Escape To Picton Boutique Hotel

The bed and breakfast has three rooms (a large bedroom, a jr suite, and two room suite), is located just a half a block from the main street and a few minute walk to the harbor, and, in my view, is the place to stay. They key to this B&B is the owner and chef Juliearna…and her team (big shout out to Lukas and Pima! ). Her attention to detail in terms of the layout of the rooms, the people she hires and trains, the terrific service they give, and the food, all make it a very enjoyable place to stay. Juliearna was Michelin trained in France and it shows. Both at breakfast (French omelets) and dinner (although she mentioned to me that she is likely to stop doing the dinners as it’s a bit much after all these years and as she deals with her various other businesses …see my separate review of the restaurant…which I highly recommend if she is still doing it). We had a large suite (the modern suite), which had a very large living room and separate bedroom. Both rooms were appointed nicely and functionally. It also had a balcony (shared with the room next door) which was nice to relax on. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom, while very large with a huge walk in shower and huge bathtub. Electrical outlets were conveniently located throughout, and were plentiful to plug all our gadgets in (not all hotels or B&B’s have them conveniently located). Parking in rear was available and free. The breakfast was delicious and huge (more than we could eat). Freshly baked croissants, yogurt, a fruit bowl, omelet if you wanted, muesli (was a bit more like a granola then muesli) or cereal, juice, coffee and several other items. Website photos accurately represent the B&B, rooms etc. I would highly recommend staying at Escape to Picton.

I want to mention that overall, this was a really great place to stay.. That said a few suggestions: The price to value is a bit much. It was a large room and nice, but a tad higher then I would have expected for what it was (although the amazing breakfast made up for some of it). That said, I dont know the prices of comparable places in Picton (or if there are even any comparable) I had some problems with the internet going in and out. They likely needed to reboot the gateway (not just the Wi-Fi as I had a strong Wi-Fi signal). While I asked the person there to check it, I don't think they knew how to reset the gateway (vs Wi-Fi). There were no blackout shades. There are wood shutters, but shutters don't keep the morning light out the same as some blackout shades or drapes. I am someone who needs complete darkness to sleep so the light wakes me up early. There was no AC. It did get a bit warm in the afternoon and we had to open the windows ....which let bugs in...so we closed them after dusk, which meant it was still a bit warm. The bathroom, while very large could have used more counter space (I used the edge of the bathtub).

Extremely comfortable bed and pillows. Tasteful decor. Indulgent bathroom. The room opened onto a veranda. Enjoyed the sunshine while lounging and reading our books.

Very well prepared and plated omelette and crispy, well turned out bacon and eggs, Excellent bathroom . Furnishings were somewhat vintage, but that added to charming small town turn of the last century vibe Last minute help with an alternative tour and transport ( to the Omaka Air Heritage museum ) when we got a bad weather cancellation for our boat based tour Excellent dinner with cooking at big city fine dining standard

The weather ... but that also gave the property a chance to shine by saving the situation and turning a short one night trip from Wellington to a really memorable experience

The Bath was wonderful

The bed was extremely uncomfortable and the street noise was overwhelming.