Three Rivers 2 Bedroom Cottage

We booked through booking.com, then got a note saying they couldn’t charge our card. They weren’t supposed to charge it until we arrived, and the card was working everywhere else. We tried calling the numbers on Google and the property website but couldn’t reach anyone. The only number that answered was through booking. The person there seemed to be pretending to work for the property, wouldn’t answer questions, confirm our reservation, or connect us with someone who could help. Instead, she yelled at us and hung up. Then the booking was cancelled through booking.com. I don’t know what’s going on with the property, but the cancellation may have saved us trouble. If it isn’t a scam, it’s still a business that didn’t respond to repeated calls and messages across multiple platforms to sort out a possible problem.

The host was friendly and easy to reach, and we had free parking. The room was spacious and clean, with a great view of the night sky. It’s about a 20 min walk to the center of town and 5 min to the lake. Air conditioning was available, though it took a while to cool the room with the full glass windows and intense New Zealand sun. The furniture felt a bit mismatched and not very modern or updated, but it was functional.

Wind noise kept us awake all night, and the walls were very thin. The hotel manager was very hostile. The worst experience ever.

I got sick and couldn’t make the trip to Tekapo, but the hotel wouldn’t even consider waiving the cancellation fee, so I had to pay for the whole room. When I disputed it, they blamed Booking.com, even though the hotel has the right to waive cancellation fees.