Rapaura Vacation b&b accomodation with internet access, air con and TV

Thanks for the lovely feedback Linda. We are so happy that you had a memorable time with your mum and niece. We would welcome you back anytime as you were perfect guests- considerate, respectful, great communicators and you treated our home with care and consideration.

Thanks for this review Paula. We enjoyed hosting you and would readily welcome you back. You were awesome guests

It is a shame that our guests saw fit to write a review of this nature, as we have always had great feedback regarding the service we provide. The guest who wrote this review also wrote the following statements to us via email (verifiable by the booking platform): ”Your home/ property is beautiful, and you and Brett have been super thoughtful and generous with all the extra touches! ...Amazing!” and “Wow - you 2 are phenomenally hospitable and generous! Thank you so much for the bubbly! (Hubby says thank you too - he thinks it’s his Birthday prez and says he might share it with me!!!)”. Clearly her review does not match these comments, so she has made claims that are untrue and we believe to be vindictive as she has also published them on other review sites. It is only fair that a response be written to explain my actions. Brett was away for the weekend moving our daughter out of her flat in Auckland and bringing her home down here at the end of her four-year University degree. It seems that my perception of the guests needing total privacy and their expectations of service were not equal. As no one was home when the guests arrived, a meet and greet did not happen. I was unaware the guests did not have a car, nor that they were in residence, until a taxi arrived to pick them up. When I knocked on their door to let them know that the taxi was here for them, it was clear to me that it was not a suitable time to chat, as Stan indicated he was in a state of undress in the lounge. This was extremely embarrassing for me, so I knew I would need to make personal contact at specified and prearranged times only. The next morning when breakfast was delivered no one was about to speak to again. This is not uncommon, and it never concerns us, because many guests like their privacy. An arrangement was made to catch up in person (at a specified time) so that I could show the guests the nuances of the spa pool and explain how the wood-fired hot tub operates (not easy if you are not familiar with it). As these explanations are lengthy, it is much better to do this in person rather than by email. I feel that this may have been interpreted as a reluctance to agree to do the hot tub request, but this was not the case at all. I spoke with Stan about all of this at the time of our meeting, but Ellen was not present. Later that day, when I arrived home Ellen saw me pull up in the car and quickly went back inside. I interpreted this as an indication that she did not want to speak with me, so I respected their privacy and did not make further contact. I did in fact, spend several hours in the dark and rain preparing the hot-tub and getting it nice and warm for their arrival home at 11pm. (The tub takes 1 hour to fill with fresh water and 2-3 hours to heat with a renewal of firewood required every half an hour – walking up a steep hill). I even provided them with a lamp so that they could find their way in the dark. For some reason, they never used the hot tub, despite me sending an email communication at 7:51 pm as a reply to Ellen’s statement of “Just confirming we’d still like to make use of the hill top hot tub tonight! We don’t mind the Spring rain at all! :). My reply was “Yes that's all ok. The hot tub is steaming away and should stay warm for a good while. I'll stoke it up before I go to bed.” and again at 9.18 pm saying “The hot tub may even be too warm. The hose is up there if you need to add cold water.” (It was still at 36 degrees the next morning). The guests did not want breakfast on the second morning and had requested a late check out, which we agreed to. The key to the apartment was left on our private hall table quite early (I was home), so I interpreted this as a sign for privacy again, and I went out afterwards and sent a brief email saying goodbye at the same time. Unfortunately, I never met Ellen, but that was not my fault as I did try several times. There were only 4 people living here the whole time and as this is our family home, not a hotel, it is inevitable that some noise will be heard by guests from movement upstairs. We are conscious of this and try hard to minimize it as much as possible. The guest claims that the dinghy in our pond is ornamental only. This is not true, it is a fully functional solid, watertight dinghy with oars permanently attached to it and many guests have used it. The suggestion about us providing bottled water may seem to be a good one, however our water here is from a deep bore and of the highest quality, with no added chemicals. Guests have always been satisfied with this and as well it saves the use of plastic bottles which pollute the environment. The suggestion of providing Makana chocolate – yes, we can certainly see the merit of this. As we always provide complimentary Marlborough wine, this would make sense as well. We feel that that this review is harsh and unfair. Meeting people and helping them have a memorable and enjoyable stay is how we like run to run our Bed and Breakfast. We are hugely disappointed in this feedback and still perplexed as to what we didn’t do/provide.

Thank you for these comments. You were easy guests to host and we hope to see you back again one day, sooner not later.