We had a great relaxing family break at Podium Lodge. The lodge has stunning, modern facilities with a super practical layout. Our 2-bedroom accommodation was perfect for our family of 2 adults, 2 kids and 2 dogs, with tons of storage and all the equipment we needed. We enjoyed cooking and eating at the Hub. We made an intense use of the swimming pool, spa and basketball court. There are also awesome things to do in the area including bike rides along the Waikato and visiting Cambridge. The summer holidays seem to be off-peak season for Podium Lodge (as they mostly cater to sports teams) so it was quiet and we often had the pool to ourselves. We loved the staff’s sense of customer service - and particularly Ben’s. If everyone had the same smile as Ben, the world would be a better place 😊

A few minor things could make it a 10 for us: - a little more cutlery in the Hub - a solution so we could leave dogs alone while their humans go do other things (crates indoor or hooks & shade outside) - the kids would have loved an activity room with board games or table tennis to complete the activity offering and keep them busy all day (but understand it’s a stretch)

- The staff were very accommodating, polite and helpful. - Good reception for devices. - The swimming pool (deep end - 1.8m) - It would be a good setup for big families wanting somewhere to stay together. The rooms are situated in little villages. However, it can feel a bit intrusive when you first roll up if you don't know the other families as all rooms face towards the middle I.e. facing eachother. All rooms have pull down blinds though so u can have privacy. It's kinda like camping but not lol.

- There aren't many things close by that are 5mins walking distance (especially if you have younger kids). But if you have a car, you'll be fine. - There was alot of hair found in the carpet when were unpacking stuff. None of us has blonde/white hair. - My 13yr old son was asked to sign something when given a pool towel, and another woman commented that she didn't need to sign anything and just give her room number. That was also the case for me. So im not sure why he was treated differently.

It was clean, modern, quiet. The furnishings, towels, linen, etc, were of very good quality. Even the toilet paper was not that cheap, single layered stuff you usually get. They were very accommodating with our well behaved dogs which we travel with. Not many places allows dogs so this was very much appreciated. Good green space out the back for them to have a bit of exercise in.

We were missing soap. Did not like the exposed bathroom (no door). There were doors on the toilet and shower but not on the vanity sink area. Not good for privacy in that regard.

For cyclists this place is nirvana and so close to the Avantidrome, river cycle trails and long straight quiet country roads out west [all accessible just outside the main entranceway] Great spacious courtyards with shade sails and plenty of grass areas for kids/dogs to run around on too. Tucked away from the main town centre so in a lovely quiet rural spot. The "Hub" kitchen/dining room is an awesome facility with all the cooking equipment/appliances you could imagine or need with a very modern clean commercial feel. My grandkids described it "like staying at a Resort Poppa" Also such courteous and helpful staff [inc housekeping too] - eg extra fold out bed no problem, extra new towels and printing/scanning work docs etc effortless and handled "confidentially". Well done everyone at Podium Lodge - fantastic team effort. I've stayed there before and have already booked another stay later in the year with more cycling friends ... can't wait :-) :-)

can't think of anything

Fresh clean towels and the rubbish bag changed daily.Seperate pool towels from reception. The hub was very accessible and central and had everything you needed to prepare and cook food with. The receptionist was very accomodating and helpful with personal requests of mine. The pool and hot spa was very welcoming at the end of a long,hot day of sprint racing. My family and I look forward to returning for wakaama sprint nationals 2026.

The rooms can opener was blunt

everything - it's such a fantastic location with a great Olympic Village vibe [ideal for us cyclists] and enjoyed sharing 2 bed apartment with my daughter and granddaughter [father/son friends travelling with us also stayed next door in a studio] - wonderful facilities inside the apartment with handy/lockable outside bike storage sheds and the nearby Hub kitchen/dining room is corporate level - I've stayed here many times before and have already booked a few more stays :) Andy you're THE MAN !!

nothing - all superb !!

It’s fairly new and well appointed modern interior decor. The grounds are well maintained and pathways lighting is good after dark. Most importantly the accommodation is modern and very well maintained. It’s clean and pleasant to live in for a couple of nights, for sure. However, for some reasons unknown to us, the hot water shower for the second person was erratic ie hot and cold.

Just the showers being inconsistent regrettably. Parking is pretty tight and first come first served basis. Can be quite a bit further than you would like if you return in the evenings.

Great facility for my requirements. Hired the Hub for a private function over 2 days in a shared space. Liked the lock up storage room that was separate to the room. Staff and their team were amazing and helpful. Plenty of parking and not too far from the town centre - 2-3min drive :)

Had a few ants in the room but nothing too concerning or effected my stay. Would have liked to have been advised to bring my own milk for the kitchen and advised it wasn't included in the hire price. Meant I had to find a supermarket to cater to my guests. But good Tea, Coffee & Hot Choc offerings.

We enjoyed the room nice and spacious comfortable beds , the pool was lovely. The owner was awesome thou very good to us and helped us when needed , the beds were the best thou supppeerrrrr comfy and soft could have slept all day in them .

Not much it was a very nice room and space for us , we did have few ants thou in our room but we didn't have any food just our coffee and tea we had during the night but.it wasn't a major thou

The spa is lovely, very nice temperature and while the lodge was very busy, we were lucky to have the spa to ourselves.

The double bed is two singles (or King singles) pushed together this can be a little uncomfortable when you fall into the crack. It's not very private - the pod of rooms all look onto the same centre court - two rooms look directly into the opposite two rooms - there is no way to escape this aside from drawing the blind