Kamana was the first hotel we stayed at when we arrived in Queenstown for our Honeymoon- and it was…read moresuch a great choice. The rooms are nicely decorated; although on the smaller size. What we came for though were the views- which were absolutely incredible. We did a soak which was lovely and Nest the on-site restaurant was incredible! Would highly recommend!!

Stunning scenery. Food, drinks, and service were great as well. Definitely recommend working this…read moreinto your itinerary.

Really nice stay here. Great location, spacious rooms and my favorite--- two in room coffee…read moremakers! Comfy bed and a small table that can be used for dining in. Hotel breakfast was really good with great French press coffee. Very friendly staff. Really close to the start of the gondola, easy walk to the start.

Sofitel Queenstown is definitely French chic! I was lucky…read moreto have a club room and enjoyed cocktails and appetisers in the Rouge lounge each evening. The staff at the hotel were standout. Friendly and attentive. The hospitality really made for a great stay in beautiful Queenstown.

TLDR: Great cocktails. Snails paced service…read more Finally! An elevated cocktail bar with some originality. I came here earlier this week and had a window-side seat. The cocktails were superb and original and the team definitely knew what they were doing. Unfortunately the evening was ruined by horrifically slow service (Note to the managers: This is costing you money). There were only two staff members working, but there were only 8 tables or so. Definitely come here for a drink, but don't be in a rush.

We came 5 minutes after 6pm on Christmas day and it was already full for dinner. Luckily, one table…read moreleft soon after and we managed to snag the final spot for the next 1.5 hours. Everyone else that came in after us was turned away. This place was very highly rated on trip advisor and it certainly beat all my expectations. Our group of 3 split the following dishes. charcuterie board of wild boar prosciutto & shoulder - This was amazing and tasted so fresh. seafood chowder - delicious, but really wish the bowl was bigger. pork cheek - loved it hare & duck - so so eel fishcakes - okay calamari in squid ink tempura batter - novelty batter, calamari tasted fine. lamb cheeks with hummus - tasted tougher. didn't like it as much. Out of all the restaurants I visited in New Zealand, I had the best meal here. Coming in a group allowed us to sample more dishes.

4.4/5 This review is…read morefor the South Eatery Restaurant inside the Mercure Queenstown Resort. We actually came here our first time in Queenstown a couple years ago and wanted to come back our second time around. We arrived for dinner on the weekend and there were a lot of empty tables, so I bet you could easily get a table without a reservation. To get the restaurant from the front of the hotel, you have to walk towards the back and then down the stairs. We luckily had a table right by the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the beautiful Lake Wakatipu. I loved their menu options for dinner was hard to choose between the duck, short rib, or one of their specials of the day scotch fillet. The servers were friendly but it did take a bit of time to receive our orders and also on refills given the restaurant was not busy at the time. There is a side door to the right of the restaurant where you can access the balcony and take pictures overlooking the lake if you wish. Scotch fillet [4.7/5]: This was my favorite dish out what we ordered. It came out a bit after everyone else's orders, but the server told me it was because the chef had to re-do it which I really appreciate (taking more time instead of giving out an overdone piece of meat). It was cooked perf and loved dipping it in the jus. Grilled salmon [4.4/5]: I usually don't order salmon as it's pretty quick and easy to cook at home. But this salmon just tasted so fresh as if they just caught it from the lake and buttery smooth inside. I think the dish would have been better if they included some grilled or sauteed veggies or maybe some puree below the salmon to add more components to the dish. Smoked pork rib [4.5/5]: I love how many chunky pieces of ribs they gave and the meat easily slid off the bone and was really tender. Each of the dishes came with choice of salad or fries (with ketchup and hollandaise) and 2 different sauces (jus and some butter based sauce). I would definitely come back and recommend given the food was delicious, good value, and of course the amazing ambiance with the view.

