We came up from Wellington especially for this event and were very excited as it promised so much. We decided to upgrade our tickets to the VIP tent because it offered "You can enjoy a buffet selection of food throughout the day, VIP toilets and your own private area to enjoy the festival." And how wrong that statement was in every way possible.
Buffet Selection . . . food was non existent, there was a couple of plates of fruit and cheese and then over the course of a few hours a few chunks of meat and that was it. Thankfully we were able to take a few bottles of water away to try and regain some of the lost money. It was terrible and a complete waste of money.
VIP Toilets . . . a couple of smelly portaloos out the back, not VIP in any sense. There are VIP toilets available for this kind of function, maybe investigate for next time.
A VIP area to enjoy the festival . . . the tent was hideous, it was so sparse and was so obvious that anyone who like us was conned in to buying the VIP tickets jsut didn't want to be there. You should have had the door at the front of the tent with the ability for those relaxing in the so called VIP area to enjoy the entertainment. It should have just been commonsense.
It got to the point where the staff took up the couches, drank the water and ate the food . . . that is because no one with VIP tickets wanted to be there.
I would like to be told how that area was in anyway supposed to be more superior to the event.
Thanfully the event was acceptable, but by no means without fault. If you are going to put marketing advertorials out in to the press, then make sure you deliver. There were plenty of foods mentioned in the press that were non existent and should have been a given. You were based in the Hawkes Bay and the only seafood was 1 variety of fish, oysters, mussels and the ingrediants to make fritters. You were advertising for example crayfish and scallops. The traditional food was okay, but again missing key items.
If you want to make this a key event then you have a lot of work to do. It is certainly not at the point where you are ready for the Rugby World Cup as stated on the news interview with one of the organisers.