Terms of Trade

Welcome to our website. By browsing this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern the Milford Sound Lodge's relationship with you in relation to this website.

Cancellation & refund policies

Milford Sound Lodge is a boutique property in a remote location and therefore last minute cancellations of rooms are difficult for us to sell.  We strongly advise guests (including NZ guests) to take out adequate travel insurance to protect themselves against unexpected changes to their travel plans.  

Cancellation and refund policy

  • All cancellations – 90% refund (10% cancellation fee)

  • Cancellations within 30 days of arrival – 30% refund (70% cancellation fee)

  • Cancellations within 48 hours of arrival – No refund (100% cancellation fee)

  Changes to your booking

  • 30 days prior to arrival – No charge, free to change

  • Within 30 days of arrival - Cancellation policy applies

  • Please note there may be a rate change to your accommodation type when moving dates

Cancellation & refund policy for activities

Milford Sound Lodge offers a booking service for activities in the Milford Sound area. The cancellation and refund policies for activity bookings will default to the current terms including cancellation/refund policies offered by the operator the activity is booked with.  

Activity operator terms and cancellation policies:

Reservation policy

  • Full payment is required to confirm your booking via Visa or Mastercard.

  • Credit card fees - A 2.5% credit card fee applies to all credit card transactions. We accept VISA and Mastercard. Any card that is not a New Zealand debit card is treated as a credit card by New Zealand banks.

  • Rates - All Rooms are charged on a ‘per night’ basis, quoted and charged in New Zealand dollars and include GST of 15%. All refunds will also be processed in New Zealand dollars. Milford Sound Lodge takes no responsibility of exchange rates or transaction fees charged by your bank.

  • For all room types, rates are set for up to 2 people per night with extra people charges, up to the room capacity stated.

  • Children from the age of 0-4 are free of charge when using existing bedding.

  • Guests 5-14 yrs are classed as children and will be charged accordingly.

  • Guests 15 yrs and over are classed as adults and will be charged accordingly.

  • You must be at least 18 years of age to book accommodation on this website.

  • Guests agree that all information given for the booking are true and correct. Credit card details must match those of the person making the booking.

  • Bookings may be rejected by Milford Sound Lodge at any time if this information fails to meet our terms and conditions.

Website payments policy

No Credit Card details are stored on our website, all credit transactions are handled by Windcave (DPS)

Collection of Information by our Payment gateway, DPS (Direct Payment Solutions) – To enable DPS to provide secure payment facilities it will typically acquire information which may include the Cardholder’s name, credit card number (with the expiry date) and billing address.

Use and Disclosure of Information – DPS uses the information to obtain authorization of the transaction from the Issuing bank of the credit card and DPS’s own or the Merchant’s bank and to process the payment. Some details from the transaction (such as name, email and delivery address) may be made available to the Merchant or Acquirer through Payline – DPS web-based transactions management system, which allows Merchants to track transactions and process refunds.

Security – DPS is committed to data security. DPS uses a variety of technologies and procedures to help protect personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. For example, DPS stores the data in computer servers with limited access that are located in controlled facilities secured by the latest in surveillance and security technology. When DPS transmits sensitive information (such as a credit card numbers), DPS protects it through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Credit card details stored onsite are encrypted using 168bit 3DES encryption. DPS is a level 1 certified PCI-DSS compliant provider:

PCI DSS – PCI DSS, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a set of security requirements relating to the protection of cardholder data. The standard is governed by the PCI Security Standards Council, an organisation put together by most of the major card schemes VISA, MasterCard, American Express, JCB and Discover. It’s relevant for any entity that stores or transmits sensitive cardholder data, that being generally things like the PAN (card number), Card security code, track data, PIN block. The current version of the standard is Version 1.2. Preceding PCI-DSS the card schemes had their own standards, the VISA Account Information Security (AIS) standard formed the basis to most of the PCI-DSS requirements.”

Privacy policy

You can view our privacy policy here.

Privacy policy

Damage and additional cleaning costs

Management will charge additional costs for damages and/or additional cleaning required to restore property. These charges will be made to the credit card held on file from the time your booking is made.

Milford Sound Lodge will make every effort to repair damage or clean issue prior to contacting professionals. Therefore, make an effort to keep costs to a minimum.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Burnt Carpet/bench top

  • Broken windows or doors

  • Smoking in room

  • Additional cleaning required due to extreme mess or sick

  • Damaged furniture

  • Guest compensation

  • Loss of revenue if unable to sell room due to damage

  • Any additional cleaning required outside of what would be expected on a standard check out

Damage/loss of property
Guests are liable for any damage caused, whether by deliberate, negligent or reckless behaviour. The registered guest will also be liable for any damage caused by any person traveling in their party or their visitors. We encourage guests to inform staff if these circumstances occur.

Damage discovered after check out
Should damage be discovered after the guest has departed Milford Sound Lodge reserves the right to charge the credit card held on file.

Damage to rooms
Damage to rooms, including furnishing, fixtures and/or theft will be charged the full replacement value plus any additional shipping costs. Any damage to property, whether will full or accidental is the responsibility of the registered guest. These costs will be charged to the credit card of the registered guest and in serious cases, criminal charges will be pursued.

