Kings Ohakune is used by Contiki Tours which gives you a flavour of the type of accommodation it is. It is very basic accommodation that’s ideal for 20-somethings who don’t mind simplicity and can sleep through a bit of noise. It didn’t suit our needs, but we could recommend it to people so long as they booked with their eyes wide open.

The star rating system of accommodation in NZ seems over-embellished relative to other parts of the world, and Kings is no different. Kings rate themselves as a 3 star, when realistically they’re a 2 star.

ROOM
The property consists of old timber buildings that were probably grand back in their day and fit for a king, but not so much now. We stayed in a dated queen room with an uncomfortable rolly bed, and it had a table and chair that looked like patio furniture not indoor furniture. The TV was tiny and incredibly old. A major plus for the room was that it had a good hydronic heater which was marvellous at drying out wet ski gear.

Noise was a major problem with respect to sleep. The music from the bar was loud, especially when someone left the bar door open, and the verandah out the front was made of old wood, so people walking between their room and bar was very audible, and it also sounded like there was a party going on in the room next door and there was no soundproofing or anyone answering the reception phone to do anything about it.

WIFI
The wifi didn’t work in our room which was a shame because we would have liked to have spent a little time in the room on a couple of days when the weather was not conducive to going skiing at Turoa. Unfortunately there is no communal lounge at Kings so there was nowhere during the day to sit and use the internet. The staff kicked us out of the breakfast room when we tried to sit there and use the wifi. Also the free wifi only extended to a very small data usage before you have to pay.


FOOD/BAR
Our expectations were set that breakfast would be a simple affair, and it certainly was. It consisted of a basic cereal, toast and instant coffee. When I asked the staff for some clean jam they seemed rather put out.

The bar had a nice atmosphere for having a drink and varying liveliness depending on whether it was a weeknight or weekend. We had dinner there one evening and unfortunately it took 75 minutes for our meals to arrive, and the staff had not set our expectations as to the potentially long wait. The meals were great but perhaps that was because we were really famished by the time they arrive.
See our video here