In the middle of winter, we visited the amazing area of Abel Tasman National Park. Even while it was much colder than in summer, the area was still beautiful. Plus is that during this season it is very quiet, with almost no tourists around. Empty beaches, crystal clear waters and an abundance of wildlife: what more could we ask for?!
Marahau is the closest town to Abel Tasman National Park and in this place we stayed for two nights at the gorgeous Abel Tasman Lodge, with its very welcoming hosts and in a perfect location.
Abel Tasman Lodge
The Abel Tasman Lodge consists of 15 beautiful chalets, located only minutes from the center of Marahau and right on the edge of Abel Tasman National Park. There is a range of accommodation options: they have the stunning and super big Kowhai Suite, one-bedroom chalets, two-bedroom chalets and the cozy studio, where we stayed in during our two nights. All the chalets are beautifully located and have stunning views of the native gardens within the lodge. When we drove up the driveway, we immediately got a peaceful and cozy feeling over us. The place just looks stunning!
Check-in
When we arrived at Abel Tasman Lodge, we were very friendly greeted by Jocelyn, one of the owners of the lodge. She is very welcoming and gave us heaps of information about the beautiful area. We got a little tour around the lodge while explaining what they stand for.
The room
After our little tour around the lodge, Jocelyn showed us to our studio. We immediately loved the whole interior of the studio. It is really modern and you notice it got renovated recently. It is very clean and you immediately notice that they really thought of the details in the room and in the whole lodge! We haven’t seen it much like this in other hotels. For example, they have this cute no disturb sign with a sheep on it.
Everywhere you look in the room are local touches, showing you some beauty of New Zealand, like paintings from native birds. All made by local producers, craftspeople, and retailers. The details are even so nice that guests often asked where they can get the cute cushions or the paintings. So now they even sell some of the nice details from the room.
You can also find the positive approach they try to carry out back in the messages around. Instead of messages that tell you about the rules, they only remind people of certain things by providing light and funny texts.
The room has a big sliding glass door with a terrace overlooking the beautiful native gardens and a backdrop of the Abel Tasman National Park. The chalets are positioned so they have all day sun. All of this for a very affordable price, and they like to keep it that way!
A sustainable lodge
One of the most important concepts of Abel Tasman Lodge is that they are very sustainable.
Firstly, they attempted to complement the un-spoilt Marahau landscape by constructing low impact architecturally designed buildings in natural recycled timbers, with colors of the granite landscape, all with extensive native tree plantings.
Secondly, you immediately notice that they have sustainable practices. There are electricity key tags in the chalets so that whenever you leave the chalets, there is no unnecessary electricity left on. Also, recycling is taken seriously here. They really want to reduce plastic and right now they already ask of people to separate their rubbish: plastic, food scraps and paper from the rest. But Jocelyn told us they want to go even further, by recommending people not to use plastic and to use a reusable bottle for water. You can safely drink the water from the tap here (and it tastes really good!), so there is no point in buying and using multiple plastic bottles of water. Jocelyn even wants to start selling some nice reusable bottles.
We think it is so important and good of Abel Tasman Lodge that they are really thinking of their environmental impact, especially when you are so close to the national park. Hopefully, more hotels will follow!
Facilities
Off to the facilities Abel Tasman Lodge offers, which is plenty! There is a big guest kitchen and bbq’s, so if you don’t feel like eating out you can cook your own meals. There are also laundry facilities that you can use and they have a lot of indoor and outdoor games to keep you occupied! Or if you want some quiet time they also have a small library of NZ books and a book swap. There is room service breakfast and they can make you a picnic lunch too for when you go out exploring what the area has to offer. There is free wifi and parking. The best thing is the free hot tub! What’s better than to come back after a long day walking and soaking in a hot tub?!
Jocelyn & Scott
The owners of Abel Tasman Lodge are Jocelyn and Scott and their daughter Evie. They are seriously the most welcoming and heartwarming hosting family we experienced. Jocelyn & Scott own Abel Tasman Lodge since September 2014, having previously lived in the UK. They are, however, kiwis by birth and one of the many reasons they decided to come back to New Zealand was to give their daughter a Kiwi upbringing by the beach. We sure don’t blame them!
During our chats with Jocelyn and Scott, we noticed that they are really passionate about the Abel Tasman area and their lodge. It is important to them that you feel welcomed and they want to give you a personal touch. They love to have a chat if you are up for it and want to keep it casual and light. They can also help you with bookings and planning your activities.
They even have been voted 13th in Tripadvisor’s list of best small hotels in New Zealand in their first year of operation!! If that isn’t a good reason alone to visit this place…
Location
Abel Tasman Lodge is in a perfect location. Right next to the Abel Tasman National Park and only a 5-minute walk to some restaurants, cafes and the Abel Tasman Information Centre. Unfortunately, when we were there all the restaurants and cafes were closed because it was the middle of winter. But the center of Marahau looks really cozy and Jocelyn told us that she really recommends visiting the local eateries.
A short walk brings you to the start of the walking tracks in the Abel Tasman National Park, or it can bring you to the many other options to explore the area. Kayak rentals or the water taxi is within walking distance.
Book here
Want to stay at the lodge as well? To check the rates for Abel Tasman Lodge or to book your next stay, you can click here.
Read all our other blogs about New Zealand here!
We really loved staying at the Abel Tasman Lodge! We enjoyed the amazing facilities and especially all of the details in the room. Also, the location is just perfect and we sure loved to take a hike in the Abel Tasman National Park. When you visit this famous national park, we definitely recommend staying at Abel Tasman Lodge!
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