and it wouldn't be fair to expect that anyway), it was generally quite well presented, and tasted pretty good with a good selection of NZ ingredients like salmon or venison. Obviously the location is unbeatable, you can see the ice capped mountains from some parts of the hotel and there isn't a more convenient place to stay if you're coming to visit the glaciers.

Staff were lovely. The spa was wonderful - I had one of the best massages I have ever had. The food was just alright. We had the five course degustation dinner twice. The preparation was good, but the ingredient quality did not match the preparation. Wine served at the bar was several days old based on taste, so at dinner the second night I asked the server to open a new bottle of wine, which she did without hesitation.

This is the best hotel in the area and the rooms are nice. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful -a young and vibrant attitude. The dinner was outstanding as the chef is clearly creative and talented. The servers at dinner were amazing too. The breakfast - although with many items- is fair/good. It works but after the creative dinner it was a little disappointing (maybe the ability to order eggs). Also, the dining area had too much of a cafeteria feel to it - luckily for dinner the previous night we sat outdoors so it was pleasant. I do think table cloths, candles, and a more intimate dining experience would be nicer in the evening.

A nice hotel in the centre of the Franz Josef township that does everything you need! It's the most upmarket hotel in the town and so seems to attract the more well off groups and tourists. They have a massage service (no pools or anything as part of the 'spa') which was very good, and they have a restaurant and pizza bar on site. Breakfast is also available. We didn't use any of these facilities as we found much better value within the town, which is only a minutes walk. From the menus it all seemed very overpriced, even in comparison to the inflated prices of Franz Josef. The staff were well versed in trying to get you to eat at the hotel, which I didn't quite appreciate. If you did want to eat, you have very strict reservation times, just be aware! The staff were helpful in general however. The room was incredibly spacious and had everything you needed. We had a corner room and so you could hear people walk around the outside, but it was bareable. We even had birds songs in the bathroom!! I should note we were upgraded to this hotel for free, replacing our intended stay at their sister hotel, the scienic hotel, opposite. For the price we paid (considerably less) it was a great deal and a bit of luxury on our holidays. I can't imagine it would be worth the very high prices I've seen online however.

great location. food and staff amazing! but they had not cleaned the soot out their chimney and there was a fire. we had to evacuate in the rain and walk across the street in pajamas to another hotel lobby for 3 hours. they did not refund any of us, but if we would have not shown up for our reservation, we would have been charged. we basically didn't sleep that night and had to get up early. other than that, it wasn't the staffs fault, but the owner for not keeping it updated and safe. staff was so very kind in cafe and food was amazing.

This an amazing space near the glacier on the west side of the South Island. The rooms are contemporary overlooking nature with excellent amenities. It is a short walk to town or you can eat in the lovely restaurant on site. The beds are very comfortable and the linens are very luxurious. This Forest Retreat has been our highlight of our trip through New Zealand. The Scenic hotels are very special.

An absolutely stunning hotel located in Franz with great service and a really good breakfast. Its quite surreal to wake up and see little birds flying around and chirping right outside your balcony. The food is solid and the restaurant at the hotel was okay. Nothing that blew me out of the water though. I would go into Franz to eat (much cheaper).

Very cute forest retreat. Our room had a balcony overlooking a patch of rainforest. One of our neighbors saw a kiwi bird hop onto her balcony and hang around - super cool! While we did not get a kiwi encounter, we still enjoyed the digs. They do have possum pillows in each room. I felt it and it was soft, but then remembered it was possum fur and immediately tossed it onto the couch. Sorry, I just can't. The restaurant here is also very good. Overall, loved the experience!