I booked this hotel through Booking.com (they claimed it was a four-star hotel). The photos looked…read morelovely, so I went ahead with the booking. When we got to the hotel, it was cute, nice, and the staff was very friendly and professional. We got a room on the third floor and checked in. When we got into our room, we saw that we had a little fridge, a super small and outdated bathroom, and two double beds. I was with my boyfriend, so we used one of the double beds as storage for our luggage. We usually choose airbnb over hotels, but if you don't book far enough in advance, the airbnbs in Queenstown will completely book out. So we got a hotel. I was excited to use the gym, the hot tub, and maybe have a bite in the hotel restaurant. The gym was nice and had good equipment (a treadmill, elliptical, free weights, and a couple weight machines, along with yoga mats and stability balls). The view from the gym was insane! So gorgeous. The location is great, especially if you have a car. We drove the 5 mins to and from the hotel to the city center, but keep in mind parking is super limited here. I'm not sure where you'd park if you didn't get a spot here. We were lucky to get the very last spot in the lot when we got back in from dinner at Fergburger and a few drinks, around 11 PM. (We took a look at the hotel restaurant menu and there were zero vegan options, so we just went into the city). The reason I wouldn't give above three stars is 1. the super outdated bathroom, 2. the cracks in the walls and the overall feeling of the decor not being very high quality and 3. it was expensive for all of this - I paid $190 NZD for one night. Maybe I'm spoiled from airbnb, but I think I'll continue that streak.

The views from our roomside deck were stunning. Overlooking the lake and mountains, and with the…read morechanging weather patterns, the view varied often. Better than TV. Pillows and beds were comfy. The shower had the hugest pressure of any shower. It was like getting a massage each time you hopped in. So hot too. Loved it. Parking was underground for $15/night. It was a bit past town but we walked through town and up to Queenstown trail without issue. We ate breakfast there one morning. I wasn't all that impressed with the breakfast options. Since you are a bit out of town, you can be held to a captive audience unless you want to drive or walk. The views made our stay well worth it.

I definitely rated this as the top hotel of our trip to NZ. It's a bit out of town, which is…read moreprobably no bad thing at the height of the season, but it's a nice stroll along the waterfront to get there, the only drawback being the hill at the end! The rooms are divided into three separate buildings and are clean, spacious and well-appointed. There is limited underground parking for each building, otherwise there is overflow parking across the road. The spa area with heated outdoor pool and sauna is a great place to unwind at the end of the day, but it was the menu choices in the restaurant that really made it for us. We hadn't actually booked breakfast or evening meals with our stay, but ended up eating everything there as the food was excellent, particularly the vegan and vegetarian menu. I mean, how many places can you name where 3 of the 5 dessert choices are vegan? Staff were super-friendly and took the time to chat with you when they weren't busy, they really made us feel at home. Plus they upgraded us to a suite for our return one-night stay - bonus!

