Te Mahia Bay Resort

I was excited to stay at this resort, but unfortunately never made it to to the misleading advertising of “on demand 24/7” water taxi services. The water taxis make their own hours and have exorbitant rates. We were unable to get them to commit to a return trip at the time we needed to make a ferry connection. The hotel was unsympathetic to this despite being misleading in their emails. The hotel was also unresponsive the day leading up to our arrival so that when we finally heard from them it was “too late” to book the water taxi. Too late being 6:30pm on a Saturday. No refund or partial refund offered. Taxi costs as much as the price to stay at the resort for two days. We were forced to book last minute hotel arrangements on the mainland and lost a day of our trip as well as the cost of the hotel.

*HIDDEN COSTS WARNING*My 1 star rating may be unfair once you actually stay at the resort but sadly our experience was only 1 star. Please be aware that with the roads closed, a family of 4 will need to pay over $300 return journey by water taxi. This was not made clear to us, nor was the essential need to book ahead for the water taxi. We were advised in advance by the owners of a subsidy and 'on demand' water taxis, which I interpreted to mean the journey was mostly subsidised and you could call a water taxi for when you needed one. We learnt this was not the case whilst at the marina ready to leave for the resort.When I called the owners to let them know our predicament at not knowing this high cost and give them some feedback about our experience, the owner had a hearty laugh at my foolishness and naivity and gave a defensive response about the information they send. I had to make my point very clearly after feeling humiliated, tired and extremely disappointed. Given this response, I don't expect they will do anything to change the information they send so I just want to give a warning to other families about this extra cost. I was told by the owners that other people book the water taxi after the owners send their email, well that is too late to change a non-refundable booking so please be warned well ahead. If you do decide to stay in the area, which is beautiful, I recommend the skipper at Havelock water taxis who in contrast was very helpful, accommodating and sympathetic.

Very bad. I called up to move my booking dates as we could not get to the resort due to ferry cancelation. I was told that I could not have my booking moved. I asked if I could then cancel and get a refund and was refused a refund, not even a half or quarter refund due to only giving 2 days notice but the reason for this was the ferry problems from wellington to picton. I'm very sad that no compassion was given at all. The water taxi that I booked with gave me a full refund. I will definitely recommend the water taxi (kenepuru water taxi ) they were very understanding and compassionate.To reply to owners comment- It was extenuating circumstances that there is no way to know the ferries would not run and it's put a dampner on a family holiday some of whom came from South Africa. If you turning people away then there would be a likelihood that you would get a last minute booking which intern gives a double dipping.

This is the nicest accommodation we have had during our Queen Charlotte trek - stunningly beautiful, old renovated farmhouse, a dream come true. Yes, only accessible on foot or by boat, and this is what makes it so charming. Not too onerous with Cougar from Picton if you are able to walk the saddle (abt 40$). Thanks to the reception staff for treating us so kindly!

Te Mahia is an amazing place to stay. From the moment I walked in, til when I left, I loved every minute of my time there. The view, the staff, the room, the food, all made for a wonderful stay. It felt like a home not a holiday accommodation. Lots of little quirky things about it. I would suggest getting there by boat, water taxi. The road was quite grueling, bt once we saw where we were staying, it was worth it. If you get the opportunity to stay there... TAKE IT. Very reasonably priced for a bit of magic!

Recently I had the pleasure of staying at Te Mahia Bay Resort again. As always Trevor and Jann welcomed me and nothing was too much trouble. With the roads being as treacherous as they are water taxi is the only safe way in for non locals . Booking well in advance and liaising with water taxi owner meant sharing costs with other travellers to other sounds destinations. Thoroughly enjoyed my unexpected tiki tour.This resort is a real gem and its owners and keen young staff are magic. Thank you.

A simply stunning place to stay for a couple of nights! Rooms were large and spacious (we had a waterfront motel unit) and all completely self contained. The views were spectacular and it was tranquil and relaxing. We hired kayaks from the resort and had a lovely look around the bay. Check out the glow worms at night! A wonderful wee part of our beautiful country here! Highly recommend and would definitely stay here again!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Te Mahia! Our unit was tastefully decorated and comfortable and had everything we needed including a full kitchen with a decent size fridge. Trevor made great tasting coffee for us each day at the shop and our days were full with hiking the local tracks, kayaking and relaxing reading books. Thank-you for a special break Trevor and Jann :)

Beautiful views from both the room and around the property. Stayed in Unit I, one of the motel style rooms which was excellent. Nicely presented, very clean and spacious with fabulous views. We were disappointed to find Tinker's Kitchen, the only restaurant, was closed. No mention had been made on the website before we arrived, and so we had not stocked up on groceries. We took a water taxi tour of Kenepuru Sound which was great, and the walk on the Queen Charlotte Track to the Onahau Lookout was fantastic.

I should have read the earlier review by Samantha Woolls, because it described our bad experience exactly. Unfortunately, we booked our stay before her review was posted. We reread our correspondence with the resort and, even in hindsight, we feel that we were intentionally mislead about the cost and ease of securing passage by water-taxi to the resort. It is clear that the resort owners are content to keep their customers in the dark about this pitfall, and then still charge them the full amount for the entire stay when they are not able to arrive at the resort due to the difficulty of securing water taxi service. I would recommend making alternate arrangements based this resort clearly being a repeat offender" when it comes to not making their customers aware of the significance of the booking-passage challenge