At Ruth’s recommendation, we had a wonderful dinner at the Pier Hotel. The muscles were excellent. The fish chowder was better than the crayfish chowder. The staff was excellent and despite a full house, they found a place for us in the corner, but you need to consider making reservations if you would like to go there. Ruth guided us to the Kaikōura Lookout and the seal colony which both were wonderful experiences. The breakfast options were plentiful. The beds were great. The Airbnb reservation system suggested that we had two queen beds available for us to use but when we got there, Ruth told us that that was not the case and we would be required to pay more to use both bedrooms. We would be happy to return.