Kaka Retreat Motel, Stewart Island

Location was very good - close to the middle of town, but also in a quiet part of the town. Our room was very comfortable (you can see it in the main photo!) and the kitchenette with the electric frypan & microwave was very useful, as it meant we didn't have to eat out every night (but if you do want to eat out, I recommend the Kai Kart across from the school for an excellent fish & chips, and the best pineapple fritter I have had in my life). The Foursquare supermarket is 5 min walk away, and most of the other shops are just as close. While the ferry terminal is within a short walking distance from the motel, the shuttle service provided was much appreciated. Oban township is situated in a valley of sorts, and a lot of is on the parts that are not flat - including the walk up to the motel. This would have been a difficult walk with a big suitcase, but since we were met at the ferry by the Kaka Retreat's shuttle and driven up the hill to the motel, it was a breeze. When it was time to check out, the shuttle dropped us off again back at the ferry terminal. We loved being able to see and hear the birdlife from our balcony (including a kaka that just landed on our railing and hung out for a little while). We also took good advantage of going on a kiwi spotting tour over on the Oneke part of the island, and went over to Ulva Island for the day.

As others have said, the wifi can be temperamental at times, but we acknowledge that this is probably related to being on a small island and being a bit far from 'the mainland'...

Everything was great except for the internet.

Internet access was weak and slow and spotty at best. We kept losing the signal so gave up on the internet.

Fantastic staff, good hearing, clean, great location - easy, short walk to town

Ruggity Ridge birding outfitter, hikes out to the point, hanging out in town

It was all good but there was a limited restaurant choice. We knew that beforehand because tourist season was just getting started.

Stayed here before and after tramping on the Rakiura track and it was perfect. Smooth check in/out and very comforta

Modern update. Clean as a whistle, lots of outdoor light, very comfortable beds. Spacious room, free and friendly, pick up and drop off service from ferry or airport. Delicious water. French press coffee in rooms,

Wish it had a cook stove for the available fresh oysters, abalone, and fish.

Felt like we were in a secluded spot with the bush all around us and hearing the birds.

Cabin in the bush. We heard a kiwi screech in early hours of morning.Proximity to village

We didn't see any kaka, just tuis

Easily accessible, great location. Friendly staff. Comfortable and nice place to stay

We were met at the ferry and shown around town before being taken to our accommodation. It was great having access to the room despite it being only 11am.The birdlife right outside our room was amazing- kaka,tui, bellbirds, kakariki.

TV needs updating. Only two channels and no ability to stream.

The most comfortable thick duvet on the best. Such a good nights sleep. A short walk up the hill to reach the property from the ferry terminal. Everything we needed for our short stay was there. Our host let us know we only had a short amount of time if we wanted food at the hotel in the village, so glad of this or we would have missed it.

The room was spacious and comfortable, the grounds were very pretty and Stewart Island was a pleasure. Staff were friendly and picked us up and dropped us off to the airport depot which was much appreciated. Some notes - the fridge was turned off which we didn’t realise until a while after putting our food in. The property is very close to the ‘town centre’ but is up a hill. We did have an odd experience on check-out - the owner had agreed the day before to drop us off in town at 9:45am. We were running a couple of minutes late - she knocked loudly on the glass and seemed quite annoyed at us, so I said it was our bad and no worries, we could just walk to town ourselves and not hold her up. She then said she was dropping some other people down at 10am so we could join them and we said that would be great. But she then questioned us repeatedly about whether we would want the 10am drop-off such as “so what are we doing?” “What’s your decision” “So what is it?” Which we kept confirming so were quite confused and a bit taken-aback at the pointedness of it. Once confirmed she walked briskly away and I saw another woman ask how she was and she seemed to respond in an exasperated manner. It could well have been miscommunication or annoyance at something else so I haven’t given a bad rating as beside from this our interactions were friendly and we had a great stay. It did however unfortunately leave us feeling a bit uncomfortable and made an unpleasant end to an otherwise enjoyable stay (the driver was then someone else).

Lovely retreat - quiet, leafy, dark at night & comfortable. A short walk from the town centre. Lovely hosts who picked us up from the ferry and stored our bags while we were away hiking. Our room was well equipped and good water pressure.

Lovely quiet location within walking distance of the ferry and restaurants. Spacious and clean unit. We enjoyed our stay!

Location. Staff and amenities

Sanctuary in Oban. Thanks for pick-up and storing our gear on NW circuit. Amazing base for the island!

Kaka Retreat was very clean and well equipped. We enjoyed a very comfortable sleep.Our host was delightful. We were met at the ferry terminal and taken to our accommodation and he graciously took our bags to the terminal for us while we were out in the morning on an excursion to Ulva island.Lovely place. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Loved Stewart Island. Kaka Lodge were great to deal with, comfy and suited our purposes. Good location. Ate at the caravan, and the Hotel for dinner and breakfast. Couldn't fault the food!

Cant fault the service we had from the time arriving on the Island until we left.

It was very clean and the surrounding forest made it very peaceful!

It was up a hill but because of that we got in lots of good exercise so not all that bad!

Location was a good distance from the shops (although up a hill so a challenge if you have mobility issues!).Accomodation was larger than expected, kitchen facilities were nice and the books were a great treat.Nice and warm, great shower.