For travellers who relish the call of sport and adventure, Queenstown is almost certainly a destination that will be on your travel radar for 2025.
Renowned as the epicentre of snow sports in New Zealand, this iconic holiday destination (in the country’s South Island) has a plethora of ski resorts to choose from.
Even if black diamond runs aren’t your particular vibe, there are many other breathtaking outdoor activities on offer: ranging from fly fishing to whitewater rafting, or day hikes to a nearby national park.
Needless to say, with so much to do amid the great outdoors, you’re going to want accommodation that’s seriously comfortable — the sort you can get excited about after a big day on the slopes, trails, and waters of Lake Wakatipu.
Read our guide to the best hotels in Queenstown below.
RELATED: The 14 Best Hotels New Zealand Has To Offer
Jump To:
Sherwood Queenstown
Address: 554 Frankton Road, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3450 1090
Price: From ~$220 per night
Pitched at the intersection where wellness, design, and locavore foodie culture meet, Sherwood’s accommodations are spread over the grounds of an 80s faux-Tudor motor inn. In common areas and guestrooms, the styling cues are uniformly utilitarian: blending heritage fixtures with a shabby-chic colour palette that inexplicably works.
Even if you’re not checking in, a journey to the hotel’s signature restaurant is all but essential. Chef Chris Scott forages across Central Otago for the best in local and seasonal produce (that ingredient-led approach being best demonstrated in the hotel’s excellent breakfast spread).
Leaning into a community ethos, guests here can also take advantage of a yoga studio, ski repair workshop, and in-house veggie garden.
Hulbert House
Address: 68 Ballarat Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3442 8767
Price: From ~$785 per night
Set within restored Victorian lodgings on the crest of Queenstown Hill, one gets the feeling — looking in from the outside — that a stay at Hulbert House is akin to time travel back to 19th century New Zealand.
The hotel’s lived-in, colonial charms are right at home amid their setting. Step outside, and you’ll be greeted by down-the-barrel views of Lake Wakatipu — and it’s only a 10-minute walk to the base of Bob’s Peak (one of the best places to catch Queenstown’s panoramic vistas).
No meals other than breakfast — always complimentary — are served at the hotel, but with such fantastic proximity to the centre of Queenstown, you’ll be encouraged to explore the city’s standalone dining options. Besides, pre-dinner tipples are served in the Hulbert House salon… how very Agatha Christie.
Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa
Address: 8 Duke Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3450 0045
Price: From ~$350 per night
Where old-world charm meets new-world adventure. Sofitel Queenstown brings the eponymous Accor imprint’s decidedly French hospitality to the preeminent Kiwi ski resort — and the results are reassuringly classic.
After a day of skis and mountain bikes, the hotel’s lobby is a glam place to unwind: all glittering bannisters, wrought ironwork, and a grand piano for good measure.
For those with muscle-deep fatigue, the property has its own L’Occitane branded spa on-site. Follow up your treatment with cocktails and raclette at Le Salon Rouge: the hotel’s opulent, open-til-late supper club.
Rosewood Matakauri Queenstown
Address: Farrycroft Row, 569 Glenorchy Road, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3441 1008
Price: From ~$3,000 per night
Part of the broader trio of Robertson Family resorts acquired by Hong Kong hotelier Rosewood in 2023, our colleague John has previously described Matakauri as a benchmark “in understated luxury and friendly Kiwi warmth.”
Typically at the tippy-top of most travel writers’ lists of the best Queenstown hotels, Matakauri’s food, hospitality, and setting coalesce into an experience that is the ultimate way to experience the South Island. With only 12 suites on-site, and rates starting north of $3,000, we’d expect nothing less.
Perched high above Lake Matakauri (yet still only 10 minutes’ drive into town) this all-inclusive alpine lodge pulls off the fantastical feat of being both highly remote and accessible — not that there’s any pressing reason to leave.
Resort doyenne Virginia Fisher has put her soothing, light-filled touch to work in Matakauri’s various suites and multi-bedroom villas. Meanwhile, in the Dining Room (the hotel’s sole signature eatery), guests can look forward to contemporary Kiwi cuisine by Head Chef Jonathan Rogers — heavy on meat and vegetables from the surrounding region of Central Otago.
QT Queenstown
Address: 30 Brunswick Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3450 3450
Price: From ~$300 per night
Situated in the heart of New Zealand’s adventure capital, QT Queenstown brings all the vibrancy you’d expect from the eponymous Australian boutique brand into the picturesque vicinity of Lake Wakatipu.
The hotel’s 62 rooms have been splashed with a ‘plush playtime luxe’ aesthetic: meaning monochrome wood and metal fittings, with the odd accent of vivid Scandi-inspired furniture. Our inclination, whenever possible, is to book yourself into one of the lakeside room categories — the perfect spot to snap a few shots of the Remarkables, or marvel (in the summer) at lakeside jetskiers.
