Mountain House a Must Do

With rave reviews and mountains of snow, it has been a busy six months for Sarah-Lee Rangi and the team at the Ngati Ruanui Stratford Mountain House.

Stratford Mountain House has not only been named as one of the top ten restaurants in the region, through Venture Taranaki's list of Taranaki's Must Do's, but has received two internationally recognised awards.

"The international awards, from TripAdvisor and booking.com, are awarded on public vote, which is great feedback for us," says manager Sarah-Lee.

Stratford Mountain House was presented with the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence award, which recognises excellence in hospitality based on customer reviews. "This the third consecutive year we've received this award, giving us the confidence that we are providing a great experience for our customers."

From international accommodation website, booking.com, Stratford Mountain House was presented an Award of Excellence for their rating of 9.2 out of 10.

Sarah-Lee says meeting, and ideally exceeding, their customers expectations is a goal for the whole team at the Stratford Mountain House. "Because we have such a unique setting up here, we want to ensure our customers experience is just as inviting."

The alpine restaurant was also recognised in the TSB Top Shop awards earlier this year, making it to the top 60 list of finalists.

"Whether customers are popping in for a coffee after a walk in the beautiful bush, or staying for the weekend to explore the mountain, we want them to leave with great memories of their visit."

Sarah-Lee took on the management role in February this year and says spending winter at the Stratford Mountain House has been a wonderful experience for herself as well as the guests. "The first snow fall in the school holidays was great, we got to see so many families enjoying the snow and meet new people as they stopped in."

Sarah says with a new menu and a brand new chef on the team, things will not be slowing down any time soon.