Frequently Asked Questions
A bed and breakfast, quite simply, is an accommodation service with breakfast supplied. Generally, the owners live on site and provide a personal welcome as you arrive.
In many B&B's the accommodation is within the owners' dwelling, and they will serve breakfast in a communal space. Some people love this, but for many the idea is unthinkable. At Two Rivers Ohakune, you do not enter the owner's space in any way.
At Two Rivers we do things a little differently. We want to provide that welcome but then give you privacy. The rooms are away from the house, you can come and go as you want. We will give you a wave and ask how you are, but there's no entering someone else's private space. Breakfast is supplied in your room for you to enjoy in privacy at a time that suits you.
The Rua Awa room is away from the house and other rooms. We are gradually adding screening to improve the privacy experience. The Mangateitei and Mangawhero rooms share a common deck, entrance door, and lobby. Guest feedback has told us that the spa pool should be reserved for the Mangawhero room to improve privacy. If you're travelling as a group (using Mangateitei and Mangawhero) then the spa is big enough to accommodate you.
We are looking at ways to provide spa facilities for the Mangateitei room.
Two Rivers is a place to find rest and tranquillity. You may be looking for a place to recharge after an intensive period of work, or somewhere to rest after a day's adventuring in the mountains or park. We believe we have what you need. Comfortable beds, warm rooms, an even warmer welcome and the soothing sounds of the two rivers (just outside your bedroom door).
We only have three rooms, so it's never going to be busy. Our guests are respectful and looking for the same experience that you are. Our guests are also international, especially in summer and often our guests are happy to chat to one another and share about their adventures. There are no expectations, Two Rivers is a place where you can just 'do you' and relax.
Our aim is that you leave us refreshed/rested and wishing you stayed longer. That's the air that we're trying to create.
From the photos on the website, you will see that all three rooms are away from the owner's house. We're here/available if you need us, but our aim is to be discrete and give you space to recharge. If you're staying in Rua Awa then you will have a truly private experience, no one shares your parking, entrance, deck or spa. We are looking to provide some screening around the deck and make it even more private.
The Mangawhero and Mangateitei rooms share an entrance door, and a spa pool. That means that guests in Mangawhero will walk past the window of Mangateitei to get to their room, and guests in Mangateitei will walk past the window of Mangawhero to get to the spa. Very few guests have a problem with this, and sometimes only one of the two rooms will be in use anyway. The arrangement actually works really well if you're travelling as two couple together.
Have a look at the plan of our rooms here:
We know that a lot of people are unsure about the idea of a B&B, so we sometimes talk of ourselves as a micro-hotel. Even staying in the nicest 4 or 5-star (mainstream) hotels means there will be shared spaces, and shared facilities, and it's only two rooms.
In saying all of this we're currently working with our local authorities to try and create a third, private entrance to the Mangawhero room, so that each room will be more private and discrete. Watch this space...
If you have specific questions about 2RO (as we call it) then just reach out by email and we'll response as quickly as we can: info@tworiversohakune.com
There are three primary reasons:
Some guests are adventurers, and they want an early start. Some guests just want to kick back, relax and enjoy a lazy breakfast on the deck. We believe that offering breakfast in the room gives you complete flexibility.
A large part of what Two Rivers is about is privacy. Some people do not like entering the owner's space, we get that, so we provide a private breakfast option.
Two Rivers is really important to us. One day we hope to devote all our professional time to it, but for now we have to work full time. So currently we neither have the capacity or a shared/communal space to offer a restaurant style breakfast service.
We offer a standard breakfast which includes the following items (per night):
4 Slices of brown bread
2 Yoghurts
2 Hard-boiled eggs
2 Apples
2 Mandarins
Butter
A selection of jams/marmalade
500ml Full Milk per night
Premium orange juice
A bottle of chilled water
We offer a standard offering to reduce wastage. We operate according to the Tiaki Promise as a part of our Qualmark journey. We want to be sustainable and reduce wastage. By offering a standard breakfast we have substantially reduced the amount of food waste that was previously generated.
Very often breakfast items are returned to us unused. We feel we've got the balance about right, but if you want more of anything then please just ask. We usually have extra supplies and we'd rather that you start your day full rather than upset that there weren't sufficient supplies.
If you have food allergies, then please let us know. We can provide gluten free bread, and we have options of oat or almond milk available. These are provided upon request. As a part of our Tiaki promise we will only provide one type of bread/milk for a one-night stay. If you are staying more than one night, then we can try to support multiple options if needed.
Yes. We completely understand this and will seek to support you.
We can supply gluten-free bread. This can be in short supply in town and sometimes we have to use frozen rather than fresh. All bread is provided is provided in sealed sandwich bags. If you are staying more than one night and request brown for one guest and GF for another than the breads will be packaged separately but presented in the same hamper. Preparation is undertaken in a workspace where both breads are present and cross-contamination is possible, but we do everything we can to minimise this.
Whilst we do not provide evening meals, many of our celiac guests have thoroughly enjoyed the Thai food at Rice. Other restaurants in town will offer GF options, but they advise that their kitchen spaces are small and cross-contamination can occur.
As alternatives to whole milk, we can provide Oat or Almond options. We do not have an alternative to butter and so recommend just usage of the various jams. Sealed Yoghurt pots are provided as we know some guests will still enjoy this depending upon severity of symptoms.
Some guests have advised they have issues with fruits. Please let us know and we will try to support you, noting that all fruits are seasonal, and we have to work with the supplies of our local (small) supermarket.
We want you to have an amazing experience, and if you need more fruit, bread, milk, tea or jam then please just ask. We believe that we've found the right balance on not oversupplying breakfast items, and our approach has helped us to reduce wastage, allowing us to meet the principles of the Tiaki promise. That said, if you need more then we're happy to provide where we can, within our standard offering.
Some guests have asked about meat or cheese. We do not typically provide this, although we are considering and enhanced breakfast option (at additional cost). There is a supermarket in town where it is possible to purchase additional items if you require them.
We purchased Two Rivers in July 24, at that start of the ski-season. Snow sport lovers never once complained about the size of the room and thoroughly enjoyed the luxury and warmth of our rooms.
When the international tourists started arriving in November 24, we quickly learnt that big suitcases didn't fit well, and we responded rapidly. We started looking for a bed frame manufacturer that could design and build beds that had more space underneath. Clearly there was a lead time, and we're thrilled to say that the frames arrived in late February 25. They have been installed, and we're thrilled that guests see the value in this, often using the concept as a set of drawers and sliding their cases in and out as necessary.
We didn't stop there though; we purchased new mattresses that are often found in 4plus or 5 star hotels in New Zealand - giving a real sense of luxury.
And as a final step we purchased matching bedside cabinets that have a smaller footprint and further increase the space available for kicking back and relaxing.
We've spared no expense in optimising our rooms and the overall guest experience. We're sure that you'll find the rooms to be to the highest of standards and to be practical, functional as well as tasteful.