Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands

The refurbished room was great, and the outdoor pool area was really nice. The staff were also very flexible when our flight plans kept changing. After our flight was cancelled, they let us cancel the final night without a fee. Then the airline moved the replacement flight two days later at the last minute, so we needed to add nights again, and that was fine too. Our original room type was fully booked, so we had to move rooms. The team made sure the new room was cleaned quickly, which let us switch smoothly around checkout and check-in time. Well done!

The SOS Spa was divine, divine, divine. Book ahead! I’m 1000% coming back to the Copthorne. Our garden view room was spacious, clean and quiet, with a very, very comfy bed. I only wished there’d been some cold water in the fridge. Dinner at Jimmy Cooks restaurant was fabulous, and the staff were friendly and attentive. Please leave them a tip :)

Anjani, I think that was her name, was wonderful at check-in: sweet, friendly and professional. She deserves all the accolades. The room was clean apart from the live and dead insects, which I can’t blame housekeeping for, and breakfast had decent options. Still, nothing about the stay especially stood out, and the room was fine only if you can put up with sharing it with bugs. There were soooo many insects, including crickets, spiders, flies and mosquito eaters. The outside doors to the hallways are left open, and there’s a gap under the room doors, so they can get in. It must be an entomologist’s dream. The towel-card setup was awkward too. You hand over your card for a pool towel, then return the towel to get the card back, which means standing in the lobby in a wet swimsuit. For the price of the rooms, treating guests like children seems odd. Hotels and resorts I’ve stayed at usually leave towels by the pool, with guests putting them in a basket there or in their room after drying off and showering. I can’t imagine towel theft is common enough to need a multi-step card system, but I’m not running the place.

We used this place as our base for visiting the Bay of Islands. The oceanfront location was great, and the property was clean, though older and showing some wear. Daily housekeeping felt a little too relaxed. Breakfast in the restaurant was a great buffet. Dinner was borderline. I ordered the veal rack medium rare, but it seemed precooked, then put in the fryer. It came out overcooked and dry. I guess burgers and fries would be a safer choice.