Treetops Lodge & Estate

This place is absolutely top class. It’s quite remote, nested within a huge estate with some spectacular hiking trails to explore (the 1h return hike to a scenic waterfall felt like I have only just seen the back garden … ). The interiors are amazing, stylishly decorated, with plenty of space; and spotlessly clean. Some good facilities there too - a gym, a sauna, and hot outdoor baths. The food and wine are sensational, they would warrant a fine dining review of its own. For a special occasions, you may like to dine in the library - it is a unique experience. I highly recommend booking a combined stay package between Treetops and its sibling property, the Kinloch Manor (“Forest to Fairway”). Also, both management teams were very supportive in terms of booking transfers and tours around Rotorua (from Treetops) and Taupo (from Kinloch), making the whole itinerary planning a lot easier.

My husband and I had been to Treetops Lodge before in 2012. We weren't disappointed with the property upon our return. It is beautiful with an amazing chef, spa, and estate activities. My husband had fun on his day of fishing with the guide. We stayed in a Valley Villa that was beautifully appointed with marble bathrooms and real fireplaces. We enjoyed the staff and meeting guests from around the world.

This is an amazing estate situated on over 2500 acres. The drive in becomes part of the experience as it takes nearly 15 minutes to get from the front gate up and down a winding road to the resort itself. Once you arrive, your greeted by Jo, the manager of the facility who made us feel incredibly welcome and gave us a tour of the facility and then helped us into our room. I’m not sure what it was about this location, but we ended up collecting all the various guests into a large dining table and ate family style for dinner each night. We now have friends that we will stay in contact with overtime. Despite the long ride into an out of the resort, the surrounding area is a lot of fun and the hikes on the property are simply amazing… especially up to a non-property waterfall. The food fantastic the scenes epic, we were sad to leave.

What happened (factual summary) • I made a reservation at Treetops Lodge in August 2025 for a New Year stay for family for 3 nights. • Due to a flight change (beyond my control), I knew four days in advance that I would not be able to arrive. • As soon as this became clear, I contacted Treetops directly by phone and by email, despite being in Europe at the time. They sounded helpful • Treetops therefore knew in advance that I could not take up the reservation. • Following this notification, the rooms were returned to inventory and at least one (possibly both) was re-sold, as evidenced by availability shortly after. It was on booking.com and the GM confirmed it! • I requested a reimbursement and stated that I was willing to forfeit one night as a compromise. • This request was refused by the General Manager, despite the rooms appearing to have been re-sold. • A replacement stay four days later was proposed, which was not feasible, as we were no longer going to be in the region (we are on a short holiday!). • An alternative offer was made for one night in off-property accommodation, approximately 20 minutes’ walk from the lodge, (with very limited photos available and a standard that appeared clearly below a luxury level (apparently have read other people's reviews on TripAdvisor more comparable to a basic Airbnb than a luxury lodge). • No refund or partial reimbursement was made and Booking.com said they cant help. Why I am sharing this • If rooms are re-sold after advance notice, refusing any reimbursement results in the lodge effectively being paid twice for the same rooms. • This involved several thousand euros, not a minor amount. • For a property positioning itself as top-tier and luxury, I found the commercial handling and customer treatment disappointing. • This is intended as a warning to future guests: even with early notice and apparent resale of rooms, no flexibility or fair resolution should be expected.

I would never stay here it looks nothing like advertised. The roof is falling apart and the tv's don't work. Service was really bad and were treated unfairly by the lady who runs the place. I would recommend to stay at Poronui instead.