Theatre Royal Hotel Kumara

Tabby served us and was fantastic. We’d come in with my partner while traveling and hadn’t visited before. The women providing table service were friendly, chatting with customers and looking after them nicely. At the bar, though, a man I saw named Judy, the manager, was very rude and didn’t seem to know much about the alcohol he was serving. When he checked our IDs, despite us clearly being old enough, he only glanced at the fronts and didn’t check the backs. I’d expect a manager to do the job properly and know the products. Better customer service and product knowledge would make the atmosphere here much better.

The glow worm cave behind the cabins put on a great show, and it was nice to support local West Coast people offering places to visit. We had a super-comfortable cabin for the night, with a warm welcome at check-in. The restaurant and bar had a good menu, and the whitebait fritter was the best I’ve tasted in a long time. Sinny at the bar was attentive and kept us laughing. There’s something here for everyone. Don’t judge it by its cover, this place is a real gem.

The Theatre Royal manager went above and beyond when I had my wedding near Kumara recently. We had a lovely bridal suite in the Victoria rooms, and the hotel staff were a huge help with last-minute planning and sorting out problems. Even a large dinner booking made at short notice was no trouble. I’d recommend it to anyone after a distinctive, memorable experience and wonderful service.

We stopped for morning tea while traveling with Moa Tours, and collected our packed lunches for the day. The bar person was lovely and handled our tour group’s hot drink order well. The lunches were tasty and filling. A very worthwhile stop.