Bazaar — the restaurant’s signature F&B venue — is a perfectly solid option if you’re traveling with an entourage of picky eaters. The restaurant’s unique weapon is its buffet-style range of live cooking stations with a relatively rare emphasis on international flavours.
Eichardt’s Private Hotel
Address: Farrycroft Row, 569 Glenorchy Road, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3441 0450
Price: From ~$1,100 per night
Nestled in the thick of central Queenstown — most of the city’s restaurants, bars, and other urban attractions are located within a one-kilometre radius — Eichardt’s Private Hotel is a charming perch from which to enjoy your alpine holiday. Waterfront rooms enjoy a view of the Southern Alps.
The hotel’s facade is built in the typically opulent Victorian style: smart camouflage for an interior that is reassuringly contemporary, with the occasional quirk of Steampunk madness. In the eponymous Eichardt’s Bar, there’s a roaring fireplace cast in riveted ironwork: offering an ambience quite unlike anything else in town, for pre (or post-) dinner tipples.
If you’re looking for a reprieve from hyper-local, hyper-seasonal eating the property is also home to Tamarind: a “modern Indian & African” restaurant where diners can tuck into share plates of paratha, Ethiopian beef stew, and what is rumoured to be Queenstown’s best goan fish curry.
The Azur Lodge
Address: 23 MacKinnon Terrace, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3409 0588
Price: From ~$1,670 per night
High on an isolated hilltop in Glenorchy (about 10 minutes from Central Queenstown), you’ll find Azur. The most exclusive Queenstown hotel to grace our shortlist — Matakauri Lodge, notwithstanding — the complex is home to nine private villas, all of which boast jaw-dropping panoramas of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables.
Every villa sports a homely cabin aesthetic with the comfort factor cranked way up thanks to the addition of kitchenettes, L-shape sofas in the living room, and freestanding soaking tubs.
Particularly outgoing guests will gravitate towards the main reception block — also where the Azur guest team serves breakfast, afternoon tea and a series of evening canapés. (Notably, the property does not operate its own full-service bar/restaurant.) Our personal plea? Skip the communal facilities altogether, and request to take any/all of these meals in the comfort of your villa — ideally, out on the balcony.
Kamana Lake House
Address: 139 Fernhill Road, Fernhill, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3441 0097
Price: From ~$325 per night
Hidden away on the southwestern coast of Queentown, Kamana bears the distinction of being the city’s “highest altitude accommodation” — commanding birdseye views of water, mountain ranges and urban settlement below.
Having only opened in 2018, the property’s look is broadly best described as clean, cosy, and contemporary. A booking in the hotel’s ‘Lakeview’ or ‘Remarkables’ categories is all but essential — lest the thought of looking at an outdoor carpark excite you.
As with all the other Queenstown hotels on our list, Kamana’s concierge is able to organise a range of winter sporting and outdoor activities. Should you choose to remain on-site, however, the property maintains three outdoor soaking tubs as well as an in-room spa menu.
Zest, the hotel’s signature bar & restaurant, supplements its majestic views with a compact menu of seasonal locavore fare; while the wine list skews toward cold climate varieties made in the surrounding region of Central Otago.
The Carlin Boutique Hotel
Address: 43 Hallenstein Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3222 7546
Price: From ~$2,330 per night
The newest Queenstown hotel to nab BH‘s seal of approval, The Carlin opened in early 2022 and has rapidly established itself as one of the most upmarket stays in the CBD.
The property’s build itself is fairly distinctive: consisting of a six-storey structure cascading down a hilly stretch of Hallenstein Street, with each floor home to a separate suite category. The most elevated option (literally) is the ‘Eagle’s Nest’: a penthouse-inspired concept that houses its own gas firepit, al fresco dining area, and jacuzzi.
Room rates here are amongst the priciest in Queenstown, but inclusive of numerous benefits that remain relatively uncommon across the city’s hotels. All bookings come with a complimentary airport transfer (one-way) and on-the-house minibar.
The Rees Hotel
Address: 377 Frankton Road, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Contact: +64 3450 1100
Price: From ~$685 per night
Named for Queenstown’s founder, the illustrious William Rees, this property sprawls across a seven-storey structure — right along the banks of Lake Wakatipu.
Like a lot of the best hotels in Queenstown, the colour palette at Rees leans toward nondescript modernity; yet the fixtures and furniture are so well-made — and the views so staggering — you’re unlikely to take issue. Even if your preference is for a room or apartment that’s a little less beige.
A solid in-house restaurant and gymnasium see to all of your basic needs, but it is the hotel’s secluded location (in the Western suburb of Frankton) that supply it with its most distinctive experiences.
A water taxi runs at regular intervals for guests who are angling to explore central Queenstown. Keen to hit the ground running the moment you disembark your plane? Rees’ staff will meet you at the airport and supply you with a mountain bike, which you’ll use to tackle the scenic Frankton track that ends at the hotel.
Satisfied with your tour of New Zealand’s South Island? Then consider a few more of our firsthand hotel guides — in cities across Australia, the Asia Pacific and more:
