Honestly the best hotel we’ve stayed at during our 5 months stay in New Zealand ! Nothing to fault. The room was so cozy with genuine central heating, so nice to have toasty radiators for the evening after skiing. The bed was comfy, the room was turned down every day. The hot tub is really hot and beautifully set with views onto the snowy mountains. The bar/restaurant is amazing, cosy, good atmosphere, delicious food and drinks ! We stayed for 3 nights and every meal we had was greatly executed, hats off to the kitchen chefs. Service was great, really nice staff.

Nothing it was perfect !

very clean rooms. Comfortable beds. great cosy atmosphere in the rooms and entire place. Amazing staff - a few days before our stay we had one of the staff members call us to ask if we would like to book at their restaurant before they opened the bookings to the public since it was a busy period. If they hadn't called to ask, I wouldn't have made a booking and missed out. Such a thoughtful gesture!!! Restaurant staff were super helpful and friendly!

parking was a little far from the room we stayed in and it was raining and extremely muddy so suitcases ended up extremely dirty

This is a historic hotel away from the touristy hub-bub of Wanaka. It has some interesting history which is posted around the grounds. Bathrooms are clean and updated. The beer garden is really pleasant with a firepit in the center. The bar/beer garden has some decent food, and excellent beer (the namesake beer on tap gets two thumbs up). The restaurant has excellent food. The rooms open onto the beer garden with a rose hedge privacy screen. There is a gift shop, laundry, and hot tub on the premises. The Cardrona Distillery is a three minute drive away. Great place to relax.

Wanaka is about a 30min drive, so if you want to be close by all the facilities there, this might not be the best choice (we preferred the quiet).

I was shocked how lovely my room was for the price - I had a couch in my room and a balcony that overlooked the garden. The staff is lovely and professional - the hot tub is cozy after a long hike or drive - and the food was excellent. It was nice to cozy up next to the fire in the morning with my Magic Mushrooms bfast. Would recommend as this place bursts with charm.

Just a note that if you are on the move, this place doesn't provide a fridge or any plates/cutlery if you want to fashion your own dinner. I had a chillier night so kept my refrigerated items in the car, but on a warm night, I would have had to toss it all.

Great location - quite close to Cardrona ski area and in the scenic valley. The room was very warm and pretty comfortable for three of us. It also was cleaned every day which is quite uncommon for NZ service. The kitchenette provided extra opportunities for heating/cooking some simple meals. Great bar/restaurant in the hotel (best Beef Wellington I ever tried). Proper wifi.

Well hard to find some significant downsides just some minor ones really…. There isn’t much to do apart from dining at the bar/restaurant. Hence probably it would have been great to have a telly with more channels (i understood the current one is to be replaced for the next season). Though unarguably the double tap system adds authenticity but it is not convenient.. I hope it at least helps save some water…. Other than that all was perfect!

It was an enjoyable stay.

Only one issue we had. We emailed in advance, informing them of our daughter being coeliac. We asked specifically asking if you catered for coeliacs. You replied you do cater for coeliacs and to inform the staff when ordering. The choices we had for her were chips or nachos, and the chips were not cooked in a separate fryer, so Nachos were the only choice she had. When we ordered our dinner, we asked at the bar if we could order French Toast for breakfast and we were told we could. When we came down for breakfast, the chef said they could not because the egg mixture does not soak into the bread.

Everything about this hotel is amazing. The staff are helpful and happy. Our room was perfect. We really enjoyed dinner. The soft shell crab, venison and goddess salad were superb. The garden is pretty and it was a treat to have a drink sitting in the garden at night when everyone had left. The final perfect ending to our stay was a superb breakfast. We saw the staff deal with people who frankly were rude and not very polite and the staff were kind and nice to them even when it was obvious the people needed to be told off. A wonderful place to stay and a piece of NZ history

We loved everything about it

The staff were exceptional - special thanks to Amrique, Alex, and the morning coffee crew for making us feel so welcome. The rooms were warm and cosy, with super comfortable beds. After a big day on the slopes, a soak in the hot tub was the perfect way to unwind. The food was outstanding, and the atmosphere in the restaurant and bar was fun and welcoming. We loved everything about this place - great vibes, great location, great hospitality. Loved everything about this place.

Having to leave

The Cardrona hotel exceeded all my expectations. I had a.ways wanted to stay there and this year, I did! We are a senior couple but even so, the hotel was superb. I loved the vibes of it, the atmosphere and above all, the wonderful caring staff. the chef even made me a special meal one night when I had been travel sick. The room servicing each day was so efficient and above all very clean. Sparkling bathroom facilities in what was a very old part of the hotel. And excellent heating. We were very snug and warm. I cannot recommend this hotel highly enough.. if you want a quirky, comfortable stay in historical South Island, this is it!

nothing to dislike!

The gardens are beautiful. A fire in the fireplace is also beautiful at breakfast. Hearing the birds around the place is wonderful- the 4 tui hanging by the feeder is so great for a close up look.

I love sleeping in the dark & seeing dark sky at night so was disappointed that the hillsides along the back of the hotel was lit all night & the lights by my front door were on all night- though I think they were dimmed down a little later in the evening. Was disappointed that the NZ salmon wasn't available for dinner having heard it's REALLY GREAT