WOW! Fantastic helicopter ride to land on a glacier! Pilot was informative, friendly, and very…read morenice. The helicopter takes 6 people and we had a turn sitting in the front on the way back. The views even from the back, were spectacular. I would thoroughly recommend this company. They do pickups from hotels, or there are a few parking spaces right outside their building. It was a wonderful experience, lasted about an hour, and I'm so glad we did it!

Completely agree with the previous reviews from Tas & Timothy, Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters…read morewas a once in a lifetime experience that I highly recommend to anyone visiting Queenstown. We arranged a roundtrip helicopter flight to Milford Sound with a two hour cruise ($945.00 NZ) in early January 2017. There high reviews, perfect safety record, and updated helicopter fleet were some of the main reasons we decided to go with them. Our initial flight was canceled, however, Glacier Southern was able to have us rebooked for the following afternoon flight with the caveat that it was unlikely we would do a glacier landing, but instead do some sort of alpine landing. Upon checking in, we were introduced to our "special" pilot, Alfie Speight, who was the filming pilot for several Hollywood movies - The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings. Flight over the mountains from Queenstown was beautiful, and the views over Lake Wakatipu and Glenorchy were amazing. Alfie pointed out various sights/trails along the way, and was more than happy to answer any questions regarding the helicopter, terrain, landmarks, or films he had been involved in. The highlight of the flight was landing on a glacier, where we spent 15-20 minutes enjoying the views and snow. We continued our journey towards Milford Sound with an amazing approach to the airfield with what seemed like just a few feet over the tree tops. We spent the next two hours on a two hour cruise that heads out to the Tasman Sea. Views were amazing on the cruise. Do bring a jacket as it was a little chilly going out with the wind coming towards us. The return had us stopping to see New Zealand Fur Seals and a large waterfall. After the cruise we all hopped back into the helicopter for the return journey to Queenstown. The helicopter trip to Milford Sound with Alfie and Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters is not to be missed. These guys were truly professional the entire way!

Great restaurant at a surprisingly reasonable price for Queenstown…read more Food 4 / 5: In general, food was solid. The ingredient quality of some of the vegetables was phenomenal but some of the others were a bit meh. The dishes we got were: 1) Garlic flatbread 4/5: They have a wood fired oven so it came out the way it should and the garlic / rosemary flavor was good but it was over salted. 2) radishes with yogurt 4/5: Radish quality was excellent but the yogurt was pretty bland. 3) salt baked baby beets 3/5: Beets were a bit too dry and generally of pretty average quality. 4) lettuce salad 5/5: Amazing ingredient quality with everything in here, particularly the sprouts. Didn't want to stop eating this! 5) twice cooked potatoes 2/5: Potatoes were cooked fine but the sauce was pretty bland. 6) Spring carrots 5/5: Great carrot quality and very well flavored 7) Asparagus 5/5: Amazingly cooked and flavored (with something that reminded us of balsamic vinegar). This is a must order Service and place 4/5: Service was generally attentive and friendly, but a few things to note. 1) The chairs are bar stools and don't have backs 2) we were seated next to the kitchen which was noisy and lot of food aroma + heat from wood fired oven carried over 3) it took a while at the end to get our waitress to come and pack our food

This restaurant has a very cool vibe and ambiance and the food is pretty good, but giving it 2…read morestars for service, which was incredibly slow. It took 30 minutes to get a drink and over an hour for our first course to come out. Our main course came out almost 2 hours after we first ordered. Several others in our section were also waiting a very long time for their orders. It was only maybe an hour and a half into being there that someone came over and apologized to the tables in our section for the kitchen being "slammed." The restaurant was not at full capacity - many tables were empty - and they did not appear to be short staffed with front of house. Maybe they were just having an off night, but was definitely expecting a higher level of service for what I expected to be a fine dining experience.

We decided to treat ourselves to a B&B on our honeymoon camper van trip and picked this place…read morebecause the review in Lonely Planet sounded great. It was better than great! The staff is really friendly, the house immaculate and very well decorated, and the views spectacular. The lake is just 100 meters away from the cute English countryside style yard. The town is quaint and close enough to walk and yet far enough away so you don't feel like you're in a town. And did I mention the views? If you're in Glenorchy, you need to stay here. :)

We stopped here for lunch at the end of a bike tour. The staff was very friendly and welcoming…read more There is a nice courtyard area in the back, and we grabbed a table there. We ordered at the counter and the food was brought out when it was ready. The food was fine, nothing special (Salmon Salad, Chicken Salad, Brownie).