You should stay here. Really. We've stayed at Cypress Inn,…read moreDoris Day's place in Carmel, which was off the Richter for character and charm. There's a wonderful little place we stayed at in Orange called Cotehele which is about a thousand years old and comfy as anything. Truly magic place especially in Winter under snow. We had one of our anniversary holidays at Hatherly Birrell Collection in Lonny* which amps up heritage, art and style. But..... The Dairy is better. For a start it's in Queenstown, and nowhere on Earth is there anything as spectacular as the little town on Lake Whykikamoocow under the Remarkables. I'm so glad Gen Y didn't find the 'Remarks' or they would be called 'The Like, Awsomes' Second it is authentic. It used to be a Dairy until a couple of blokes did it up and turned it into a boutique hotel. Its got history and class. To burn. Third, its now run by two of the nicest people you will ever meet even if one of them is a Kiwi. Hi Bevan! BTW, how did you get so lucky as to marry a gorgeous Aussie like Kim? CarnthaWallabies. Nothing is a problem. Every whim is their command. Alex the Elvis impersonator is on hand to bring the best brekky in the southern hemisphere.** He can tell you where to ski and where to get a Rhinestone jumpsuit. The view from our room was better than TV. We just sat and looked out the window. After a day's skiing we would fall into the hot tub and Kim would bring us champagne flutes and an ice bucket. Fresh towels and robes provided. The location is perfect. Walking distance to ski field buses, and the middle of town is a two minute roll down the hill, but its still quiet enough that you can't hear the Irish and Pommy backpackers at two in the morning, a problem in others Hotels, or so I heard on a chairlift. The brekky is touted as a feature on other review sites and rightly so. It is drop dead fantastic and it means you don't need lunch - which for me is extraordinary. I don't know what they have done to their pigs in the Shaky Isles but my God they make super bacon! And Elvis is always happy to load a few more rashers on board. With a smile and a chat. A very cool guy indeed. With a car that has been diagnosed as a 'ticking time bomb' which he drives to the ski fields. Brave man, I assure you. Driving to The Remarkables is like a double black run for experts only! Afternoon tea in front of a cracking open fire is wonderful. Little home made cakes and scones, or so Keeno tells me - I was having a nap at that time of day. Or Skiing. Thats the thing about this place, its just so friendly. Everyone is blissed out, just enjoying the town and the hospitality. I reckon that The Dairy is the new benchmark for hospitality. The rooms are great, the bathrooms are spotless and the hot water is strong and endless. I tested it. Wi Fi is amazingly quick and trouble free. I heard our American friends Brittany and Andrew thank Bevan and Kim for helping with their heli hiking, bungy jumping, jet boating, and glacier flights. Our Brazilian neighbours could be seen wandering around the Library and just staring into the distance. Bevan recommended some places to eat, most of which I had already found on Yilp***, with the notable exceptions of Belle Cucina and Eichardts. That Eichardt recommendation in itself earned him hero status with me. At least until the World Cup. What a place! We will be back. *Launceston, Tasmania **We down under are very fond of being the best at anything in the Southern Hemisphere. It means we have beaten Chile. And the bottom province of Equatorial Guinea. And Namibia. ***'Yelp' in New Zealand...ish (?)

This place was amazing! My husband and I spent my birthday here while on our honeymoon. Charlotte…read morewas so kind and made us feel at home. She had great suggestions for local spots from viewpoints to restaurants. Accommodations were great and breakfast was delightful! Highly recommend and we will definitely be back!

LOCATION: 5 stars VALUE: 5 stars…read moreLIKELY TO RETURN/STAY HERE AGAIN: 5 stars SERVICE: 5 stars ROOMS: 3 stars overall LOCATION: My husband and I were VERY happy with this location - it's always difficult to tell when looking on the map, but it's proximity was AMAZING. There's a small convenient store next door that was open every time we needed to stop in. A grocery store is a bit of a further walk up, but definitely walkable. And maybe 5-10 minute walk to a pharmacy - which was EXTREMELY helpful and we frequented often. It is across the street from Real Journeys - so if you book a tour through them, sometimes this was a popular meeting spot. It is walking distance to Lake Wakatipu (2 minutes probably) with an AMAZING lake-front view with plenty of restaurants (breakfast, lunch, dinner, casual dining to fancy dining) to choose from - Patagonia Chocolates, Fergburger among other popular eats are very close by IHG: We booked using IHG points we scored after opening their credit card. They allowed us early check-in which was AMAZING straight from a 24-hour travel time (we did request this ahead of time) and we got a few other perks for being platinum elite members. This is more of an IHG qualm is that they always advertise your "free gift" as though it's something so BIG and usually its just 2 tiny bottles of water (if they remember to give it to us). This hotel remembered to give us our present and it was in a shiny, very professional looking envelope and it was just a card that said we get free wifi - which I am pretty sure was already included. Maybe it was high-speed. I dunno, I just don't like the heavy advertisement on why you should increase your status for a tiny gift that many resorts (not this one) but usually other resorts have forgotten to even give us ROOMS: Overall, the rooms were clean and had a good layout. We were slightly disappointed that 2 of the hooks for our shower curtain were broken, so someone just looped 2 loops onto 1 hook each making the shower curtain short and caused a mess in our bathroom, but every time someone came to clean they never changed it. My husband is VERY sensitive to noise and the noise level in the hotel was perfect LAUNDRY: we ended up doing our laundry on site - which I usually don't do while traveling and their laundry was convenient and very cheap. They had automated detergent dispensers as well, which was very handy SERVICE: the staff was always very helpful with any questions and also helped us setup a Super Shuttle and taxi when we needed it. They were EXTREMELY helpful especially in setting this up TO the airport for our flight to Auckland, which is always tough traveling, 'cause I never know how much time to give. We used them several times to help us find the grocery store or other places and they had great directions. BREAKFAST: We only had 1 free breakfast day included and it was ok, to me. My husband was pretty impressed. They did have a juicer on site with plenty of healthy items to choose from to juice. I try to do low-carb, low-sugar most of the time, so this was hard for me as it was mostly pastries and the only sustenance they had was not that appealing to me - fried rice, noodles, sausage, etc. They did have a order your own omelette/egg station which I should have taken advantage of and my husband loved. As a picky breakfast eater and with so many other choices nearby, to me the breakfast wasn't worth it. Breakfast places are so close that, you can eat breakfast outside of the hotel and still make it back for your tour start time (depending on the time) We 100% will be back here (well at least plan on it). It was SO nice to stay this close to town. Plan to give yourself some time to even just walk around this amazing plus and don't overbook with tours. We did a Milford Sound, Kayaking and Bike Ride Tour while here and I will definitely be reviewing all those things - what fantastic place.

