Description: After months and months of the hostel and backpacker experience, I was more than ready for a little bit of comfort.
When I packed up and drove down to Queenstown for the weekend, I had originally planned to stay in a well recommended hostel. However, when I arrived they had forgotten to book me in, and after half an hour looking around it seemed that most of the hostels in Queenstown were fully booked for the evening. (There was a surprisingly small amount of them there, given the nature of the city.)
After checking with the I-Site and wondering if a night camping or in the car was on the horizon, I decided to spend a little bit more than I was accustomed to and tried the Queenstown Lodge.
It was running a special that weekend, which is something it seems to be quite good for. It was $90 a night for a basic double room, which despite being much more than I like to pay for a single night in a room, was really good value for New Zealand accommodation. However, this was a special and I think the standard price for a non-view room is £125, and a lake view room is $140. (the price changes drastically depending on high or low season)
And all in all I was very happy with it. The main issue I had with the Queenstown Lodge was that it was quite dated. It was clean and well put together and the staff were very friendly - but there was still a sense of age in the place and it could certainly do with a bit of redecorating.
But aside from that - I have no other complaints. For the price it was very good, in fact.
The best aspect of the Lodge is the location. Right on Lake Wakatipu, if you can get a room with lake front views it's an amazing place to spend the evening. The mountains surrounding the lake are stunning in the summer and winter, and the lake itself is beautifully serene.
It's only a few minutes outside of the centre of Queenstown, and very easy to get to either by car or by the shuttle bus that runs often. But even so you get an excellent sense of peace and quiet here which was just what I was looking for.
There is plenty of parking, and the night's stay included a very nice breakfast. Well - a very large, cooked breakfast. It wasn't the greatest breakfast I've ever had, but it was warm and there was plenty of it. (Not just cereal and coffee) and you can sit out on the balcony looking across the lake while you enjoy it.
So if you're looking for something a few steps up from a hostel or motel, but you still don't want to spend a fortune while you're in Queenstown, the Queenstown Lodge is an excellent option.
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