Stunning scenery. Food, drinks, and service were great as well. Definitely recommend working this…read moreinto your itinerary.

This place truly is next level! It's well appointed, higher end, gorgeous views, and truly…read moreexcellent service! The only real downside side was the construction going on right in front of the view. It was very loud and really ruined my experience. I booked a room with a patio lake view because I envisioned sitting out and enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning while being completely relaxed and mesmerized by the view, but instead it was loud jack hammer sounds! I was also excited to sit in the soaker tubs with that view, but the view was also a big crane with construction workers moving about, not as intimate as I envisioned. Once the construction is over, it's a perfect place, until then, not worth the amount I paid for a view. I gave it 4 stars because it's a quality place just not a great time to have chosen it.

Stayed there for three nights while on a long trip and it was great to be able to rest up a bit…read more The hotel is beautiful and the room was roomy and comfortable and included a sofa and sitting area. We had an excellent view of the lake and a large patio. We especially enjoyed the convenience of the mini-bar and the prices were reasonable. The restaurant also provided excellent food and service for us on site. They have a shuttle that runs back and forth to downtown every hour, so we did not have to pay for ride shares or cabs.

Location: 5 min drive to downtown and about 10-15 min to the airport. The views are stunning from…read morethe lobby and the rooms. There is a free shuttle to downtown but it's best to confirm as some of the set times are only available by request. Rooms: We had the superior 2 bedroom. We had a lovely mountain view from the patio. The fireplace is warm and cozy, even if it's not real wood. The master bedroom opens to the view but the second bedroom is on the smaller side. Kitchen and living room were spacious and everything was very clean. There are heated floors in the bathroom and heated towel racks. The washer and dryer were very good. Service: Front desk service was hit or miss. We checked in twice after spending one night in Te Anau. Some of the staff were friendly and some were stoic. We were unable to eat at the restaurant because it was booked up but the bar menu was delicious and we were able to enjoy the view while eating. They held our luggage for us several times. I would definitely stay at this hotel again if I ever come back. The view is gorgeous and the spacious apartment was lovely.

Really nice stay here. Great location, spacious rooms and my favorite--- two in room coffee…read moremakers! Comfy bed and a small table that can be used for dining in. Hotel breakfast was really good with great French press coffee. Very friendly staff. Really close to the start of the gondola, easy walk to the start.

Sofitel Queenstown is definitely French chic! I was lucky…read moreto have a club room and enjoyed cocktails and appetisers in the Rouge lounge each evening. The staff at the hotel were standout. Friendly and attentive. The hospitality really made for a great stay in beautiful Queenstown.

We booked this place strictly because we added a few more traveling in our group. Indeed it is…read moreclose to the airport and only about 3.5 miles to "downtown" where all the fun and shopping is in Frankton. The views (minus a few power lines) are incredible - not only water but mountain views too. This "apartment" has 4 nicely appointed bedrooms... very clean (looks like pretty new construction) and what made it "great" was the owners Josef & Moto. The spa downstairs was nice to schedule massages and they were pretty flexible on the times. The kitchen had nice smaller sized refrigerator and freezer. There is also a good assortment of utensils, silverware, plates, cups etc. The sofas provided nice sitting area and there were extra patio type chairs we added for extra seating. I know this sounds silly but AMAZING water pressure (like maybe be careful so water from the sink doesn't splash everywhere!). Decent bath & hand towels (no washcloths). Robes in all the bedroom closets. Also for each bed had electric blankets (were on and toasty!) as well as individual room heaters. There was a washer available (No dryer but dryer rack to hang clothes) & they had soap (We did purchase some & donate) available. The only negative (and it wasn't too big of a negative for us) was they didn't include breakfast for groups or during winter which we didn't realize. Nicely, there are a few decks of cards, scratch paper for score keeping, books to read and TONS of brochures & travel books for the area. Nice! We would definitely come back to this place again!

Made feel very welcome in a beautifully clean room. The staff were very friendly and helpful…read more Josef does a wonderful breakfast.