Best Luxury Hotels in Otago

Less than a 10-minute drive from Queenstown, but surrounded by forest, breathtaking mountains and Lake Wakatipu, the Matakauri Lodge is an exclusive boutique retreat. 11 style-forward rooms have memorable views, an iPod dock, minibar, fireplaces, terraces and Evolu toiletries. It’s homely, but up-market, with high-quality gastronomy utilising produce grown onsite as well as native meats and fish, to create a daily changing menu. And you don’t have to eat in the dining room; the lodge will accommodate romantic meals in your suite or other suitable nooks across the grounds. There’s also a bar, and a spa which incorporates indigenous ingredients into treatments.

Stay in New Zealand’s alps, on a 50,000-acre working country farm. Whether you want to ski, fish, hike, cycle, star gaze or celebrate your honeymoon in a special setting, this lodge is marvellous. Guests stay in individual chalets with sheepskin carpets, king-sized beds, terraces and sunken tubs. Access to the Mountain Kitchen public space is via a lit boardwalk, where you can enjoy two living areas, a dining room, wood-burning and open fires, a well-stocked library and a wine cellar. Private and pastoral, Minaret Station is a hidden gem.

At the centre of town, surrounded by amenities, the Sofitel offers a taste of European elegance. Step inside and you may think you’d arrived on a rue in France; there’s a public area including shops, a cafe, a grand piano and the velvet-curtained access to the in-house speakeasy. The Parisian-style Left Bank Cafe and Restaurant continues this French theme, as does its 1789 Wine & Jazz bar, with frequent live sets. The spa, with a hammam and unique Maori massage treatments, has won awards. The hotel’s six-storeys accommodate bedrooms, suites and penthouses; the latter providing lake views, patios and jacuzzis.

QT Queenstown is a luxurious boutique hotel in the lively remarkable New Zealand landscape and offers spacious and luminous guestrooms with spectacular views, some overlooking the lake. Guests can opt to dine with a view at the Bazaar restaurant which serves a range of delicious delicacies. Reds bar invites guests in for a cosy après-ski or a simple tipple in a welcoming atmosphere. For added comfort, guests can also order from the extensive room service menu and enjoy restaurant-quality food from the comfort on their own rooms. This hotel boasts an array of event spaces for any occasion – these spaces present breath-taking views of mountains and lakes. Simple business meetings are made more stylish while dream wedding celebrations are ready to be had.