Ridiculously expensive considering how tired and run-down the place is. Coffee machine didn't work,…read moreand there were only two lousy pods in the tray anyway, which doesn't sound like much but you'd think for $800 a night they could quality check their rooms? Getting fully dressed in winter gear to go out and get coffee should not be a requirement for that price. Also, thought for the cost and the fact that we booked several months in advance, that we might have had a nicer room, rather than outside the lift, on the lowest floor. Anyway, they choose to serve how they like. We won't stay again, and we won't recommend it. Stay somewhere else, there are plenty better in Queenstown as we found out. Saving graces? The staff were pleasant and the view would be good from a better room than the one they gave us.

You get what you pay for. This place is a dump. The beds are falling apart, the internet doesn't…read morework at all, the breakfast they advertise is a few scraps of fruit. Room is bare minimum. Only stay here if you are really desperate.

Overall, very nice hotel and met my expectations for the price I paid…read more LOCATION: The hotel is perched up a hill along the beautiful Lake Wakatipu, and a 5-minute walk to the "heart" of Queenstown (the city center is very small, so don't expect too much). Because of the hill, some of the rooms have stunning views of the the lake (and some have less stunning garden views). Some people on TripAdvisor have complained about having to go up and down this hill though it's completely manageable ... so they even set up a shuttle that will take you to the city center! SERVICE: As you would expect in a high-quality hotel, the staff is very courteous and goes out of their way to help you. The valet and front desk agents were very helpful and stored our bags until our room was ready, then took them up for us without asking. AMBIENCE: Very nicely appointed lobby; fireplace and comfy chairs entice a lot of people to hang out in the evening and enjoy a glass of wine. There is also a nice restaurant / bar with a great view of the water. My only complaint here is that the bar seems to close quite early, so you can't enjoy the aforementioned glass of wine after 10 pm. ROOMS: First, the thing I look for is cleanliness, and I had no issues there. The sheets and towels were stark white, the bathroom was super clean, and the room had been well appointed. Our room was quite small and had a garden view, even though we told them we're on our honeymoon (I didn't take points off for this). TIPS: -- the hotel doesn't offer free parking, but you can park along the street on the hill fairly easily for free

This place was LOUD. Our room was awful and tiny for considering what we paid. We could literally…read moretouch the ceiling of our room. Our friend's room was double the size for same price. We tried to upgrade but they wanted to charge us $160/night yet online it was less than $50/night. We've been all over the country and all sorts of places. This was the top price/rated and by far the worst experience. Concierge was nonexistent. This place is crazy to have that high star of a rating. I truly do not like to write negative reviews unless warranted.