Ezibed.com Customer Reviews for Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs

"Great Breakfast provided and lounge facility was really great to relax in. Room small but comfortable. Shame the new carpet hadn't arrived. Would definitely stay again." Helen Dryden, 9 June 2011

"Comfortable and convenient" Lesley Nicolson, 24 January 2011

"Very good service. But they need to install airconditioning because our room was very hot." Zibi Joh, 11 January 2011

"Great overnight stay, loved the fact breakfast was provided.
Really nice common area, would stay there again." Karen Roberts, 8 October 2010

"It was okay." Catherine Ward-Smith, 29 September 2010

"Hi, Excellent service, will stay again, thanks" Graeme Scott, 12 August 2010

"Great place to stay and we would certainly go back there again on our next visit to Hanmer. The owner was most obliging and we enjoyed meeting her. The position of the Inn is so convenient to the pools as well being handy to the shops." Anonymous, 13 December 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you, we appreciate your comments, and thank you for taking the time. It was our pleasure to provide you your accommodation.

"Convenient and reasonably comfortable. Good continental style breakfast. Nice touch having towels for pools and enjoyed the large sitting area and open fire. The shower etc needs updating (mold in grouting). Carpets and bedcovers also need cleaning or updating." Anonymous, 29 August 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thanks for your feedback it is appreciated. We are pleased you enjoyed the facilities we offer. While disappointed you did not raise your concerns bedding/shower etc in person for us to address. I note for the record, all bedding is laundered average of once a week, more if soiled due to customer abuse. All merino blankets are less than three years old, continental blankets for winter are replace each March, Bed Covers are replaced each 12-15months. All bathrooms were re-tiled in last 12 months. Showers are scrubbed daily with commercial products, although for health, safety and environmental concerns we do not use amonia based products. Ensuites are on a 4 weekly cycle for Steam Cleaning, again more regularly dependant on use of rooms.

"I was not impressed with the room especially for the price - it is very small. The shower is pathetic and the bathroom was so small. It would be ideal for one person. The staff were very nice." Anonymous, 19 August 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you, we appreciate your comments, and thank you for taking the time. We note you booked our standard studio and advise we do have other room types available. When describing a studio as compact, we think it reflects that it is a small room, we are sorry that you did not seek other options on check in. It was our pleasure to provide you your accommodation.

"We appreciated a room upgrade on arrival but found the bathroom had not been adequately cleaned. We were moved to the adjacent room where the bathroom extractor fan was not working. There were other signs of a lack of attention to detail - a hook missing from the back of the bathroom door, and last month's SkyWatch still in a bedside drawer. The weekend reception staff were less than enthusiastic. Monday morning was a lot better, excellent breakfast and charming, very helpful Frenchman at reception who understands good customer service. We stayed at Drifters when it first opened. It will be a shame if consistently good standards are not maintained." Anonymous, 14 August 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you, we appreciate your comments,and that you took the time to critique our property. Ensuites do not have extractor fans, and cavity sliding doors do not have hooks (or they would not open) - so wonder if you have confused the property with another. We are reliant on when the SKY magazines are delivered, they can be held up, and this is out of our control, experience says that one is better than none. Why would you engage in conversation with 'less than enthusiastic reception staff' for over an hour, and on multiple occassions, (every time you walked past reception) if you did not find that conversation interesting or beneficial. Two one night stays in 11 years you will not have noticed the half million dollar refurbishment that has occurred, nor are you really in a position to know consistent standards or maintenance - having not been here regularly enough to know. Never the less you and your partner commented on a what a delightful room and thanked us for your friendly stay on departure.

"Great clean and warm room for the Winter break. Great resources of towels, soap, hot drinks selection. Nice and comfortable King bed. I expected a bit more on the breakfast, maybe a hot breakfast to be included??....I had to go out and look for a hot breakfast at the Cafe's in the town. However, I understand that others at the hotel may be staying in the cheaper rooms and what they paid for the night may not be sufficient to expect a hot breakfast." Leone Vadei, 3 June 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thanks for the feedback on the breakfast. We do feel that our breakfast is sufficiently described as a 'continental buffet'. There are no references to 'cooked breakfast'. Its not about cost of room rates, more about fluctuating take up of rooms. However, all that said we are sorry that for some reason this was something you expected in this instance. We wish you well in your travels and may see you back sometime.

"We were very pleased with our stay at Drifters Inn. Kate made us feel very welcome. The complimentary breakfast was excellent. We will recommend Drifters Inn to other people as it is very quiet and handy to all town amenities, and such good value." Ron Howie, 24 April 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you, we appreciate your comments Ron. It was our pleasure to provide you your accommodation.

"Thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Drifter's Inn. Staff were very friendly, helpful and went the 'extra mile' to make my visit very pleasant. I felt spoilt and made to feel special." Anonymous, 20 April 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you, we appreciate your comments. It was our pleasure to provide you your accommodation.

"Friendly staff, nicely presented rooms and a comfortable place to relax. Thanks." Leanne Budny, 14 April 2009

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you, we appreciate your comments Leanne. It was our pleasure to provide you your accommodation.

"Great location, nice breakfasts clean & tidy good accommodation." Richard Carr, 21 November 2008

"While the facilities overall were acceptable for this type of accommodation, our room had a dreadfully uncomfortable bed, cracked sink with a far too small plug and a heater that didn't work, there were no chairs or desk/table in our small room. The cost of the accomodation at $125 for one night felt excessive given all the above plus the less then warm welcome we received." Chrissy Heathorn, 23 September 2008

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: Thank you for your recent critique of our property following a brief visit to Hanmer Springs.

The great thing about the online services with resellers like EZIBED is the choice of venue and room is up to you, the consumer. Not a new thing, but the beauty is you have all the comparable information at your finger tips to make the assessment. As hosts we provide detailed descriptions of room set up, configuration to ensure all customers have all the information they require to make an informed choice. At Drifters Inn, our venue is very unique with its product offering. Not at all like a usual motel. With this in mind we go to lengths to ensure that all aspects of our property are clearly defined and described. So when a guest selects the standard room, their should be no surprise that it is a compact room and that it has no table and chairs, as this is how it is described on our reseller site. If a more spacious room and furniture was a requirement, perhaps the King Studio should have been selected.

Specific points you have raised in your critique could have been dealt to more effectively if they had been discussed on check in. We are sorry that you did not give us that opportunity.

For example; we would have been able to offer you an upgrade to a King Studio, our larger studio room with occasional furniture, that you advise was lacking in your choice of room. As for heating, the venue has under floor heating which is currently set at 30 degrees celsius. Not great in an energy crisis, but set for guest comfort during the cooler temperatures we can experience here in this Alpine Village. In addition to that the room is fitted with an oil heater for guest convenience. A call to reception and we would have been more than willing to assist with ensuring you had it working to it its optimum. The room allocated looks to a small garden courtyard and is popular with the consumer that arrives late and leaves early. In fact we have people that specifically request that room and stay for long periods. To ensure guest comfort we recently upgraded all beds and bedding, we have padded wool underlay on each bed, 100% merino wool blanketing and quilts. Pillows are also a wool fibre. Beds are adorned with Angora comforters, and additional bedding is provided in the robes. The standard room is complete with 20" flat screen TV's, three standard channels, five sky channels and two free to guest block buster movie channels. We are in the process of a refit in the bathrooms, where tiles and porcelain is being replaced. More importantly guests of the lodge have access to very large spacious lounges, with big comfy leather sofas, that sit in front of an open fire, with a 47" Flat Screen TV and the benefits of a comprehensive viewing selection. These spaces walk out to garden courtyards. Kitchen and dining areas are fully equipped where all the comforts of home are on offer. These areas are open all hours to our guests. Furthermore we provide unlimited use of towels for the Thermal Pools at no additional cost. A continental buffet breakfast is available daily for guests. All this is included in the tariff structure. Guest and team interaction is vital to our success here at Drifters Inn, a lot of our guests leave feeling they have become part of the family of Drifters Inn. How we interact with you is largely dependant on how you react to us. The team here are only too aware that it is not everyone's desire to be 'fussed over' as we have been accused of, so we have become acutely attuned to the guests that choose to that keep to themselves, and we let them be. Offering all that check in a welcome that lets them know we are here if they want us and not if they don't.

If you felt that you wanted more from us, we are only disappointed you did not see fit to allow us this opportunity while under our roof.

We trust that you continue to be involved in your room selection, making your decisions based on your specific requirement rather than cost and travel well in future.

Kind Regards,

Team at Drifters Inn.

"Overall a pleasant stay. The welcome could have been a little better, and it would have been good if they had known more about the local restaurants as we arrived after dark - even offered a few brochures perhaps." Anonymous, 10 August 2008

Drifters Inn, Hanmer Springs Response: We take the opportunity of quoting Janetta MacKay, Travel writer for the New Zealand Herald, “We stayed practically over the road from the pools at the Drifters Inn, where friendly host Kate Poiner proves an information centre in herself, giving advice on restaurants and attractions”.

"Excellent. We found our room very clean and enjoyed the extra little touches - towels being available for the hot pools & the lounge, kitchen area. The staff were friendly and helpful." Anonymous, 3 July 2008

"Lovely place to stay. Great hospitality! Will definately stay here again on next trip to Hanmer." Anonymous, 17 June 2008