Review : The Hilton Queenstown is a lakeside retreat for the adventurous

introduction

Surrounded by some of the most majestic and awe-inspiring mountains in the Southern Hemisphere, Queenstown is New Zealand’s pleasure center – able to satisfy adrenaline junkies as well as spa fans.

Queenstown is built around Lake Wakatipu, and in one corner of this vast lake is the sprawling Hilton Queenstown Resort. A longtime favorite for many, it is an inviting retreat to retreat to and relax at the end of any action-packed day.

Location & Impressions

The Hilton Queenstown Resort is situated on the icy blue waters of the lake, close to the airport and approximately 15 minutes’ drive from the city centre.

While the city government wants travelers to use public transit whenever possible, the reality is that most people — including Hilton guests — will need a car unless they’re right in the city center. Rental cars are available at Queenstown Airport.

Parking is available at the hotel for NZ$16 per night, with very limited alternative parking elsewhere nearby.

Alternatively, and for an action-packed start to your stay, you can also take advantage of the Hilton’s lakeside location by booking a jet boat arrival through K-Jet.

K-Jet is an exciting way to get to the Hilton.

After being picked up at the airport, you will be taken to a nearby wharf to board your motorboat for a hair-raising 20 minute exhilarating ride on the lake with lots of twists, twists and turns before heading straight to the wharf be dropped by Hilton.

Don’t worry about your luggage, K-Jet will take it to the Hilton where it will either await your arrival in the lobby or be delivered to your room.

Should you choose to travel more conventionally, there are numerous taxis and shuttles available that will drop you off outside the hotel’s rather small front door.

Room

The Hilton Queenstown is deceptively large, with winding corridors that are much longer than the hotel’s exterior suggests.

The hotel’s 220 rooms are spread over six floors, with most intentionally set to one side to give guests more opportunities to secure that coveted direct lake view.

The rooms at the Hilton Queenstown are decorated to resemble a cute cabin in the wilderness.

Rooms are decorated to resemble a quaint wilderness cabin and feature a three-seat lounge set around an intimate pillared stone fireplace.

Behind the lounge and sitting room (and two steps up in some rooms) is either a plush king-size bed or two single beds, soft and supremely comfortable for your everyday sleep.

Both king and twin rooms are available, making the hotel perfect for couples or friends.

Lakeside rooms also have a narrow, single-tiered balcony with two short stools, designed for a brief embrace of the scenery rather than an extended afternoon perch.

Take a deep breath on your balcony and enjoy the fresh mountain air.

Bathrooms are large but awkwardly arranged, with the door opening towards the shower, requiring you to close one before using the other.

Double vanities come in handy when traveling with a partner or friend, with ample space for your personal belongings.

The bathroom is large but has some odd, some might say annoying, design quirks.

Despite the hotel’s efforts to encourage guests to skip daily maid service and reuse towels, the presence of single-use plastic items lessens this crusade for the environment.

The rooms certainly make a cozy base for your Queenstown adventure, but they’re dated and in need of an upgrade, not least of which is the in-room technology.

Centrally controlled (i.e. not adjustable) air conditioning makes the room quite warm at times, making you want to leave the balcony door open to let in some cool air.

work

As there is no Executive Lounge at the resort, the best place to check your email is in your room, which has a large desk with data line for wired internet connection.

Hilton Honors loyalty members can also enjoy complimentary WiFi as a benefit at all tiers. Non-members can still access it without signing up for the program, albeit after filling out a long and tedious online form.

The ultra-comfortable lobby lounge is a great meeting place or evening hangout to relax.

Even if you’re not one of the guests who check in at Hilton the most, membership offers many useful benefits, along with the occasional opportunity for a status adjustment if you hold a higher tier membership with another hotel loyalty program.

For a break from the room itself, though perhaps not ideal for work that requires concentration, settle into the elegant lobby lounge and watch the world go by in front of a soothing fire.

meal

If you’re in Queenstown exploring the litany of sea attractions, you’ll find no shortage of quick service and fine dining restaurants downtown.

Wakatipu Grill is open daily for breakfast from 7am.

At the Hilton, the all-day Wakatipu Grill overlooks the lake and is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., starting with a full breakfast buffet with all the usual hot items, a waffle maker, and all the cereal, pastries, fruit and juice you can eat.

Both indoor and outdoor seating options are available, making for an idyllic setting on a nice day to fuel you up for your day.

On a beautiful day, enjoy breakfast outdoors to start the day with energy.

Note, however, that while self-service tea and coffee is included in the per-person breakfast rate, barista drinks come at an extra cost.

The hotel also offers the more casual Stacks Pub with an outdoor fireplace, gourmet pub grub and TV sports, however this location is currently closed.

Relax

In Queenstown, when it’s time to gamble, the only question is where to start.

At the hotel, you can soothe sore muscles with a visit to the heated indoor pool. Swimming in the lake itself isn’t a realistic option, as water temperatures rarely get into double digits, making it a cool exercise.

After a day in the mountains, soothe sore muscles with a dip in the heated pool.

The hotel’s Eforea Spa offers an extensive menu of massages and skin treatments, while individuals and couples can also take advantage of a hot tub, steam room, and sauna to get the heart rate back down.

Alternatively, a massage at Eforea Spa will iron out any aches and pains.

For wine connoisseurs, the Central Otago Wine Region is a major player in New Zealand’s winemaking sector, with more than a dozen spectacular wineries just a short drive from Queenstown offering tastings and wine education seminars in a spectacular mountain setting.

The region’s ideal year-round growing conditions result in the cultivation of some of New Zealand’s finest Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, with some high-end vintages producing just a few hundred bottles a year – making them collectors’ items and a valuable investment in your home cellar.

Wine lovers will want to immerse themselves in the region’s famous winemaking scene.

For something with more punch, Queenstown’s Shotover Jet is a fairly important local icon, with highly skilled drivers pounding the hammer along some narrow waterways, dropping drivers just inches from the sheer cliffs.

The Skyline Luge is one of Queenstown’s most popular attractions.

You can also ride a gondola to the top of the mountain, where a variety of activities await you, including a luge track, zip-line, and mountain bike trails.

The judgment

The Hilton Queenstown offers a comfortable base for a fun-filled vacation, close to the airport and the Remarkables ski resorts and just a short drive from the city center.

Delight fellow travelers with tales of your adventures around the outdoor fire pit.

While it still offers a stylish stay, there are parts of the hotel that need some TLC. But given that most travelers don’t (or intend to) spend much time in the room itself, little attention is likely to be paid to admittedly minor disappointments.

Let’s face it, there is so much to see and do outside of the hotel, all you’re looking for at the end of the day is a comfortable bed to recharge your batteries and on that front you won’t be disappointed.

The author has been a guest at Destination Queenstown, Virgin Australia and Hilton Queenstown.

Virgin Australia flies daily to Queenstown from Brisbane and Sydney and four times a week from Melbourne.