My husband and I stayed here for our honeymoon and we were welcomed with prolonged talking on arrival. We just wanted to get our rooms but instead got an extended tour/talk. We enjoyed elements of our stay such as the wonderful Lisa who always had a smile on her face and seemed genuinely keen to help. The beautiful brownies, antipasto platters, stocked mini bar fridge (except one of the bottles of beer was expired - yes I double checked to make sure I wasn't looking at the manufacturing date) and yummy breakfasts.
There is a key problem with the business model of Hidden Lodge. Having the single staff member that is rostered on (or at times 2) be the front office, chef, gardener,cleaner etc. The look of being completely worn out was written all over their faces, and it made it hard for us to fully relax and ask for things we needed. This would not be a problem at other hotels, as the staff would be there 24/7 to assist.
The second issue we had was the lack of basic amenities you expect in any accommodation, i.e. a microwave. You cannot heat any food up by yourself without the help of the staff. They also lock the microwave at night, so on my honeymoon, while paying prices reflective of a 5 star service, I had to use the oven to heat up my food myself. Additionally, the assistant manager Chris while friendly and mostly willing to help, sometimes had a tone which was not always professional, and it appeared the standard of service at the start of our stay quickly dwindled.