Health and Safety policy

Milford Sound Lodge takes the health and safety of its employees, guests and visitors extremely seriously. Whilst every effort is made to ensure everyone’s safety, accidents do happen and we encourage guests to let staff know should these occur.

Our staff are trained in first aid and are happy to help where assistance is required.

Safe guest conduct

To ensure the safety of everyone we ask that guests conduct themselves in a safe and sensible manner. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Guests and visitors must not behave in a way that puts themselves or others at risk

  • Guests must abide by a total fire ban

  • Follow the strict 5km speed limit when driving through the property

  • No firearms or weapons permitted on the property

  • No tampering with fire safety equipment

  • Guests must follow all staff instructions in case of emergency

  • High levels of intoxication is not permitted on site, neither is the use of illegal substances

Milford Sound Lodge has the right to act against any guest or visitor found to have tampered or interfered with any detection equipment throughout the property, including detector heads in public areas, guest rooms, emergency break-glass points, and fire extinguishers. Guests or visitors found to have tampered with any fire detection or fire-fighting equipment will be charged $250.00 +GST for any costs incurred by the property due to their actions and will be evicted from the property without recompense. Any guest actions that result in triggering the fire alarm will result in a minimum $1500.00+GST fine to cover the cost of the call out fee imposed by the NZ Fire & Rescue Service. Depending on the severity of the guest's actions, law enforcement may become involved at Milford Sound Lodge's discretion. Should the fact that firefighting or detection equipment had been tampered with come to light after you have departed, we reserve the right - and you hereby authorize us - to charge your credit or debit card for any damage caused to your room or the property during your stay.

Respectful Conduct:

We are committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for both our guests and our team. We ask that all guests treat our staff and fellow guests with courtesy and respect at all times. Whatever the situation, Milford Sound Lodge reserves the right to refuse service or request a guest to leave the premises—without refund—if their behaviour is deemed inappropriate, abusive, or disruptive to the experience of others or the wellbeing of our staff.

Conduct & Noise:

No noise after 11.00pm or before 7.00am. To ensure all our guests have a successful and enjoyable holiday, we expect common sense and consideration to be shown at all times to other guests, staff and management. Management reserves the right to refuse admission to any person and to remove from the property any person, which in their opinion, does not conduct them self in a decent and reasonable manner. No refund will be made in such circumstances.

Milford Sound Lodge is a boutique holiday destination and has strict rules regarding partying, excessive drinking and excessive noise.

Milford Sound Lodge enforces a No In-Room Party Policy to ensure we can protect the property and our guests at all times. No parties, loud disturbances, and/or noise-nuisance are allowed or tolerated on these premises. In the event of a disturbance, one polite request (warning) will be given to reduce the noise. If our request is not followed, the guest will be asked to leave the property without receiving a refund. The registered guest is responsible for all persons visiting. Non-registered visitors are only permitted until 11:00 P.M. If found with more people not listed on the booking after 11:00 P.M., your stay will be considered a party. You will be ordered to vacate the premises without receiving a refund and may be issued a Guest Compensation Disturbance Fee for any guest complaints that require compensation. Please be aware that you are liable for these charges as per accepting the terms and conditions when booking online.

Group Bookings:

Bookings of 4 of more chalets is termed a group booking at Milford Sound Lodge.  Milford Sound Lodge reserves the right to refuse bookings or check in to any group they believe may be disruptive to other guests.  Click here to view our full groups policy.

General policies:

Check in/Check out policy

Check in time is from 3:00 pm.  We will do our best to have rooms ready by 3pm. However, as we pride ourselves in offering 5 star cleanliness there may be some instances where your room is not ready by 3pm due to extra cleaning of your room being required. We ask for your understanding in these instances. 

Check out time by 11:00 am.  Should you wish to extend your reservation, reception must be notified prior to the departure time of 11:00 am and rooms are subject to availability.

Early arrivals/late departures are available however, this is subject to availability and may incur additional costs.  If you anticipate arriving outside reception hours, please contact us on bookings@milfordlodge.com, or let us know during the time of booking. You will be given instructions on our late arrival procedure.

Electrical Warrant of Fitness

A current Electrical Warrant of Fitness (EWOF) is required before the campervan, caravan or motorhome may be connected to our electric supply.

You will be required to show your identifying sticker to our reception staff on check in and will be refused connection to power if proof is not available or out of date.

Please check that your electrical WOF is up to date before you travel.

Pets

No pets are allowed in the Fiordland National Park or Milford Sound Lodge, the only exceptions are legitimate service animals.  We reserve the right to ask you to leave with no refund if pets are present.

Smoking

All rooms are non-smoking - if smoking should occur in your room an additional service charge of $250.00 + GST will be added to your bill.

Car parking

Each unit or site is allocated 1 parking space.  Milford Sound Lodge is not responsible or liable for motor vehicles parked on site and items left in rooms. 

Website

Milford Sound Lodge does not accept liability for any errors or omissions on this website. Milford Sound Lodge makes every effort to ensure all information is accurate. However, we cannot guarantee that the site is free from errors or faults.

Milford Sound Lodge reserves the right to amend our terms and conditions at any time.