Accomodation:  Copthorne Hotel Marlborough - This was an Expedia find and proved to be quite a disappointment.   The managment team was very nice, but the shortfalls of the property still left the overall experience wanting. The general description references "Boutique Hotel with superior large rooms most with leather couch and LCD TV".    My interpretation of their statement would be a quaint hotel where the room size is larger than normal, big enough to hold a couch and accompanied by the mentioned ammenities.  I would call it a "badly remodeled 1970's hotel with some misleading advertising". We were told our room was an upgrade which makes me wonder what the normal room would have been like.  Our room was small, long & skinny, stuffy (no AC or fans), had no couch and served as general motivation to leave and go see the town. I think to get the couch you need to book a "Superior" class room for another $50. Add a dirty bathroom on top of the initial disappointment and you could classify me as a "Unhappy Guest". Oh, I should also mention the location is not so good if you don't have a car. Located on a busy highway which must be crossed to walk into town. This hotel would have been an acceptable deal if it were about 35% cheaper.   My suggestion for Blenheim is to book something more downtown.

Dining: We tried the hotel's "acclaimed" restaurant. Weird tomato-orange soup, a decent scallop appetizer and fries (can't screw those up). The chef was trained in England so I really didn't expect too much, but tomato-orange soup?

The Secret Garden:  Outstanding appetizers and wild game pies. Nice garden for dining and seemed like a good place to hang out at night also.

Laura did find what she claims is "the best muffin ever" at a bakery just accross the river into town.

Activity:  www.winetoursbybike.co.nz

Argrove Lodge 191 Bells Road
Blenheim 7272, Marlborough, New Zealand
(03) 577 6954


We took the coastal train from Christchurch to Blenheim. A nice ride with some great coastal views. It stops in Kaikoura along the way so is a good option for daytrippers from Christchurch who don't have cars.



Our main purpose in Blenheim was wine, specifically Bikes & Wine. This is the Marlborough region, primarily known for Sauvignon Blanc, but pushes out some nice Pinot Noir as well.  Wine tasting by bike is something we did in Argentina and were very excited to repeat the experience. The operation we used is top notch. They picked us up at the hotel, outfitted us with bikes (nice bikes, not the Argentine clunkers!), gave us a map and suggestions and turned us loose. We only booked the half day option so we planned for three stops & lunch. Witherell, Villa Maria & Highfield is where we landed. Only three stops sounds sad, but there was some distance between wineries and we had a little rain and wind thrown into the mix.

The first two stops were larger vineyards who export quite a bit. The stuff we get from them is good., but they had some better non-export options including a Sauv.Blanc that would layer very well with green or red peppers. We tried everything they put in front of us and only a few receive the "thumbs down" rating. Generally these were the heavier reds, which NZ just doesn't do well. We brought a bottle of the peppery wine home to test our food pairing suspicions. Highfield was our favorite with a delicious pinot noir we also ended up bringing home with us. The had a nice restaurant also where we sampled some more NZ cheeses to go with our wine.



The Blenheim/Renwich area is definitely on the list for a re-visit. You can do a homestay at the winetoursbybike company too!