Eichardt's Private Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand review: Luxury in a blue-chip setting

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Eichardt's Private Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand review: Luxury in a blue-chip setting

By Katarina Kroslakova
Eichardt's Hotel, Queenstown.

Eichardt's Hotel, Queenstown.

HIGHLIGHT

The Parlour Room is the place to be on on the upper floor is a versatile guest-only space, ideal for private dinners, family celebrations, or simply relaxing with a board game, book, and a complimentary crystal glass of something warming and fortified from the silver service tray. On New Year's Eve for , this is the place to be – with unobstructed views of the fireworks.

LOWLIGHT

The views are sublime from Eichardt's Hotel in Queenstown.

The views are sublime from Eichardt's Hotel in Queenstown.Credit: Shantanu Starick

At well over $1000 per night, it's not a room rate accessible to everyone.

THE PLACE

Eichardt's Hotel, Marine Parade, Queenstown, New Zealand

Eichardt's Private Hotel.

Eichardt's Private Hotel.

THE LOCATION

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Eichardt's Private Hotel is blue chip, boutique accommodation with a lakefront location putting it within walking distance of pretty much everything that matters. Its prime location is matched by a very high standard of service.

THE SPACE

A suite bedroom.

A suite bedroom.

The distinct, all-white Heritage Places Trust building was originally a woolshed. Opened as a hotel in 2001, Eichardt's has won plenty of awards and maintained its position as the luxury lodging of choice for the well-heeled. Business is clearly going well, with construction under way for additional rooms, including a $10,000-a-night penthouse, due to open mid-2016.

THE ROOM

All six rooms have a similar layout. The entry leads into a generous, light-filled open-plan living space which includes a work desk with stereo and TV, a dining table positioned near the oversized window to take in the lake views, and a huge, comfy leather sofa right in front of a gas fireplace.

Eichardt's Private Hotel, Queenstown

Eichardt's Private Hotel, Queenstown

Up a few steps is the king-sized bedroom, featuring another TV, an indulgent bed with a skylight right above, and night tables with fresh water and night-time treats. A kitchenette with a coffee plunger, herbal teas, fridge and a decent minibar is made all the better with complimentary daily refilled handmade apricot shortbread biscuits.

The bathroom will appease, nay impress, even the fussiest of customers with its full, deep bath (with complimentary bath salts), separate shower, separate WC, heated towel racks, heated floors, skylight for natural light, and twin vanities with ample mirrors.

The overall décor (courtesy of interior designer Virginia Fischer) is quite masculine and darkly hued, celebrating everything textured and oversized.

THE FOOD

On the lower floor is Eichardt's Bar, serving breakfast (mostly for guests, and I'll be honest, a little underwhelming), and later on in the day a selection of tapas and cocktails. It's popular with locals and visitors, and due to the small size, it's a treat to get a seat.

The same group owns another boutique hotel, The Spire, just around the corner, and its attached restaurant and bar, No. 5 Church Lane, is the better of the two with sophisticated cocktails, including the hot winter-warmer Baked Apple Toddy (Chivas Regal 12 scotch, baked Otago apples, spices, hard cider, lemon), friendly and fun staff, and moreish food including beetroot falafel and sticky, spiced lamb ribs. This would easily be my local, were I a resident of Queenstown. The group is also expanding at the Eichardt's site, adding a new restaurant and rooms, all due to open May-June 2016.

STEPPING OUT

There really isn't a bad time to visit Queenstown, and you certainly don't have to be a snowbunny or an adrenalin junkie to enjoy the area. Sure, the snow fields are picturesque and the activities plentiful, but the Central Otago area also provides world-class golf courses, boutique wineries, top-notch restaurants, lake cruises and day trips to beautiful quaint villages such as Arrowtown and Blanket Bay.

ONE MORE THING

The predominantly young staff were clearly well briefed by management about guests, arrivals, itineraries, requests and so forth. Earpieces and walky-talkies meant communication was precise and actions swift. The hotel had an overall feeling of efficiency and professionalism.

While the set-up isn't a typical boutique hotel one – here it's just one unassuming desk, sometimes with no one behind it – staff tend to appear within seconds to help arrange a transfer, restaurant booking, day trip and so on.

THE VERDICT

The price tag might be high, but with it comes impeccable service and a host of delightful inclusions. The location, ambience and cachet that are part and parcel of staying at Eichardt's mean the return visitor numbers for this property are understandably high.

ESSENTIALS

Marine Parade, Queenstown, New Zealand.

Rooms cost from $1196 a night and includes breakfast plus cocktails and snacks in Eichardt's Bar.

Phone +64 3 441 0450, see www.eichardts.com

The writer was a guest of Eichardt's Hotel.

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