Search Best Hotels in Kawarau Falls

Booked a 6 bdrm apartment, in one room we found a pair of disgusting slippers under the bed, a pair of socks left inside the wardrobe, and a bath towel hanging behind the door. Window latches gone off 2 windows and tv in second lounge didn't work. To their credit they did fix one window and taped the other shut - note, sellotape does not keep a window shut for long... There are also no plugs to any of the bathroom sinks - it's pretty disgusting brushing your teeth and looking down the sinkhole at previous guests hair :( We went for the 6 bdrm apartment so we could all be together (& also booked a 2 bdrm for extra family), I certainly paid a premium for this as we could have got a couple of 3 bdrm places for a lot less. I did expect it would be overall cleaner and nicer than what it actually was so was pretty disappointed. The bathroom items provided are basic and no facecloths provided. Only 2 dishwash cleans could be done with what was provided in kitchen. No coffee sachets except decaf, and while there was a hot choc tin, it was almost empty and I’m not using something that many others have stuck their hands in. The dining chairs fabric is disintegrating and bits of the white material end up all over the floor (we would have like to have vacuumed halfway thru our stay because of this but there was no vacuum cleaner or broom). Nowhere on their website (that I found) did it say the apartment was over 3 levels – something my 75 year old mother did struggle with a bit, again this would have been a flag for us. So overall, it was handy being together but the apartment seemed old and tired and really not worth the price we paid. I did email the place to relay all my concerns, they have chosen not to reply to me. I also see on their website they only have reviews that they have sourced from elsewhere (I can't leave this there direct) so they choose the good ones...

We wanted to stay close to the airport, a short drive to town, with easy access to the highway towards Te Anau/Milford Sound. This hotel ticked all the boxes. At first arrival, we entered the parking lot and noticed how tight and small the parking spots were. After an elevator ride up to the lobby, we met with staff who were very professional and kind. We went to our room which was nice and updated, had a great view, and a spacious floor plan. We did have an issue with the sink, where it was clogged when we got to the room. While we went to visit Queenstown, a staff member unclogged the sink but didn’t clean it so when we arrived back, the residue from the clogging was still in the sink. A disappointment, and ironically a perk, was the small balcony. Most of the small balcony was used up by an air conditioner. The positive is you had a nice view of the mountains and Queenstown. The bed was large and comfortable. The couch, living area, and kitchen were really nice. We really enjoyed the shower and took advantage of the hot water while we had it. Overall we enjoyed our stay. The DoubleTree cookies are always a plus too.

Easy check in and very friendly staff at the reception. Kaycee shared the hotel amenities and the best way to get to town via a water taxi. Hotel room was huge and the bathroom and tub were a delight. The area of the hotel is pretty private and the views of the lake breathtaking!

We were on the ground floor with a beautiful view of the mountains. Once the patio door was shut, couldn’t hear the helicopters nor planes. Given the airport is minutes away the lack of noise was great. Kitchen has a bar fridge, dishwasher, plates etc (however some was 2 of, 3 of or 4 of. Would have been better if all was 4 of so you didn’t have to wash every day), pots/pans, toaster, kettle and some tea/ coffee. Also a clothes washer with the right setting, is a dryer. Dining table room for 2 and 1 single lounge chair. Huge bed and good room for clothes. Bed was huge and comfortable. Floor width glass door/ window to balcony overlooking the mountains. Across the road the land is currently vacant so private and no car traffic. Bathroom is comfortable and great shower but no heated towel rail. It’s about a 5 minute walk to shops including a large supermarket and some food venues. There is a public bus service to Arrowtown or Queenstown but it’s very sporadic sadly and services are cancelled. But it took 18 minutes to get to Queenstown and cost $2/adult instead of a taxi at about $40! Room cleaning was sometimes very late in the day but it didn’t bother us as we actually didn’t need it. Parking is available out front but first in gets it. So during peak season I’d imagine it’s a problem. Overall: pros are comfortable with everything you would want, close to airport, quiet location, near supermarket. Cons: it’s a 15+ minute drive to Queenstown, no heated towel rack in bathroom and parking could be a problem.

Holiday Inn Queenstown Remarkables Park is a top notch hotel, just 5 minutes drive from the airport. If you want a quick rest from a long journey this one should quickly come to your rescue from travelling fatigue. Everything about the hotel is good including friendly staff. The only drawback is its location which is a bit far from town or main activities. If you don’t have a car then surely you should be prepared to Ubar and Tax every time you want to go out.

Great location, overlooking airport activity without hearing any noise in our room from the airport. Our room had an adjoining door to another unit which was not soundproof at all. Heard voices and tv continually. Fridge interior had not been cleaned. Carpets had numerous black stains on it. Basement car park swipe card access point is very confusing. Need to state where to leave room swipe cards when vacating. Very comfortable bed, good linen and very clean bathroom.

