Kennedy Park Resort

The cafe/restaurant was handy, and the staff and food there were good. The campground was safe for kids with heaps for them to do, and we enjoyed our stay, but it was noisy and I probably wouldn’t return because the rules weren’t enforced. It’s meant to be pet-free, yet we saw a dog, and the noise and smoking rules weren’t well enforced either. Some staff were good, while a few seemed like they really didn’t want to be there. The pool was a great temperature, but the water was extremely murky and the pool badly needed waterline cleaner. People often parked on other people’s sites, and staff didn’t seem bothered about enforcing the boundaries. Two thirds of the games-room machines were out of order, often without signs or with signs fallen off, so tokens could be wasted. The minimum token purchase was $10. The main-block showers were fiddly to set to the right temperature, and you had to keep pressing the button to keep the water running. If you don’t like pressing it every 10 seconds, the toilet block by the pool has two older showers with a regular mixer that stays on until you turn it off. It seemed that families with kids were put in rows D, E, and F, where it was very loud. B bay and G bay looked more peaceful and spacious.

Bringing my kids here now feels just as special as coming here myself when I was young. We've been visiting this park for 40 years, stayed in lots of different rooms and camped here too. It's still our favourite place to stay in Napier.

Once we finally got into the room, we found live wires in the cupboard with no protection. They weren't dealt with until the next day, and nobody apologised. We also had an air pillow that was out of order for our whole stay. The resort itself is lovely, but we waited more than two hours to check in because the rooms weren't ready. Reception wasn't welcoming or helpful.

The campground has a nice playground, a bouncy pillow, a lovely kitchen and a pool, so it could be great for families. The pool water was milky and looked quite dirty. In the kitchen, there was nothing for guests to clean up their own crumbs, though it would be cleaned later. I also saw a staff member check the toilets and sign the last-cleaning board without cleaning them, even though they weren't clean enough to leave as they were. The place wasn't generally unclean, and staff treated us okay, but the service wasn't like what you'd get at a smaller campsite. They didn't put much effort into helping with questions, such as where to find information about town. All in all, it was okayish.