Pen-y-bryn Reviews

Very good, beautiful hotel, comfortable living, the owner speaks very good Chinese, pleasant communication, and even prepared Chinese breakfast for us the next day!

The manor is well maintained. The service is also very considerate, It's a pity that I only stayed for one night. This trip is not required.

James' service and attitude were excellent. Great value for money. Very nice to stay here for one night and the continental breakfast was also very good. Too bad they are closing, so hurry if you want to stay.

James & James are generous and welcoming guests and custodians of this amazing property. Think English stately home and you will not be far wrong. The history and charm of the house need to be seen to be believed. Great room with the best shower of our trip! Breakfast cooked to order and enjoyed with the other guests in the beautiful dining room. Great to meet Milo & George the resident dogs.

We were the only guests for our nights stay. we went to the Blue Eyed Penguin observation and wandered around town. Very Steam Punk. The lodge was pretty awesome. Our room, Elizabeth, had a ensuite bathroom and very comfortable and seating for two. We had a dinner at the Lodge just for the 2 of us. A lovely night and following day breakfast. It had all the fixings. The public rooms were quite opulent and fun to see all the books, etc. The proprietor was very helpful in all counts. Helped with finding us a Doctor to go to and a fantastic driving route up to Mt Cook.

We had an absolutely wonderful stay with James and James at Pen y Bryn - I would recommend making this part of your stay for anyone visiting Oamaru. We were welcomed so warmly on arrival, and helped with our bags. They also upgraded our room which was a great bonus. There were delicious freshly made cookies and a great range of drinks waiting in our room. The modern bathroom (with underfloor heating) was huge, and the room felt very luxurious. James was so helpful in telling us where to go to get best views of penguins and lending us his binoculars. In the morning, breakfast was incredible, by far the best breakfast I have had in a hotel. Everything fresh and homemade including granola, jams and honey, followed by a spot on cooked breakfast. The room is also this gorgeous Victorian space. James was great to chat to and both were perfect hosts. Thanks so much for making our stay so special!

Great place to stay if visiting Omarua - trip back to Victorian times.We were met by James when we arrived & he couldn’t have been more helpful. Lovely room - we were in the annex in the ‘ nest’. End of the day we had a night cap in the lunge - very comfortable & relaxing. Breakfast included a lot of home grown produce and all well prepared. Overall thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

This was definitely the best hotel stay we have ever had. From the first moment we got out of the car and were greeted in the parking lot by one of the owners, to the tips on how to get into town, what to see, the binoculars given to us to see the penguins better, to advice on the holiday the next day and the efforts to book us a restaurant at our next stop in Dunedin, we realized that both owners want to provide excellent customer service and really do with their efforts. The three course dinner that evening was superbly put together and executed! If we ever come to New Zealand again, we will definitely plan our tour to stay at Pen-y-Bryn Lodge again for at least one night. It is recommended to book half board here as the food and service are really something special.

Very nice overall, older style property with quaint features. The room we choose was well equipped however rather small. The two James’ were very good hosts and catered for our needs. Excellent food cooked by the hosts made the experience quite special. Thanks P&S

Wonderful place to stay, the food was excellent and the James’ were fantastic hosts who went the extra mile to make our stay special. They were very flexible with us, extending our stay at short notice and delaying dinner at short notice. We even got a photography lesson thrown in.

We stayed for two nights and was so impressed with the hospitality and quality of food. James is a superb chef and the food he creates is far better than most restaurants!!! Eat at the lodge as service and food was superb!! It was great to see hosts who really understand quality and who have a great sense of humour. Thank you James

We stayedfor one night in the Nest room which was in the annexe. Very spacious room and bathroom. Hosts were very welcoming and helpful with great travel suggestions. Breakfast was very good with an excellent selection, many items were homemade by James. The house itself is stunning.

The lodge , the food and the hospitality in general provided by James one and James two was first class. We had a brilliant stay and the guidance they provided to the sights and the delights of the Oamaru district was a real point of difference for us. We highly recommend this fine property and it’s wonderful hosts.