I've stayed twice at the YHA Lake Tekapo, first in October 2019 and then again in June 2020. The…read moreworld's changed in that time, but the YHA has maintained its friendly staff, affordable prices, and clean rooms. This YHA is interesting in that it has a full-service restaurant on site. It's worth it to sign up for a YHA membership if you plan on travelling around New Zealand and staying at other YHA locations. The membership will pay for itself rather quickly. This YHA sits on some of the most expensive real estate imaginable. It's right on the lakefront. It's next door to the Dark Sky Project, which runs nightly tours up to the University of Canterbury's Mt. John Observatory. The YHA is also walking distance to the Church of the Good Shepherd, perhaps the most-photographed church in the area.

We have stayed here multiple times and it's great! Beautiful spot, new and modern facilities, great…read moreprice. The lakeside private rooms are a little more pricey but totally worth waking up in the morning next to the lake. People outside can see in though!

It's a bed with a small see through curtain for privacy…read more Don't have a lot of space for store belongings other than leaving it in the room shared with other people. Women's shower/toilet has 3 showers and 4 toilets. With 2 hair dryers. There's paper towels Communal kitchen has paper towels and everything needed for kitchen. Lots of rabbits during evening time and 2 ducks that roams around. Location is 20 min walk to stores and restaurants like 4 Square. 2 min walk to lake and take a cold glacier water swim.

Pros: -nice views of Aoraki from the property…read more-hiking/walking trails of a variety of difficulty levels (15 min and flat up to 4-5 hours with 1000m of gain) -staff are nice and very patient -road to get there from eastern side is well maintained Cons: -Expensive for middling quality accomodations. It's cheaper than the other hotel (Hermitage) on the property but at ~$270/night it's not cheap. Examples of quality issues include.... -"King" bed is actually two twin beds pushed together. They put a pad (more like a cloth? About the thickness of a kitchen mitt) to cover the gap but you could definitely still feel it -Forgot to take a picture, sadly, but the top sheet of the bed had what appeared to be a dirty blackish grey bird footprint(?!) on it upon arrival -Toilet leaked water extensively from the base when you flushed or used the shower (see photo). Presumably this was clean water due to a faulty O ring but it was gross nonetheless -Breakfast is not included. Cheapest breakfast option on the property is $40 for the breakfast buffet. At a cheap motel I could see not having breakfast included, but for $270 a night this was a bit much. The kicker is that breakfast is not actually in the Lodge itself either - you have to walk 400m or so outside over to the Hermitage. They have a captive audience so they can charge whatever they want I suppose

The Mt. Cook Lodge is a 1-2 star motel in a five star location! Beautiful views surround the lodge,…read morewhich provides all the basics required after a day spent exploring the area - fresh simple towels, functional hard beds, wifi ($5.00 per day), beer, and simple food menu in a cafeteria type atmosphere. Free parking is also offered with plenty of spaces. The private room itself is simple (see photos), and fine for the $100.00 price. They also have several different dorm rooms, cannot imagine them being much more basic than the private room. The private room was very dated, felt dirty, and in much need of some TLC. However, it served is purpose for our one night in Mt. Cook. Staff was friendly upon check in and throughout our interaction. Decent pub menu with pricey options such as pizza ($22.00), steaks ($30.00+), salad ($18.00), fish n chips ($22.50), burgers ($22.50). We arrived around nine and they refused to serve us, claiming the kitchen was closed while others were able to sneak in orders. Luckily we were able to grab a couple pints before heading offer to bed, though the draft offerings are limited to some of new Zealand's lower quality beers (Macs & Speights). While I would much prefer staying somewhere a little more updates and clean, I would have no problem staying here for a couple of nights whilst exploring the area. Just understand what you are getting.

WOW. That's all I can say is, "WOW."…read more Grand Suites Lake Tekapo left me speechless with it's amazing views, amazing room, and top notch customer service. I only spent one night here, and I am 100% coming back here--for way more than one day. You'll see the hotel from the main highway, and the entrance is right at the corner turn from Greig Street to Allan Street. It's hard to see the sign, but it's there! Free parking everywhere. The staff was very welcoming, friendly, and polite. Welcomed us with cartons of milk! It might be a touch pricey for some, but it's well worth it for the experience. There are studios, 1-, and 2-bedroom suites. We only need a studio, and it was quite spacious in size. The largest room we stayed in during our New Zealand trip. This was a fully equipped room with a full kitchen: stove, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, small refrigerator, French press, Neospresso machine, chinaware, utensils, and etc! Huge radiator heater (I know why it's huge. Cause it can get COLD!). Modern and spacious bathroom with heated floors. Loved the modern European style kitchen cabinets. Had a desk, dining table, couch with ottoman, big screen TV, etc., etc. Also, high ceilings! Even though, the room was amazing. Nothing could beat the pristine and gorgeous view of Lake Tekapo from the balcony. Overall, everything was so clean, organized, and well maintained. From check in to check out, the experience was amazing. The receptionists were so friendly, and gave us excellent recommendations and important information. On the evening we went out to grab dinner, she told us there was a heavy snow storm coming, and the estimated snow fall would be 60 cm. SIXTY! That's almost 2 feet of snow, and start at 7AM, which did! The snow definitely was not expected, but very welcomed! I enjoyed it! After a night of high winds, rain, and low temperature, plus several hours of snow, our rental car was caked with ice and snow. Luckily, the receptionist was kind enough to give us a scraper, which was very helpful! We will definitely stay here again! Repeat customers get discounted rates too!

