Church Hill Boutique Lodge & Restaurant

Our second stay at Church Hill, as magical as the first. Chris & Deanne are so friendly and helpful and Deanne is an artistic chef - it is worth booking evening meals in addition to breakfast. The rooms are large, stand alone cubes with glass frontage; very comfortable and well appointed with a small kitchen area for making tea & coffee; a good sized bathroom/shower. Our room, Tokoeka, looked out onto Oban harbour. Quiet, spotlessly clean and very comfortable. There is also a laundry room available for guest use.

We enjoyed our three night stay on Stewart Island. The individual guesthouses are spacious, clean, and comfortable. Each has thoughtful ‘little’ things that enhance the guest experience—cold water in the refrigerator, chocolates at bedtime, beach towels, fruit and baked goodies daily, and excellent soaps and hair products. The view of Oban was incredible from here, and it was a short walk to Bathing Beach. Deanne cooked us fabulous and hearty breakfasts to fuel our days of exploring the island.

Outstanding service and cuisine at this delightful boutique hotel and restaurant hosted by Dee and Chris Sara on a magnificent site overlooking Half Moon Bay on Stewart Island, NZ. We stayed five nights and dined at the restaurant every night with an excellent choice of local seafood and fresh ingredients. Dee and Chris were very accomodating arranging for an early dinner so we could go ‘ Kiwi’ spotting at dusk at the airport where they forage on the verge. We were lucky to see two of these illusive creatures under a full moon including a juvenile! We were intrigued with the history of the house in a prime location on the island which had been in the same family for many generations since the early 1900’s before Dee purchased it. I spent some time sketching the beautiful home including the adorable 5 month old Cavoodle ‘ Alfie’ who makes a fine ambassador for tourism greeting every guest enthusiastically! The house has a beautiful collection of Dee’s photography featuring birds of Stewart Island. It is centrally located for easy access to the village of Oban where we hired electric bikes which gave us good access to interesting points on the island such as Acker’s Point and Acker’s stone house one of the oldest houses in NZ built in 1821. We also rode round to Horseshoe Bay which was very enjoyable and walked along the coastline to the native gardens with the help from Chris with a lift. He also provided delicious homemade hotcross buns for our journey! The hotel is also in fairly close proximity to the Ulva Island ferry which is a must for seeing the rich birdlife of the area. A tour includes a cruise around the island which includes sealions, lots of albatross, shags and penguins. Chris was very helpful delivering and picking us up from this tour.