Expectations vs reality: Romantic views from the Lake House were by disrupted by building works. Photos / Supplied
Expectations vs reality: Romantic views from the Lake House were by disrupted by building works. Photos / Supplied
Nothing says romance quite like a lakeside hot tub and a view of six yellow excavators.
A Waikato couple travelling to Queenstown for a romantic anniversary getaway say they booked a hotel but got a construction site. They shared their surprise on social media on Tuesday, after turning up to Kamea Lake House.
“One year anniversary spa spent watching construction,” they captioned the view of earthworks from his hot tub. “How romantic.”
The hotel on the shore of Wakatipu is currently undergoing “extensive redevelopments”, and the website advises guests to expect some disturbance from April 2024 onwards.
However for some, including the husband of the couple who works for a construction and machinery contractor, the sound of six-tonne excavators are no big deal. In fact they saw the funny side of their hot tub view.
“Kamana were extremely helpful and notified us in advance about the construction going on, they even advised us that we should move our spa appointment to a weekend day when there wouldn’t be anything happening on the site,” he told the Herald, but he said he nor his wife minded the noise.
They highly recommend Kamana Lake House as an acccomodation option that just happens to be getting upgrades.
“It is a running joke that no matter where we go, my wife can’t escape me talking about diggers.”
The Lake House is also heavily discounting rooms during construction, currently from $250 per night - a handsome 35 per cent deduction on peak season, which will hopefully help detract from the noise of the diggers.
It also appears Kamana may have accidentally unearthed a new niche for Kiwi hospitality: the ensuite building site.
“My husband is in civil construction,” read one comment on the video. “This would probably relax him more.”
Others said it would be ideal for toddlers.
An online memo to Kamana guests says that the hotel and facilities “remain fully operational” during the development work, however guests may be impacted by extra noise between 8am and 5pm on weekdays.
The hotel was contacted for further comment.
While Queenstown continues to add buildings to the increasingly busy, one hotel found a cheeky workaround to meet the high demand lakefront views.
'I just thought it was funny': Moore wasn't too bothered with her virtual room with a view. Photo / Screenshot, Twitter
Guest Miriam Moore checked into the Mi-Pad budget hotel in Henry Street only to discover the views of Wakatipu was a flat screen TV.
“We booked a room with a view in Queenstown and it was a LIVESTREAM of the view from the top floor,” she wrote to social media platform Twitter.
