There's lots of great places to stay in Queenstown

As one of New Zealand's premier holiday hot spots, there's always a wide range of places to stay in Queenstown.

With everything from camping grounds and holiday parks, to hostels and hotel rooms, apartments and five star lodges, Queenstown has it all.

Here's all the information that you need to help you find your perfect Queenstown home away from home.

Follow the links below to move around the page

The Queenstown holiday "zones"

Queenstown spreads out over an area spanning around 10 kilometres in length.

The original town centre sits on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and is home to over 100 bars, pubs restaurants and tourism based businesses. There's a wide range of accommodation here, and if you want to be in the middle of the action, this is the spot. But be aware that anything away from the lakefront could involve an uphill walk to your accommodation. Parking is also problematic here. Free parking is almost non-existant in the centre of town, so if you have a rental car, please make sure that your chosen accommodation has on site parking available.

A little further to the west, up a rather steep hill, is the area known as Fernhill. Lots of choice here, and the walk into town is filled with stunning views, and is downhill. But the walk home, well that's not something to attempt if you are unfit. Fortunately the local Orbus service operates along this route.

The town centre and the airport are linked by Frankton Road. It hugs the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and there's quite a few holiday homes and apartments along here. There's a well maintained path that follows the lake into town, and the last section leading into down is downhill, so all ok heading in to town, but a bit tougher walking back.

At the airport end of Frankton Rd are the suburbs of Frankton and Five Mile. There are a few major hotel chains here and a range of motels. If you need somewhere close to the airport, this is the spot. The Five Mile and Remarkables Park shopping precincts are both nearby and have a wide range of retail outlets.

A tip about peak holiday periods

Queenstown is so popular, that accommodation can book out many months in advance, particularly in the peak periods, like the ski season (late June to October), the New Zealand school holidays, and during the summer months (December to February).

To ensure maximum choice, we recommend researching your accommodation early, and making your bookings as soon as possible.

Just make sure that you choose a flexible rate so that you can cancel without penalty, and check the conditions of your travel insurance policy.

places to stay in queenstown by location

To make it a little easier, we'll give you our recommendations for some favourites in each of the zones. We've given some options at various price points:

Accommodation in central queenstown

Holiday Apartments

Our favourite is Pepper's Beacon, particularly the Lake View Apartments. Located at 34 Lake Esplanade, it's a flat 5 minute walk to the town centre, is across the road from the lake, has stunning views, large balconies, full kitchens and washer and dryer. Highly recommended, and perfect for families and groups. They also have hotel rooms available.

Just along the lakefront a few metres closer to town, the Waterfront apartments are also fantastic. Wonderful views. Apartments have small juliette balconies, and some penthouses have roof top decks. Great for that afternoon wine.

Hostels

Absoloot is in a prime central location at 50 Beach Street. The large picture windows in the common area look down onto the lake and town centre, so if you want central, this is the place. There's no on-site parking, but the bus depot is only 100 metres or so away on Athol Street. Absoloot have free wifi, a range of sleeping options, including dorms, family rooms, and rooms with a private bathroom. Facilities include a 24 hour communal lounge area, a laundry room, bike and ski storage area, a well equipped kitchen, and free tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

The Tahuna Pod hostel is a great choice, with a range of single and queen dorm pods, female only pods, private queen rooms (shared bathroom) and even a private dorm for groups that has its own kitchenette and deck (shared bathroom). Facilities include free wifi, guest laundry, onsite parking (a fee applies), a large well equipped kitchen, dining area, a wonderful communal lounge and a deck with great views.

You can see a range of other centrally located hostels here.

Hotel Rooms

The Crowne Plaza is an excellent hotel if you want to be right in the centre of town. No more than 100 metres from the town centre, they offer a range of room types, and the lake view rooms and suites have impressive views. Be sure to request one with a balcony. The impressive list of amenities includes an on-site restaurant and bar, a fitness centre, parking (for a fee), a 24 hour business centre, and more.

The Novotel Lakeside is another excellent option. Located near the beach, it's no more than a 50 metre walk to a host of bars and restaurants. There's a variety of room types including one bedroom apartments with a kitchenette. As always, we prefer the lakeview rooms with a balcony. No point coming here and not having a view! They have a car park (for a fee and expensive in our opinion), onsite restaurant and bar, a fitness centre, and a great buffet breakfast.

You can see what else is available in central Queenstown here. 

Holiday Parks

The Queenstown Holiday Park Creeksyde is located at 54 Robins Rd, around 5 minutes walk from downtown. There's a variety of motel rooms and self contained units, and importantly, powered sites if you are traveling in a campervan, motorhome or with a caravan. Tent sites are not available. They have several communal kitchens and lounges throughout the park, full laundry facilities, a sauna and spa, waste pump station, car wash, BBQ, bike and ski storage, and wifi.

