Carrington Estate

The restaurant staff, including the breakfast chef, were friendly, and the housekeeping team were nice too. That’s the only good I can say. The place may have been fancy once, but now it just feels like it’s pretending. Don’t waste your money. The bottled Kiwi Blue water in the rooms wasn’t sealed. The bottles are reused for new guests, and my sister drank from one before realizing the next day. When I raised it with reception, manager Dipesh said I’d have to pay if I wanted sealed water, and suggested refilling the bottle at the gym, which was closed. I brought it up again the next day and got no apology or concern, just “ok I’ll raise it with upper management.” Odd response from the manager. Reception also can’t get linen once housekeeping have left. The curtains in the accessible room don’t keep the outdoor lights out. There were also pictures hung up paying homage to Donald Trump???

The food was nice and saved the evening, but with those prices I’d expected much better service. We weren’t greeted when we arrived, the salt and pepper shakers were greasy, and after my son spilled soda we wiped it up with our napkins. I asked staff for fresh ones, but the used napkins stayed on the table all through dinner. Old plates were still there when dessert came, and I had to ask for them to be cleared. Even then, the napkins and some plates were left behind 😂. Nobody checked whether we wanted more drinks or were enjoying the food, though we did. We’d come for a lovely holiday meal, but I’m afraid we won’t be back.

The views and venue are stunning, but the service and food didn’t live up to them. On 3 Dec, our group of 10 waited about six minutes to be seated while the three staff on duty rushed around without acknowledging us. There were only around 20 people already seated. We had to order food and drinks at the register because no one was serving us. The wine tasting was average and arrived after 15 minutes, while the platter and pizza took an hour. The large sharing platter was poor and clearly incomplete, with just five crackers and olive oil but no bread. The chutneys came in takeaway plastic containers. I thought this was meant to be a world class establishment! The gardens were overgrown too. Come on, you can do better.

The gardens could use some weeding, and the tables and chairs looked worn and in need of repair or replacement. Service was also a bit hit and miss, and the younger staff could use more customer service training. Still, the ocean view was beautiful and the food was delicious. We ordered two large platters, both generous and full of flavour. They easily fed two adults, two children and a toddler, with leftovers to take home. Great food and a lovely spot, but better upkeep and service would improve the visit.