1. Introduction

("we", "us" or "our") operates the website at merquessianfinecuisine.com (the "Site") in connection with our hotel, restaurant and casino facilities located at .

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies and similar storage technologies are, how we use them on the Site, what choices you have regarding their use, and how you can manage or withdraw your consent. It forms part of our broader Privacy Policy and should be read alongside it. If you have any questions, you may contact us at privacy@merquessianfinecuisine.com.

We are committed to being transparent about the technologies we deploy and to ensuring that any optional storage technologies remain entirely disabled unless and until you actively choose to accept them.

2. What Are Cookies and Similar Technologies?

A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device — computer, tablet or mobile phone — when you visit it. Cookies are widely used by website operators to make their sites work correctly, to operate more efficiently, and to provide information to the owners of the site.

In addition to cookies, we may use other storage technologies that function in a similar way. These include:

• Session storage — temporary data held in your browser only for the duration of your browsing session, deleted automatically when you close the browser tab or window.
• Local storage — data stored in your browser that persists beyond individual sessions until it is cleared by you or by the site.
• Pixel tags and web beacons — small transparent images or code snippets embedded in web pages or emails that record whether certain content has been viewed or interacted with.
• Scripts and SDKs — pieces of code that may read or write data to your browser or device in connection with specific features or services.

Throughout this policy, the word "cookies" is used as a collective term to refer to all of the above technologies, unless we specifically distinguish between them.

3. How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for a range of purposes connected with operating and improving the Site and with providing relevant information about our hotel, fine-dining restaurant and casino. The specific purposes fall into the categories described in Section 4 below. At a high level, cookies on the Site help us to:

• Ensure the Site functions correctly and securely across all supported browsers and devices.
• Remember your preferences and consent choices so that we do not ask you repeatedly.
• Understand how visitors navigate and use the Site so that we can improve the experience.
• Present content and, where you have consented, marketing communications that are relevant to your expressed interests.
• Support responsible-gaming safeguards relevant to our casino facilities, including age-verification session controls for guests aged 18 and over.

4. Categories of Cookies We Use

The table below describes each category of cookie we may deploy, the basis on which we do so, and indicative storage durations. Where a category is marked as Optional, the cookies in that category are set to off by default and will not be activated unless you expressly accept them through our consent banner or preference centre.

Duration figures are indicative. The actual lifetime of a specific cookie depends on its technical configuration and may be shorter if you clear your browser cookies or withdraw your consent before the stated period expires.

5. Cookie Duration Explained

Cookies can be classified by how long they remain on your device:

• Session cookies — these are temporary and exist only while your browser session is open. They are automatically deleted when you close your browser. They are used principally to support the technical operation of the Site during a single visit, such as maintaining a booking session.
• Persistent cookies — these remain on your device after your browser session ends, for a duration set at the time they are created. They are used to remember your preferences and consent choices across return visits, or to support analytics and marketing functions where you have given consent. You can remove persistent cookies at any time through your browser settings.

6. First-Party and Third-Party Cookies

Cookies set directly by under the merquessianfinecuisine.com domain are called first-party cookies. We control these cookies and their data is processed in accordance with this policy.

Some cookies on the Site may be set by third-party service providers — organisations separate from us — whose technologies we may permit to operate on the Site. Where optional categories are involved, third-party cookies in those categories will only be activated if you have consented to the relevant category. We have no direct control over third-party cookies once they are activated; each third party is independently responsible for complying with applicable data protection and privacy law in respect of the data collected through its own cookies. We encourage you to review the privacy and cookie policies of any third-party services you interact with.

7. Your Consent Choices

7.1 Consent Banner and Preference Centre

When you first visit the Site, a consent banner will be displayed. This banner allows you to:

• Accept all optional cookie categories with a single action;
• Reject all optional cookie categories with a single action; or
• Open the preference centre and make granular choices for each optional category individually.

Strictly necessary cookies are active regardless of your choice, as they are essential for the Site to function. No optional cookies are set before you have made a selection, and any optional category you do not explicitly accept will remain deactivated.

7.2 Withdrawing or Changing Your Consent

You may withdraw or adjust your consent at any time by returning to our cookie preference centre, which can be accessed via the "Cookie Settings" link available in the footer of every page on the Site. Any withdrawal of consent will take effect prospectively; it will not affect processing that lawfully took place before your withdrawal.

Withdrawing consent for a particular category will cause the cookies in that category to be deactivated on your device at the time of withdrawal, and no new cookies in that category will be set during subsequent browsing until consent is given again.

7.3 Consent Records

We record a timestamp and the choices you make each time you interact with the consent banner or preference centre. This record is stored as a strictly necessary cookie to avoid presenting the banner repeatedly and to demonstrate your choices if required. You can clear this record at any time via your browser settings, which will cause the consent banner to reappear on your next visit.

8. Managing Cookies Through Your Browser

In addition to our preference centre, you can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

• View which cookies are stored on your device and delete them individually or in bulk;
• Block all cookies from being set on your device;
• Block cookies from specific websites while allowing them from others;
• Browse in a private or incognito mode, in which most cookies are not retained after the session ends.

The steps required to manage cookies vary by browser. You can typically find cookie controls in your browser's "Settings", "Privacy" or "Security" section. Browser developers publish guidance on their official support pages. Please note that disabling or deleting cookies through browser settings may affect the functionality of this Site, including core booking and account features.

If you use multiple browsers or devices to access the Site, you will need to apply your preferred settings to each one separately.

8.1 Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. Because there is no universally agreed technical standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals, the Site does not currently alter its behaviour in response to DNT headers. Your choices through our preference centre and browser settings remain the most reliable means of controlling cookie activity on this Site.

9. Personal Data Collected Through Cookies

Some cookies may collect or be associated with personal data, such as an IP address, device identifiers, browsing history on the Site or identifiers linked to a guest account. Where cookies process personal data, that processing is governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes your rights under New Zealand's Privacy Act 2020, the lawful bases on which we process personal data, how long we retain it, and how to exercise your rights.

We do not use cookies to collect special-category personal data through the Site.

Where optional analytics or marketing cookies result in personal data being transferred to recipients outside New Zealand, any such transfers are conducted in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

10. Casino Age Verification and Session Controls

Access to certain sections of the Site relating to our casino facilities is restricted to persons aged 18 years and over in accordance with New Zealand law. Strictly necessary session cookies are used to maintain the status of any age declaration made during a visit so that you are not asked to confirm your age repeatedly within a single session. These cookies do not persist beyond the session and do not store any biometric or identity-document data.

11. Third-Party Responsibility

Where third-party cookies are activated on the basis of your consent, the relevant third parties operate as independent data controllers in respect of the data collected through their own technologies. Each third party's collection and use of data is governed by its own privacy and cookie policy, not by this document. is not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties, and we encourage you to review their policies before consenting to the marketing or analytics categories that may involve their technologies.

We periodically review the third-party services integrated with the Site to ensure that their engagement conditions remain appropriate and that they continue to uphold recognised data-protection standards.

12. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, our business operations or for any other reason we consider necessary or appropriate. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you through the Site.

We encourage you to review this page periodically so that you remain informed about how we use cookies. Continued use of the Site following any update constitutes your acknowledgement of the revised policy. Where any update affects optional cookie categories for which your consent is required, we will seek fresh consent as appropriate.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests relating to this Cookie Policy, or if you wish to exercise any rights in relation to personal data collected through cookies, please contact us using the details below:

We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within a reasonable time and in any event within the timeframes required by applicable New Zealand law.