Accommodation in fernhill

Fernhill has a good selection of apartments and hotels/resorts, but there's no hostels or holiday parks of any note.

Holiday Apartments

The Rendezvous Heritage Hotel at 91 Fernhill Rd is a beautiful resort. There's a pool and sauna, a gym, on-site restaurant and bar, and parking (for a fee). With a wide range of room types, including studios, one and two bedroom apartments, family rooms, and interconnecting suites, they have something to suit most needs. The lake view rooms have panoramic views, and it's 15-20 minute downhill walk along the lakefront to the town centre.

Hotel Rooms

Kamana Lakehouse, at 139 Fernhill Rd, is a beautiful place to spend a few days. There's a range of twin and king rooms, and the Lakeview Luxe are special, with an outdoor deck featuring your own soaking tub overlooking the lake. Proudly claiming to be the "highest situated hotel in Queenstown", the views are wonderful. The onsite bar and restaurant are a serene spot to relax, and there's also 24 hour reception, free onsite parking, free wifi, and guest only hot tubs at Kamana Soak.

The Mercure Resort at 21 Sainsbury Rd Fernhill is a bit of a Queenstown icon. We first stayed here back in 1998, and were blown away by the panoramic views from our lakeview room. There's a good range of facilities including a seasonal pool and spa, an on-site restaurant and bar, 24 hour reception, paid parking, free wifi, and a fitness centre.

places to stay in queenstown along frankton rd.

As you drive along Frankton Rd from Queenstown Airport to the town centre, you will see a variety of hotels, motels and apartments.

We've stayed at many of these over the years and here's a few recommendations.

Holiday Apartments & Hotels

The Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments at 377 Frankton Rd are in a prime lakeside position. With everything from hotel rooms to apartments and the exclusive Lakeside Residences, if you are looking for somewhere to stay for that special celebration, the Rees is perfect.  

The list of facilities is extensive and includes an award-winning restaurant, library, gym, spa treatments in the privacy of your room, and secure parking.

They also offer a  complimentary shuttle service to the town centre, and a private beach and jetty, where you can also catch a water taxi to town.

Could this be one of the best places to stay in Queenstown? We think so.

The Swiss-Belsuites Pounamu, at 110 Frankton Rd are a great choice if you want to be a little closer to the town centre (it's about a 1 kilometre walk). There's standard hotel rooms and one or two bedroom suites, some with lake views. There's a spa, wifi, access to a fitness centre, bike hire, and ski and golf club storage.

Holiday Parks

Driftaway Queenstown opened in 2022 and is located at 11 Lake Avenue Frankton. They have a comprehensive range of tent sites, caravan and motorhome sites, villas and cabins, and panoramic views back towards Queenstown. 

Facilities include communal kitchens, bathrooms, BBQ, and a laundry. Kids are well catered for with a jumping pillow, playground, slide and games room.

But perhaps the best feature are the private hot tubs, which like everything else here, overlooks Lake Wakatipu.

What a great location.

Hostels

The Black Sheep Backpackers, at 13 Frankton Rd, is right at the town end of Frankton Rd. So it's just a short walk into the bars, pubs, restaurants and shops. 

They have a range of dorm and private rooms, a great hot tub, deck and sauna, free unlimited wifi, free bike hire, lounge with free netflix, ski storage, and a cosy fireplace. There's also a fully equipped kitchen, a lounge area with an extensive video library and board games, a BBQ and  free luggage storage.

Places to stay in Queenstown near the airport

The Queenstown Airport is around 7 kilometres from the town centre, and if you need somewhere convenient to stay before or after your flight, there's several of the better known "names" here close to the airport.

Apartments & Hotels

The Holiday Inn Queenstown Remarkables Park at 28 Red Oaks Drive Frankton, has a range of standard and premium rooms, and one bedroom suites. You can dine at Giant's Restaurant and Bar, where at the time of writing, kids could eat for free. There's an in house gym, secure undercover parking (fee applies), and a limited number of unsecured free outdoor parking spaces. One thing we really like is the standard 11am check out, which is great if you have an early afternoon flight out of Queenstown. Unfortunately they don't provide a shuttle service. It's around 10-15 minutes walk (1.5 kilometres) to the airport terminal.

La Quinta by Wyndham Remarkables Park, at 18 Mountain Ash Drive Remarkables Park, has wonderful views of the Remarkables and the Kawarau River. You can choose from hotel rooms, studios, or the larger one bedroom apartments, which have kitchen and laundry facilities. 

There's the bonus of free unlimited Wi-Fi, a well equipped fitness centre, an on site cafe, and importantly, if you have a car, free parking.

The hotel is a little over 2 kilometres from the airport terminal but unfortunately they don't have a shuttle service.

Other places to stay in Queenstown that are close to Queenstown Airport are:

Sudima Queenstown Five Mile

Ramada Suites by Wyndham 

Wyndham Garden Remarkable Park

Places to stay in Queenstown - Top of Page