Punga Cove Resort

We stayed at Punga Cove for one night during our recent Sounds trip, as it's conveniently located within walking distance of Furneaux Lodge. I’ve stayed here before—over 20 years ago—and it hasn’t changed much. There are some newer accommodation areas, but the overall feel remains the same. There were four of us in a two-bedroom unit, which felt quite dated. While the beds were very comfortable and the views were lovely, the unit itself was tired. We appreciated the easy access to the spa pool—a great way to unwind after a long day’s walk—but several aspects of the unit were disappointing: • The bathroom door wouldn’t close properly. • The frying pan needed replacing. • The jug was tiny, only boiling enough water for two cups of tea—odd, considering the unit sleeps four. • The bathroom, although spacious and recently renovated, had a small heated towel rail that barely warmed and could only hold one or two towels. There’s ample space for a larger heated & unheated towel rails and additional hooks. There were tiny boxes on the wall which added no real value. • There was no hand towel provided, and with towels used in the evening and again in the morning, proper drying space is essential. • In the twin bedroom, the power board glowed brightly at night, which was disruptive. Hopefully, they’ll replace it with one that doesn’t emit light, as it’s needed for bedside lighting and charging devices. • The hallway cupboard had mud on the floor, which hadn’t been cleaned. At $650 per night, we expected a higher standard of accommodation. The restaurant, perched high on the hill, offers stunning views, with an awesome team, but the food was aimed more at fine dining, expensive and portion sizes were small: • 3 tiny arancini balls for $29 • 6 small garlic prawns for $34 • A side dish with just two slivers of carrot and four small pieces of broccolini for $15 • A soy latte cost $11 Unfortunately, the café at the waterfront, which operates only in fine weather, was closed both days we were there. It offers pizza, burgers, and other more affordable meals, but closes at 5pm—so guests hoping to dine there in the evening miss out. The luggage service is great. We organised Courgar Line to pick and deliver our large bags to next destination and we walked with our day packs. The bags were delivered to our unit and collected the next morning so we did not have to lug them up the hill.

We stayed for 2 nights in a 1 bedroom cabin. It has the most amazing views and the QCT is in very close proximity. Highly recommend walking to Furneaux Lodge for lunch. Shame the weather wasn't better during our stay as we would have liked to enjoy the SUP boards and kayaks - we'll just have to come back!

This place really does meet all the cliches you've ever heard of - a piece of paradise, a slice of heaven, etc, etc. Great facilities even in April I had a swim, then into the hot tub, hubby had a kayak, sat on the lake deck bar and had a wine. Accommodation is very cute, clean and tidy. We stayed in A-frame units. Grounds are stunning..

Lovely place to chill out in the Marlborough Sounds. We walked there from Furneaux Lodge, its sister establishment 13km away round Endeavour Inlet. It’s the lesser sister though: the food wasn’t up to Furneaux’s standard, relying too much on warming drawers and appearing at startling speed in a tepid state. Perhaps they are short-staffed. Pity.

As part of our Queen Charlotte walk we also stayed at Punga Cove. Compared to Furneaux Lodge and The Portage, Punga felt VERY dated back to the 70s and 80s and poorly maintained. We had an apartment and could hear every footstep of the people above is. For almost NZ$600 this is not good enough. On a positive note, the setting and food were wonderful.

The perfect place to stay all be it steep in places to get round but great spot amazing food too.