Dave is fantastic, staff friendly and helpful…read more 1 and 2 room suites amazing. Full kitchen setup for extended stay. Large 1 BR suite. Bathroom is amazing. Views fantastic. Easy parking and elevators. Laundry facilities. 2.00 each. Highly recommended.

Mt Cook Village is very small und pretty busy with tourist wanting to enjoy the beauty of NZ…read moremountains. The more important it gets when you look for an acco at the end of the valley. There are a couple of but I anyhow choose Aoraki Court Motel. It was the best stay so far on my holidays here. The spacious room makes you feel like coming home, the panorama is awe-inspiring from dawn till dusk and the spa in the bathroom gives you a nice relax. On top of that, the owners rocking this Motel are very friendly and are super helpful with information about groceries, hikes, food and anything else to make your stay comfortable. I cannot say anything about other acco's here, but I bet this is one of the top-choices and surely a killer value for money. Bet you'd say the same!

The best hotel we stayed at in NZ! Because of hotel capacity, we had to get a two bedroom. I loved…read morethat the hotel room had two tvs! Although we didn't cook, the kitchen was extremely nice and had every possible appliance; even a rice cooker. And the best part: lovely bathroom amenities and a jetted jacuzzi in unit. A great place to stay in Mt. Cook Village, to enjoy both the natural beauty alongside modern comforts.

I stayed one night in a standard king bed room. The room was clean, and the bed was comfortable…read more Sadly, there was a rather horrible smell from the bathroom fan, which turned on automatically when I needed the light. The room was pretty basic despite the high nightly fee. The staff members that I interacted with were friendly, efficient, and helpful. I was upgraded to a free breakfast when I checked in. I was not told why and didn't bother to ask. I wonder now if it had something to do with the smell. The location is perfect for the hikes I was interested in. However, I'd probably look into a different lodging option if I were to go back.

We had a great hotel and restaurant experience. Sadly the weather wasn't cooperating; it was…read moreextremely rainy and windy. So we didn't get to do much outside. The in house theater was great with stories about Mt Cook and Sir Hilary. They played throughout the day and you could come and go as you pleased. The dinner buffet was so big!!! So much to choose from and it was all delicious. At least 30+ items to choose from. I especially liked the fried chicken nuggets. Haha, a little taste of McDonalds. But they were hot, crunchy and fresh out of the fryer. They were actually really really good! The breakfast buffet is also large and excellent. Every breakfast item you can think of. I don't usually like buffets but this hotel did them very very well. Being stuck inside all day isn't so bad when you have all this food to choose from.

We stayed at Lake Tekapo Scenic Resort for one night during our stay in Tekapo…read more As soon as we arrived, we checked in at the office and they escorted us to our room facing the beautiful blue lake! The room itself is very spacious and comfortable with a bed, couch and neat bathrooms. I loved waking up to the sight of the lake. So refreshing! There is car parking space in the property. Breakfast joints and restaurants are 2 min walk away. There's also a convenient store nearby and a gas station as well. Best location! Lake Tekapo is a very popular place to see the milky way galaxy. At night, you simply walk out of the room and walk for a few minutes towards the lake and look up. Boom, if the skies are clear that day, then you see the lovely galaxy. I LOVED my stay in this resort and couldn't recommend enough.

We had a perfectly serviceable stay here for two nights in a lake view studio…read more We booked well in advance because there are extremely limited options in this part of the South Island in terms of traditional hotel/motel rooms. It's about an hour from Mt. Cook, which was our primary reason for booking. The room is roughly on par with an American Best Western. The room was spacious and included a sitting area, small fridge, and balcony. The decor was dated but clean. The property included other rooming options for backpackers, so we were essentially next to a hostel dorm, but they were quiet. Keep in mind that Lake Tekapo is a small town. The motel office is not a 24 hour front desk (I think it closed at 8) so you may want to try calling ahead if you're arriving in the wee hours. There are some good dining options literally steps from the motel, but good luck getting a table or even finding an open shop after about 8 or 9. Plan accordingly. Finally, despite the very real beauty of Lake Tekapo, this spot is not especially serene one for two reasons: (1) the town is overrun by tourists (yes, I recognize the irony of that statement), and (2) the motel's lake view is increasingly obscured by a hostel and what looks to be a new astronomy center. Our view of the lake from the second floor therefore looked out over the parking lot and between those two buildings. I suspect this may be why we saw the motel listed for sale on a local real estate board.

We stayed here for 3 nights…read more Pros. The Views. That's why you stay here. That's why it gets 5 stars. (Closer to high 3 low 4 without view). Bathroom. Tub and Shower Combined with View. Cons. Dinner Menu being preset. Price. It runs 1,000 NZD a night on shoulder season. Room (bathroom and view aside) is nothing special. No fridge, no dressers, etc. Room is more in line with a 3 star. The property felt more like a BandB than a lodge/hotel. No real area to lounge at. Location. Nothing other than the hotel around. Which can also be a pro.