“Sudima Queenstown Five Mile” -is in Queenstown, right? The name seems pretty clear. It’s shown as being in “Queenstown Central” which is in central Queenstown, right? The name seems pretty clear on that point too. Close to the lake perhaps, looking towards the mountains, near the Queenstown bars and restaurants? WRONG. WRONG. “Queenstown Central” is not in central Queenstown. It’s the name of a shopping centre outside of Frankton, next door to the airport, surrounded by massive carparks, supermarkets, K Mart etc and about 50m off the main State Highway 6A. Hence the “Sudima Queenstown Five Mile”, despite the name, is 7.6 km from Queenstown according to Google maps (or a $50+ taxi ride away, as I can tell you from frequent experience) and about as far away from the experience or the convenience of staying in central Queenstown as you can get. Close to the lake perhaps, looking towards the mountains, near the Queenstown bars and restaurants – in your DREAMS. Having booked in a hurry and taking at face value the name(s) described the reality, we were stuck at this hotel for three nights. On arriving we were given an “underground carpark pass”, meaning that as an elderly couple we had to park 5-10 minutes’ walk away from the hotel in an isolated underground location, walking through deserted carparks late at night or early in the morning. (As we were checking out, we discovered that the receptionist could have simply noted our car registration number and for the duration of our stay we could have parked in the massive carpark immediately outside the hotel door.) We were given Room 223 for our stay, which I found overlooked the massive nearby roundabout on the main State Highway 6A (meaning trucks would be audibly braking at all hours), with a view to K Mart, I went back to the desk and asked for a room away from the Highway. We were moved to Room 214. On entering Room 214, I discovered a woman lying on the bed, semi-undressed, on the telephone. I quickly backed out of the room and went straight down to reception, where I was told, “that’s odd, someone mustn’t have updated the system”. I went back to Room 214, knocked on the door and apologised to the occupants, explaining what had happened. All attempts to find another hotel to stay in were unsuccessful; there were no vacancies at such short notice. We stayed in Room 223, but tried to be out of the hotel as much as humanly possible. I had booked restaurants in Queenstown – full degustation menus with matching wines, for every night we stayed - meaning I couldn’t drive, and we consequently were paying an extra $100-130+ per night to go to dinner and return to the ‘carpark-hotel’. Had the room we stayed in been in a hotel located in central Queenstown then it would have been a pleasant experience, but what we experienced was simply awful. Might the name of both the hotel and the shopping centre mislead people who are booking a stay in Queenstown? I will leave it to you to decide.

The restaurant was nice and food was good, that’s the only nice thing I can say. Our room with a view was right on top of the car park. No privacy whatsoever and the view had a big tree in front of it. Not quite what we expected for $330 a night and it gets worse, please read on. On arrival and needing to use the bathroom I quickly found out the toilet brush has not been cleaned in months, it stank the whole unit out. It was filthy!! I complained immediately to a staff member outside the unit doing cleaning rounds. They sent a cleaner up to re clean the bathroom and get rid of the smell plus they replaced the brush. We were not offered a clean room, I was almost sick 🤢 at the time and I really thought that was the least they could do, that brush was disgusting and it will be forever imprinted into my memory. 😩 There was also Mould growing in the corner of the bath/shower, the place is not cleaned properly. The beds were hard and uncomfortable, they charge $20 a night for you to park your car and they take $200 bond at the beginning of your stay, charge you the $10 exchange rate and when you go to get your money back they charge you another $10 to give it back. A $330 room turn into a $360 room. Do yourself a favour and stay somewhere else. No photos as it is a memory I hope to forget.

The restaurant is good, and the pizza is delicious. It's the old-fashioned Italian oven-baked pizza, a little burnt on the edges, but very fragrant. However, as a hotel, I will never choose this hotel in the future. The facilities are old, the water pipes are unstable, there is no dishwasher or oven, not even a microwave, only an induction cooker and a toaster. The coin-operated washing machine costs 20 dollars a time, and there are only two washing machines in the entire hotel. The curtains are made of thick wool and haven't been washed for who knows how long, so they have good light-blocking properties. There was no waiter in sight, and there was no phone in the room. If I had any questions, I had to go to the front desk. Even if I could use the navigation system to get the bus route, I still got errors, and no one gave any feedback. There was obviously a stop very close to me, but I was surprised that the last stop prompted me to get off. It is a certain distance from the town and takes 6 stops by bus, but the bus time is not completely accurate. So if you go quickly, you can get to the town in half an hour, but it may take an hour to wait for the bus.