Westwood Lodge

We had a lovely stay at the Westwood Lodge on the 22nd - 24th December. The lodge was huge, spotless, and very cosy with the log timber walls, very alpine! We were greeted by a super friendly hostess who was warm and welcoming and gave brilliant recommendations. We were also pleasantly surprised by the complimentary breakfast we received which was delicious!! Hot fresh eggs and all the usual continental sides and additions. The breakfast team also provided really wonderful service. The hotel was located on beautiful grounds with sweeping Mountain View’s and the common room with a fire place and an impressive snooker table was a great addition. Thank you so much for a wonderful stay and merry Christmas!

Pros: comfy bed and large room, great view from patio. Cons: way too expensive for what it is, dark room, dismal "free" breakfast (paltry hot options - really why bother offering a single chipolata for 5 guests to share plus a single apple and orange sliced up), room wasn't serviced either. It was pretty empty when everywhere else in town was full which isn't surprising. Needs someone to show it some love - a really poor overpriced BnB.

This rundown property was being managed by just 1 member of staff. She worked relentlessly but obviously the level of service suffered. |We booked the grand lodge with mountain view at £250 per night snd really regretted it. There was mo mountain view! The room was dusty, dirty, fusty and generally tired. |The Tv didn’t offer any channels other than the dvd! |The hotel reception wasn’t manned. |The rooms were only serviced on demand and the hotel promised to make a £2.50 donation to charity if you didn’t have your bed made up, this says something about the cleaners hourly rate! |Breakfast had to be ordered by 9pm the previous evening , stating exactly how many rashers of bacon, sausages and hash browns you forecast you might need! |Dirty breakfast dishes had to be cleared by the guests and placed in a plastic crate in the dining room. |We did move to a standard room , with a view of the mountain, which was a much brighter room in the new block. |Overall, would definitely not recommend or return! There are many other better places to stay in Franz Josef. |Despite the really hard work of the one member of staff, the place felt more like a hostel than a £250 per night hotel. I really don’t like writing bad reviews but in this instance it feels very necessary.

Amazing and beautiful accommodation.||It was a rainy day when we arrived. Audrey, made sure that our stay was a comfortable one. ||We played snooker/pool and lazed by the fireplace while enjoying our dinner which was delivered from a nearby restaurant in the town centre (2 mins drive).||We stayed in the main cabin and our room was surprisingly huge! Will certainly stay here again when we are in the FJ area.

This place was the cutest B&B we stayed at on our road trip! It was quite empty when we stayed during festive season as well. The bathrooms are very large along with the bedrooms. We had our own porch / garden area. The breakfast was better than other hotel breakfasts we’ve had on the trip. The staff was so sweet and it felt like an old time B&B where someone welcomes you into their home and treats you like family. The fireplace was great when it was turned on. The beds have the capability to heat up, and there’s heated floors in the bathroom and a towel heater. Mini fridge in the bedroom. We stayed during the summer and it wasn’t too hot at night at all, quite a comfortable temperature so lack of AC wasn’t an issue during our stay. I was a bit worried about that before visiting. ||My only constructive feedback to the hotel is that they should add a screen to the sliding door so that we could leave it open for fresh air and not worry about mosquitoes. That’s a pretty quick fix so hopefully they are able to make that change next year!

We had 2 nights stay and it just wasn't enough. The place was so cozy and really comfortable. It was such an experince to remember. The staff kept in mind our request and fulfilled to the best possible. The room was beautifully done with heaters to keep us warm. The bed was very comfortable and helped us to have restful nights for our long drive. ||The location is great as it is close to the town and all the attractions. Thank you Kristy and Audrey for making our stay a memorable one!

Beautiful, tranquil place to stay. Luxurious bed, amazing shower and even the shower products were fantastic. The fire in the lounge is great to relax at with a book and tea after a long day. They don’t have a bar but they are happy for you to bring a bottle of wine to the lounge if you wish. The breakfast was really nice, and the staff were just wonderful, very friendly and helpful with what to do locally and where to eat.

My wife and I spent two days at Westwood Lodge, where our main objective was to heli-hike Fox Glacier. Very happy with our choice for a couple reasons. First, while there is good lodging available much close to Fox, the town of Franz Josef has much more to offer and the location was perfect - not in the middle of town, but much closer than it looks on the map. Second, the Coach House Suite was super clean, comfortable and spacious with a nice back patio facing the Southern Alps. Lastly, while the place was clearly understaffed, Alex, the fellow seemingly running the place single handedly was really terrific - friendly, courteous and very helpful with tips for dining. The only disappointment (and why only four stars) was, given the short staff, the lovely lounge area was essentially unavailable -- the bar closed, fireplace off, and no reason to hang out in what looked like a great spot to relax after a long day. With that in operation, it would be five stars for sure.