I am in New Zealand for a holiday and have already stayed at the Bellbird Motel once. They have…read morecomfortable and very affordable rooms. I understand they have a new owner and manager. The manager, Alison, is very friendly and happy to help, just ask. I am on my way back to Picton for a week, and will be staying at the Bellbird again. I highly recommend you try this place out, especially if you are looking for basic comfort, cleanliness and affordability - Kiwi-style. Keep in mind, this is not a European or American resort!

We came to this winery on the recommendation of an employee of another winery, saying that they…read moreoffered really nice wine and cheese antipasto platters. We arrived just before they stopped serving, but they let us order anyway. Located in a lovely old chateau, we decided to go up to the top of the tower while waiting for our platter. From the top, there are panoramic views of the entire valley. After enjoying the view, and taking our photos, we went below for our wine tasting. They do charge $5 for the tasting, but the cost is refunded upon purchase of wine. I was quite surprised how lovely the wines were here. The chardonnay and sauvingnon blancs were lovely and we bought several bottles to take on our way. The platter of food was completely delicious and very filling. The freshly baked bread was absolutely scrumptious, a wonderful accompaniment to the antipasto platter. Sitting at an outdoor table in the warm sunshine, sipping the wine and eating delicious food served to create an afternoon to remember.

Spent the night in this nice quiet motel in the middle of Blenheim's CBD. Very welcoming hosts,…read moreeverything was easy, nothing seemed to be too hard to accomplish. Comfy king beds, pay TV and free internet. One of the cleanest motels I've stayed in. I'll be coming back.

Lovely winery in the heart of Marlborough. Excellent wines and perfect food from their Number 11…read morerestaurant. Very nice staff. Dine inside or out by the vines

Am touring for a trade group of wine distributors. Came by for a tasting -- admittedly without a…read morereservation -- and was promptly seated outside. Wairau was at maybe 1/3 capacity. Waited at our table for 20 minutes without service while staff faffed about. Walked inside to inquire about table service and the bar tender said he wasn't sure if our server might come by. He didn't offer to inquire further or help in any way, so we left. Lacking in service. Wairau lost out on a couple cases today. No need to return when there are several excellent wineries within 500 meters.

By London Quay, close to Picton Harbour and Memorial Park, Le Cafe is a coffee shop on the right…read more(west) and a bistro on the left (east). Very friendly and good service, providing detailed explanation on menu items. Many outdoor seats by the street. Indoor area is small, wide open to the view, with a little windy. Ordered the famous Blackfoot Abablone (New Zealand Paua) $49 and Grouper $35. Both are fabulous dishes, nice presentation, and juicy tender taste. Knowing local people could get paua for free, commercial price goes up. This is a very reasonable cost in such nice restaurant, much better than what we had ($118 for a smaller one) in Wanaka. At last, we kept the shell :)

We been on a cruise ship drinking very ordinary java bout a week now…read more SO LOOKING FORWARD to proper barista coffee, lobbed into le Cafe in Picton town midday. Really wanted em to be great... Sadly..... To report ...... "Not as such". Got order wrong. Didn't fix it. Dairyfree i.e. almond milk error meant we paid and didnt consume no money back is unacceptable by any measure. Friendly staff. Clean loos. Not hurrying back to le Cafe

Free but accepting donations, the Marlborough Museum is all about the local history of Blenheim and…read morethe environs. The largest exhibit covers wine and wine making, including several artifacts, videos and other memorabilia. Blenheim is New Zealand's wine county and that's reflected here. Information on the native population prior to colonization was interesting. [Review 431 of 2024 - 84 in New Zealand - 21464 overall]

A great museum! This is a small museum about the Blenheim area. It has a lot about the early…read moreinhabitants and continues through the period of the Europeans. It covers decline of the sheep industry and a lot on the rise of the wine industry. It's small but well done. You can spend a couple of hours going through the whole place. We visited in Mar 2017

I stayed here for 1 night after driving 4 hours on the North Island, and taking the Bluebridge…read moreFerry - I figured I'd want a hotel RIGHT near the ferry so that I could rest / relax ASAP. It was "fine". Opting for a rest was probably smart vs. driving maybe to Blenheim to stay somewhere else but there is not much in Picton to see / eat even if for just 1 night. The view near the dock is nice during sunset though. The hotel itself really felt like it was there for the tired people like me :P The parking lot is small - I had to reverse all the way out of the lot because there was nowhere for me to turn around (and I had a small car). The WiFi SAYS free, but it is SUPER limited. We were both disappointed to read that in the notes as it advertises as FREE WIFI in all the hotel searches online. We limited our activity purposely, so we would not get charged and that was annoying. That being said, the room was fine... 2 twin beds, enough room to walk around a bit, a small couch and table and kitchenette area fit our needs. Bathroom was good - spacious albeit felt a bit revealing with the window and thin walls. A few restaurants / bakeries are within walking distance which is helpful. Overall, if I had to return to Picton again I would stay somewhere else even though nothing bad happened to me here... if that makes sense / is helpful.

This winery is owned by a doctor who created fruit focused wines & wines lower in alcohol content…read more The grounds were beautiful Jan gave us 3 free complementary samples of delicious wines. She was knowledgeable, friendly and generous. I really enjoyed the Forrest rosé it was creamy summary and had strawberry flavors. TheSauvignon Blanc was quite good as well and the Forrest Albariño was smooth & zesty. My husband enjoyed his doctors Riesling but preferred the Forrest Petit Manseng. We were told that we can get some of these wines in and 400s of dollars contract and shipped to the United States.

Third winery stop (out of six) was at Forrest Wines. Lucky us, we managed to bump into the same…read moremassive bus tour group. The outside is where most of the seating is; a bunch of bean bags looked loungy. Service is friendly and helpful. There's a couple of tasting options. You can get 2 free bar tastings per person otherwise, you have to pay. There's a tasting tray (7 wine tastes) that seemed the most popular. There's also a small food menu: picnic hamper, platters, cheese and proper crisps (aka. chips). Didn't see anyone eating here. - The Doctors' bubbles for Beth 2010 - you don't see bubble reds often. Interesting, sweet and different. - Forrest sauvignon blanc 2017 - you can smell the guava. Much softer and subtle than other blancs we tasted. - The doctors' rosé 2017 - very light - Forrest albariño 2016 - pretty different; we've never had an albariño before. It's a little salty. - The doctors' riesling 2016 - way too sweet for our tastes. - Forrest pinot noir 2014 - this one had a dry finish. - Forrest petit manseng 2017 - this would be a good dessert wine. You can smell the mango. Not as sweet as the riesling. This one was our favourite out of the seven. A couple different wine types that may peak your interest. 3.5 stars.