Wow! Customer service doesn't get any better than this and its all due to Richard, manager extrodinaire, and his amazing team! We pulled up after driving 6 hours from Queenstown, and as the car stopped Richard was there to greet me. I felt like a celebrity with his warm welcome and friendliness. And then when I told him how disappointed I was that the weather wasn't cooperating, well, I think if could have changed the weather he would have! Instead, he suggested some bad weather activities ( like the hot pools or spa) gave me some free coupons and offered to be at my service in any way he could. . . . But instead of changing the weather ( which probably was out of his sphere of control), he introduced me to Mel who was a local and shared some culture with me, all the while getting my bags to my room and making sure I inderstood the nuances of that room. He and his colleague are dressed in native wear which makes you feel like you have really entered a special place! And he had no problem answering my questions about his tribe, his culture, and even offering up some personal info about his family which I found to be just delightful! My room was quite nice, overlooking the glacier, and was outfitted quite comfortably with a great bed, functional work area, bathroom with heated floor and free in room wifi and coffee. I also liked that they had a guest laundry on the first floor so I could get some laundry done while I was there. Tokens are available at the front desk for $5 a load ( wash or dry) for the laundry which is considerably cheaper than sending it out. Breakfast was included in my package and they had a great breakfast buffet which included both hot and cold items as well as fresh fruit, rolls and meats. And when it was time for me to leave, Richard was there again, this time offering me a complimentary book signed by the artist of beautiful pictures of New Zealand . . .what a thoughtful gesture to give that to me. While the hotel itself is nice, what made it stand out for me was the incredible level of care I got from Richard and his amazing team! If you have a chance to stay here, you should!

As good as it gets, Jay was amazing. This hotel was a highlight of our NZ trip. I booked our itinerary around the availability here and was not disappointed. The rooms are cozy but the bathrooms are large but comfortable with a private balcony and outside entrance. The service and the food were what really set it apart though. The food was included in our room fee and was superb - wine pairings, multi-course meals, inventive, eclectic offerings. I was floored by how good and varied the food was - like dining in an elegant, 5 star restaurant every evening. Breakfast is a buffet set up but had all that you'd want to select from - pastries, cereal, porridge, eggs, beans, fruits, yogurt, etc. Great coffee as well - French press. When we told them we had a bus to catch when we checked out they offered to pack us up a complimentary lunch box. They also drove us to the bus stop directly even though it was only a few minutes walk. They knew our names and greeted us cordially every morning and evening. The only downside was we had to do our own laundry but this ended up being a good thing since we decided to wash several loads for $5 - way cheaper than having a hotel wash it. The setting is tranquil and set just off the main path so still close to everything in FJ. We were celebrating our anniversary and they left us a chilled bottle of complimentary champagne. I could not have been happier with our stay here, only wished it could've lasted longer.

Given the name 'Forest Retreat', one might expect Te Waonui to be a bit more recessed and removed from the rest of the small village that springs to life during peak tourist season. However, it's just a quick turn off the main highway, and at night, you can hear the drunken reveling from outside the compound quite easily enough. It's a proper microcosm of our experience at Te Waonui, which I found overall to be a good experience but not quite worth the price (which clocks in at a pretty hefty level, much higher than the other accommodations in town). Getting checked in starts well enough, with a serving of kiwi juice and porters unloading your bags and parking your car for you. We also had a bottle of NZ-made Brut on hand, which was a nice gesture for what was merely a regular vacation (not a special occasion) for us. The only extension of this kind of service, though, is the turndown where you are brought water bottles and some chocolate truffles packed in individual boxes. The service at Canopy Restaurant (which I will review separately) was rather inattentive for a place styling itself to be fine dining, and otherwise the hotel staff were pretty much a non-entity. As for the room itself, it's a bit larger than your average room, but not noticeably so. The 'rain forest' that you look out upon is simply just a central area between all the rooms, and given that it is easily viewable by other folks from their window or balcony (which you would never stand on anyways given the amount of bugs during the summer), you will likely not have the blinds fully open while you are in the room anyways. Creating this illusion of being in a secluded rainforest adds to the drawback of the hotel design; we were put on the furthest side opposite the lobby, meaning that it was always a little bit of a hike (even if short) to get to the lobby to eat our meals, and as noted above, did not always entail peacefulness. The one positive is that you do have all of your meals taken care of ahead of time as part of the booking; as such, we never had to think or worry about breakfast or dinner. It was also nice to have a little bit of space and privacy. However, given the rather exorbitant price for even the base rooms here, I would question if I would stay at Te Waonui again if I come back to these parts. It seemed like a very steep price to pay for what is billed as luxury but did not quite come off as such.