Visitors Criticise New Zealand Hotels

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28866, 10 April 1959, Page 2

Visitors Criticise New Zealand Hotels

“This is a beautiful country full of charming, friendly, hospitab■ <- people, but we have found il a great strain staying m your hotels.” was the way Lady Cadbury and her sister. Mrs Elizabeth Herrera from England, summed up their first trip to New Zealand when they were interviewed in Christchurch yesterday. Lady Cadbury is the wife of Sir Egbert Cadbury, managing director of Cadbury Brothers. Ltd., J. S. Fry and Sons, Ltd.. and associated companies, who has come to New Zealand in the course of a world tour to visit chocolate factories and depots of the company. “You New Zealanders have just the same complaints to make about the inflexibility of the system in. your hotels, and many have urged us to make our views known frankly, so we do not feel too churlish or ungrateful to be making these comments,” the women said.

They were appreciative of the kindness and hospitality that had been accorded them by individuals they had met in the Dominion and were high in their praise of the meals they had enjoyed. leisurely and graciously served in private homes.

When it came to hotels it was another matter. Their main complaint was the general attitude of intolerance towards travellers As an example they gave the case of weary travellers arriving rather grubby after 200 miles of motoring With the rigid meal hours enforced by hotels there was barely enough time to bolt a drink and hurriedly wash the hands before rushing to the din-ing-room for dinner. Everything was conducted in a rush to observe the hotel timetable. Meals in general were unattractive and badly served. Too much food was piled on to plates and meat, which was in world class for quality, was ruined by poor cooking. Many travellers would appreciate lighter and later meals, said Lady Cadbury “Monumental Shock” There was almost “an infringement of human rights” and certainly a lack of consideration. Mrs Herrera said, because the prices charged by first-class hotels in New Zealand were high enough to warrant better conditions. She laughed as she recalled the “monumental shock” of being wakened at»7 o’clock in the morning with a newspaper thrown on to her bed. “Everybody does not want ,to be wakened at 7 o’clock—l certainly do not. It put me out for the day.” she said.

She was not warned ahead of time that staff would enter her bedroom without knocking and had seen no printed notice she could hang outside her door to avoid being disturbed, said Mrs Herrera. Surely it was unneces-. sarily inconsiderate for the hotel office to waken guests at 745 tn the morning by a telephone call asking if the room would be vacated that day

All these things added up to strain, bustle and annoyance for travellers who paid for a leisurely, restful stay in a beautiful country like New Zealand The astonishing thing to the visitors had been to find the reverse situation to what one might expect, in that privatelyowned hotels gave worse service than those run by the Government. The Hermitage was a joy to stay in if only because guests could eat at 8 o’clock at night the women said The greater satisfaction given by Government operated hotels was echoed by Mr and Mrs I Di Luck, from Seattle, who were staying at the same hotel in Christchurch as Lady Cadbury and her sister and who were comparing notes in a group yesterday morning. The American

couple found it unreasonable to vacate then room by 10 o’clock in the morning when they wer<leaving Christchurch many hours later, or be asked to pay another full day’s tariff.

They said they were delighted with the hotel at Wairakei where service, meals, and consideration to guests were of a high standard. But in first-class privatelyowned hotels where they had paid an average of £7 a day they had felt like unwelcome intruders. It was disappointing also to pay for all meals whether taken or not and a strain to have to rush sightseeing activities to fit in with hotel meal hours

Tourists should be able to pay for bed and breakfast at good hotels so that they might have freedom of movement and enjoy the wonderful hospitality offered by New Zealand people, they said. At £7 a day, why should service be so rigid that a request for hot-buttered toast for breakfast instead of toast which had been standing some time should be frowned on?

The travellers were vehement that something needed to be done about New Zealand hotels before overseas travellers could honestly be encouraged to come to the Dominion. Under present conditions they would not like to recommend the accommodation to friends in the United States or England

To stay in private homes was the best way to enjoy New Zealand in the opinion of Lady Cadbury who said this was the condition under which she would like to visit the Dominion again “But we are going back remembering all the good things about New Zealand and how much we have enjoyed it,” said Mrs Herrera. “Many of the individuals serving us in hotels were friendly and pleasant but we do hold the system in your hotels against you.”