Black Swan Lakeside Boutique Hotel

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I enjoyed the stay very much.

A very pleasant stay even though only one night.

Beautiful property

The location was absolutely beautiful. The grounds were very well maintained and had nice views. We loved the sitting room too.

Great weekend getaway

Beautiful location on the lake with great views. Deluxe contemporary room with very nice facilities.

Great hotel with amazing location

Very nice hotel close to most Rotorua attractions. Amazing food in the restaurant. Staff very nice and friendly. The room was big and with a nice view to the lake. The hotel has a lot of rooms with this beautiful lakeview.

Black Swan .... so much potential...

Get ready for a total breakdown of this place; it has SO MUCH POTENTIAL but was let down by some specific things and was very expensive to boot. So, not value for the VERY EXPENSIVE $975 we paid for the package (this was a surprise getaway organised by my beloved to give me some rest after a recent bereavement) ... Let's start with the PROS: Location: Absolute Lakefront perfection, no fault here. 10/10 Cleanliness: Clean and well appointed 10/10 Bathroom: Excellent, large, heated floor, stone bath, double sinks, great shower 10/10 Bedroom: Roomy and clean with a great view of the lake, a lovely little nook with a fireplace 8/10 (see cons upcoming) Garden and grounds: Beautiful gardens, stone walls, had a very elegant and classical vibe, these gardens are well maintained for the most part and it will be glorious in springtime 8/10 * see cons for a suggestion re the garden Grotto/ pool: Gorgeous spa pools in the stone outhouse one could pretend you are at Lake Como! 8/10, would be great to light actual candles and maybe some pot plants in the grotto to really lift it.. Other gold stars are for: fresh flowers in reception and conservatory, books and games in the conservatory, real art work on the walls, painting and sculptures by Yi Yang were quite good. (There were however other odd choices such as a photo of a squirrel... (why?) and a ceramic greyhound... (why?)), whittakers chocolate treats (we love NZ chocolate!), a comfortable bed and the staff were lovely and kind (if somewhat inexperienced), we were well looked after by the receptionist and our wait staff although when we checked in they didn't know the particulars of the deal we had booked. They cannot be faulted for this and I wish them all well. My eggs bene for breakfast was perfectly cooked and yummy. The champagne was great, a 750ml of Laurent Perrier and the other wines on offer were good. Perhaps adding basic cocktail menu would help to elevate the experience. CONS: It was advertised as a package with a four course meal as part of it, the '4th course' was some stale molenberg crust with butter on it on a side plate. Inedible. The rest of the meal was below average: the salmon appetizer was literally packet salmon on a plate with a squirt of mayonnaise and some wilted mesclun sprinkled on top, the beef carpaccio passed muster however and the horseradish sauce elevated it. The mains were ... definitely not to expectation... the gnocchi was from a packet with canned beetroot and some parsley sprinkled on top, the chicken breast was fine, the butter sauce was flavourful and the potatoes were perfection but the veges were akin to what you get in a hospital dinner, no offense to the chef but a 'three course meal' should have flair and some gastronomic appeal, and here is where I would suggest that the garden and gardener are put to use creating a small herb and salad garden; there is plenty of room and it would elevate the meals to a boutique level. Dessert was adequate and tasty. Breakfast was fine, although the coffee was disappointing and not from a proper coffee machine. Food I would say 4/10. Room for improvement if you want to charge that much money. It was quite clearly supermarket food put on a plate. Sorry bout it but do better. And the piped music in the conservatory plays through a speaker on the wall of the bedroom we were in so it was kinda intrusive to have some bad music playing into our room, also spotify with ads was played in the dining room although the dinner music was pretty good. And to my final comments, the decor. WOW, there was a small folder with history of the place... WHAT HAPPENED!!??? I can forgive the aluminium window and door frames but the penguin carpet??? What even is that? The odd foam printed wallpaper, the purple and black chandeliers... the odd random photos in glassless frames, as well as a Dick Frizzell print... the weird overly elaborate mirror frames around strange paintings on top of the weird garish wallpapered feature wall... it was incongruous to say the least, there were certainly elements of style and class but then that would be entirely obliterated by an odd print or a terrible fabric choice... the curtains were like some extravagant diamante pavlova wedding dress, the cushions were just another layer of design alphabet soup.... the dining room was lit up like a surgical operating theatre, no ambient lighting at all, and it could have done with, I dunno some gorgeous indoor plants or something.. just to soften the black and white and silver polyester curtains..... honestly... give me $200,000k and I could turn this place around and bring in so many customers who would LOVE to stay in this place. Like I say, there is SO MUCH potential, I enjoyed my stay as I needed it and the care my beloved put into booking it cancels everything out but I would love to return and stay again knowing that I would be paying for quality and style. Additionally, I have stayed in a LOT of hotels through personal choice and through my work so I do have experience in hotels and tourism, I also work in an industry where word of mouth can be passed onto some very important people. I would actually love the opportunity to turn this place around, I would make it an exceptional place to stay and one people would return to time and again.

Beautiful setting, but not the boutique luxury experience we expected

The grounds are beautiful and the rooms are charming and quaint. Several staff members were exceptionally friendly and welcoming. We appreciated the complimentary minibar, the delicious chocolates, and the thoughtful snacks given to our children for the drive. The cooked breakfast options were also enjoyable.