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Queenstown. Ranked.
Bungy, ski fields, fine dining, lake cruises and après — the adventure capital ranked Top 10 across every category by people on the ground.
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editor's picks
2026
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Josh Emett's modern NZ fine-dining flagship in a courtyard off the mall — the most awarded restaurant in Queenstown and a national Cuisine Restaurant of the Year alumnus.
Why today: Ski season — book ahead and expect the town to be full.
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Top 15 Hotels in Queenstown
From five-star lakefront luxury to design-led boutiques and the best ski hotels.
From five-star lakefront luxury to design-led boutiques and the best ski hotels.
Eichardt's Private Hotel on Marine Parade is the top of the market — a small heritage property directly on the lakefront. Sofitel Queenstown and Hotel St Moritz are the best five-star stays inside the town centre itself, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside is the strongest location-for-money on the waterfront, and Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa is the pick for a resort stay with a spa, reached from town by water taxi. If you want quiet and space over walkability, Millbrook Resort is 20 minutes out at Arrowtown.
- best hotel Queenstown
- luxury hotel Queenstown
- where to stay Queenstown
- Queenstown accommodation
Eichardt's Private Hotel
Five-star heritage suites directly on the Marine Parade lakefront — a genuinely small hotel in the middle of town, and the benchmark for luxury in Queenstown.
- Booking
- A very small room count means it books out first in peak season — book earlier than you would a chain.
- Season
- Year-round.
Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa
French luxury one block from the lake on Duke Street, with its own L'Occitane spa and a hammam — the most complete five-star inside the town centre.
- Booking
- Spa treatments book separately and fill in ski season — reserve them when you book the room.
- Season
- Year-round.
Hotel St Moritz Queenstown — MGallery
MGallery boutique on the Brunswick Street hill where the whole design is built around the outlook — balconies and lake views from the rooms, with Lombardi downstairs.
- Booking
- Views vary by room tier — the balcony and view rooms are the reason to stay, so book the category, not just the hotel.
- Season
- Year-round.
QT Queenstown
Design-led art hotel above Sunshine Bay with the Bazaar marketplace breakfast and a heated rooftop hot tub — about five minutes from the town centre.
- Booking
- The property has been going through a modernisation programme — ask what is open when you book.
- Season
- Year-round.
Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa
Lakeside resort at Kawarau Village, Kelvin Heights, with a full eforea spa and a water taxi across the lake into town — the quiet, spread-out alternative to a town-centre room.
- Booking
- Rebranded from plain "Hilton Queenstown" in late 2025 — old links and reviews use the former name. Check the water-taxi timetable before relying on it after dark.
- Season
- Year-round.
The Rees Hotel, Luxury Apartments and Lakeside Residences
Lakefront apartments and suites on Frankton Road with the True South Dining Room, about five minutes from town and running a free shuttle into the centre.
- Booking
- Apartments and hotel rooms are priced very differently — check which you are booking. The free CBD shuttle is the reason this works without a car.
- Season
- Year-round.
Crowne Plaza Queenstown
Big-brand reliability in the single most central position on this list — Beach Street, on the waterfront, with the town on your doorstep.
- Booking
- The most walkable base in Queenstown — worth paying for if your trip is built around the town centre rather than the mountains.
- Season
- Year-round.
Novotel Queenstown Lakeside
Four-star directly on the Earnslaw Park lakefront at Marine Parade — the best location-to-price ratio in central Queenstown, with a pool and a family-friendly setup.
- Booking
- The value pick that is still on the lakefront — it goes early in both peak seasons.
- Season
- Year-round.
Sherwood Queenstown
Design eco-hotel up Frankton Road built from a recycled fit-out, with an organic kitchen, its own gardens and a regular live-music programme.
- Booking
- Out of the centre, so factor in the drive or the bus. The restaurant is a destination in its own right and worth booking separately.
- Season
- Year-round.
Kamana Lakehouse
Hilltop hotel on Fernhill with the widest panorama of any hotel in Queenstown, and a hot tub positioned squarely for sunset over the lake.
- Booking
- Nearby construction runs Monday to Saturday, 8am–6pm, and can affect some rooms and outlooks — ask when booking. The hotel itself is fully operating.
- Season
- Year-round.
Millbrook Resort
Five-star golf and lodge resort on a 500-acre alpine estate at Arrowtown — two championship courses, a large spa and several restaurants, about 20 minutes from Queenstown.
- Booking
- This is a destination, not a base for walking into Queenstown — you will want a car.
- Season
- Year-round; the golf is a summer proposition.
The Dairy Hotel Queenstown, A Naumi Chapter
A 13-room boutique in a converted 1920s corner store at the top of town, with a daily wine-and-cheese hour and the gondola a short walk uphill.
- Booking
- Now operating under the Naumi group — the old thedairy.co.nz links still resolve but the current booking path is the Naumi site. Thirteen rooms means it sells out fast.
- Season
- Year-round.
Holiday Inn Queenstown Frankton Road
Lake-view four-star at 594 Frankton Road — straightforward modern rooms and the easiest run to both the airport and the ski-field turnoffs.
- Booking
- Position is the selling point: closer to the airport and the mountain roads than the town centre.
- Season
- Year-round.
Peppers Beacon Queenstown
Lakefront apartment-style hotel at 34 Lake Esplanade with one and two-bedroom suites and kitchens — built for families and stays longer than a couple of nights.
- Booking
- Courtyard and BBQ areas are unavailable during scheduled works from 1 October to 11 December 2026, and again 11 January to 28 February 2027.
- Season
- Year-round.
Rendezvous Hotel Heritage Queenstown
European-style alpine lodge above Fernhill in schist and timber, with a heated indoor-outdoor pool and a wide lake-and-mountain outlook.
- Booking
- Formerly Heritage Queenstown — book through the Rendezvous site, as older listings point at the retired brand.
- Season
- Year-round.
Browse Hotels by suburb
Hotels in Queenstown — common questions
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Ranked to the same editorial standard as this page, by the same team.
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More hotels in Queenstown — open data
These 14 listings are not ranked and not reviewed by us. Each one is reproduced verbatim from OpenStreetMap on 2026-08-07, with a link to the exact map entry so you can check it or correct it yourself. Opening hours are shown in OpenStreetMap's own notation.
Holiday Inn Queenstown Remarkables Park
28 Red Oaks Drive, Frankton
- wheelchair accessible
- wifi
Ora Retreat
26 Arawata Terrace, Sunshine Bay
- wifi
Shotover Lodge
157 Arthurs Point Road, Queenstown
- wifi
Southern Laughter Backpackers
4 Isle Street, Queenstown
- wifi
Swiss-Belresort Coronet Peak
161 Arthurs Point Road, Queenstown
- wifi
Browns Boutique Hotel
26 Isle Street
Heritage Hotel
91 Fernhill Road
- wheelchair accessible
Hippo Lodge Backpackers
4 Anderson Heights, Queenstown
LakeRidge Queenstown
51 Thompson Street
Queenstown Gateway Apartments
1066 Frankton Road, Frankton
- wifi
Ramada Suites
24 Hawthorne Drive, Frankton
Sofitel Hotel Queenstown
8 Duke Street, Queenstown
The Black Sheep Back Packers
13 Frankton Road, Queenstown
- wifi
The Rees Hotel
377 frankton road
Business details from OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 — licence. Something wrong or out of date? Edit it at the source and it flows back here on the next refresh. Prefer our hand-checked picks? Read the Queenstown guide.
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