Interval International rating for The Ridge Resort: Queenstown, New Zealand is Premier, and we rate The Ridge Resort in Queenstown as 10/10. New Zealand is a small country, similar in size to Great Britain or Japan. With a population of only four million people it's also gloriously un-crowded, especially in the winter months. We visited for three weeks and encountered one North American (from Halifax, Nova Scotia.) First, we arranged a trade through Interval International, and the on-line description, resort information, and several jpgs are "spot on." Our three bedroom / two bath unit fronted on Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables. On clear days the views of the lake, and, mountains are magnificent Some debate "shall we do the North Island or the South Island?" Our answer is one week in the north and two weeks in the south. It takes nearly three weeks to experience New Zealand without the "glow worm caves." The Ridge Resort in Queenstown may not be Marriott Five Star, but the location and proximity to nearly all sights (south) on the South Island is at excellent. We soon discovered with all three New Zealand vacation exchanges, that there is a lack of central A/C and heating; however, this is a small problem. The Ridge Resort at Queenstown is heated with a fireplace, and vacation owners must be adept at building wood fires. The Ridge Resort at Queenstown is an older resort, but has been newly remodeled. The kitchen and dining room are enclosed in a "greenhouse effect" with sliding glass doors and an abundance of windows. We enjoyed the open space concept. We entered Queenstown shortly before dark, and there is potential confusion because another "Ridge Resort" lies on the road to the holiday unit; in addition there is a Ridge Resort downtown Queenstown, and Interval International supplied only the road and not the house number of the resort. Be prepared to drive about 1/2 mile beyond the "first Ridge Resort." We had the luxury of two years in planning our three-week New Zealand, and one-week Sydney holiday. Because we elected to fly from Cincinnati to LAX to Sydney in Delta Business Elite using Delta Sky Miles, our flight was pure pleasure. We also used Marriott Rewards Points for a week in Sydney at the end of our holiday. In Sydney, we transferred to Virgin Atlantic and arrived in Auckland at 3:45PM; winter night arrives by 5:30PM, and we elected to walk out of the airport, cross the street and overnight at Novotel. Our rental car, (three weeks) a Nissan Bluebird (Sentra,) preformed great in the Southern Alps. We never were required to "chain up," although I have confidence in changing the tires if necessary. We were warmly greeted at all three New Zealand vacation clubs, and because I had insisted on one roller bag each plus a carry-on for laptops, moving was never a challenge. We found a large supermarket within five minutes, and Information Site, and numerous restaurants. It is our habit to prepare a condo breakfast, take a venison pie for lunch from a BP fuel station, and dine in the evening at a local restaurant. At this point, I suggest some travel rules. Helms' Rules: New Zealand & Sydney 1. Rent a car in Auckland, New Zealand (population = 4 million) & rent a Garmin (NZ trains are not developed). Do NOT engage a GROUP TOUR. Resist the Cruise Ship babble; one cannot tour NZ by the coastal ports. 2. Use public transportation in Sydney (population = 4 million); train from airport to Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay 3. Use buses, ferries (NO to taxis) 4. Arrive Auckland, ferry to South Island, Fly out Queenstown to Sydney 5. Visit North Island one week; South Island two weeks, Sydney one week 6. Use Delta Elite points in FLYING Business Class = free beds and gourmet meals & resist alcohol @ 35,000 feet; do use lots of lotion & water. 7. Trade into 3 weeks of condos = free, & have washer/dryers in units. 8. Nearly all "Guidebooks Experts" are useless. I do not require some person to PLAN my trip. I do not require a hotel or restaurant guide. Do consult Tripadvisor.com and mapquest.com 9. Use the WWW and parts of Guidebooks to design one's own trip 10. Choose Taupo Condo on N Island for a Central location, visit the numerous GEOTHERMAL CENTERS. I used a natural set of 5 geothermal pools 5 minutes north of Taupo every day. Resist the Hot Springs Prawn center (Good idea and excellent, but expensive prawns.) 11. Visit both coasts on both Islands 12. Choose MT Hutt condo as central to (center) S Island (Near Christchurch) 13. Choose Queenstown as central to (south) South Island 14. Fill in with Reserved hotels like airport Novotel in Auckland 15. Skip the North of Auckland and skip Auckland 16. Skip the BIG cities_traffic messes 17. Nearly all rental cars are Automatic (rent Garmin) 18. Roundabouts are easy to navigate 19. Take only one roller bag & one small bag; Pack only MICROFIBER or Gortex clothes. DO NOT check luggage. 20. Weather in NZ varies between 30 degr read more

NEW ZEALAND 2016 When I think of my dream place, I think of Queenstown, New Zealand. This was absolutely the best timeshare that we have ever traveled to! Exhausted after a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong and another 6 hour flight to New Zealand and a days trip from Christ Church, we arrived late at night. The condo entrance was non-descript. It almost looked like our own Hobbit House. Upon arrival, we went directly to bed. The next morning, I was greeted by the beauty of Queenstown with a panoramic view from the kitchen, dining room and living room. The lake and snow-capped mountains were breathtaking! All I did was take pictures and sent them to my sons so that they would quickly join us. Once they arrived, our vacation was nothing short of incredible. We hiked mountains and trails like the Rutburn, we went to Milford Sound, went speed boating through gorges and enjoyed the quaint shops of Queenstown. I had a ball taking pictures. There was beauty every angle I turned. The condo had 3 bedrooms, plenty room for our family of four. We even had our own jacuzzi and fireplace. The nightly ritual became making a fire and the morning ritual was taking a jacuzzi bath. The fully appointed kitchen had all the utensils to cook the fresh New Zealand lamb. I enjoyed cooking because the view from the kitchen was incredible. We also had some mishaps as my husband broke his arm. That whole episode also turned out fine since he needed surgery and New Zealand has socialized medicine paid for by their $8 per gallon gas tax. All tourists are covered so long as you sign an affidavit that you won't sue. The surgery was done at the teaching hospital in Dunnedin about 3.5 miles away. This trek back and forth was made bearable by the sites of the New Zealand countryside. This was our venture of the South Island, the North Island was equally beautiful with it's hot springs, rocky beaches and Hobittown! read more

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