Jennifer S.
Yelp
I'm a quirky girl, I love quirks. But this place has so many - and not in a good way - that it's difficult to recommend.
Hotel design:
Good luck finding your room the first couple times. Different blocks of rooms are accessible by their own stairs/elevator, and heaven help you if you take the wrong one. Nonsensical floor numbers (the main lobby is on 4) of one elevator, but completely different on another. This became a running joke with other guests we'd encounter in the hotel. After three days we finally (mostly) got the hang of it. This was ESPECIALLY infuriating when we had to get re-keyed every day of our stay, however.
Front desk:
Front desk staff and manager actually picked a fight with us over the extra 30 minutes late check-out we asked for, after initially telling us it was not a problem. The reservation was split up into separate days, and we had to constantly monitor the charges so things didn't get duplicated. That reservation quirk also caused our keys to stop working every day, which of course you don't realize until you get all the way through the circuitous path to your room.
Lobby bar:
Great bartender. The Hendricks gin & tonic and the Toblerone drink were fantastic. Free wine for Hilton HHonors Gold/Diamond. Inexplicably closed one evening.
Pool:
Lap pool, so no room to frolic if another guest is swimming laps. Big changing rooms upstairs with sauna. Generously sized hot tub, but no way to turn on the jets, so you pretty much just steep in the hot water.
Breakfast:
Typical mix of continental and cooked breakfast items, plus Indian and Chinese offerings. Juicer with fruit and vegetables for creating your own concoction. Cute kids buffet accessible to short folk. Kids buffet was always out of pancakes no matter what time we went, but we did get some made to order for our little guy. He liked the toast better anyhow. You'll pay extra for barista coffee. We got overlooked a lot waiting for just regular coffee.
Location:
Everyone else has mentioned the location. Definitely off the beaten path, and a looooong way from town. The water taxi was a fun alternative (and reasonably cheap), but it's a 20-25-min ride and getting on and off was pretty tricky with a 4yo as it's a giant step from the piers - if you have mobility issues, it's not an option for you.
We've been to Queenstown before, and if you want the convenience of walking or taking a quick shuttle to all the shops/dining/etc, there are better hotels for that. Staying here, you have to plan ahead and spend a while in town to make the transportation cost and time worthwhile. If you're happy to park yourself in one place with just the hotel dining options, go for it, but beware there are still plenty of annoyances to be had.