Chill in our adventure playground

Eleanor Hughes feels comfortably at home in understated luxury in Queenstown.

The place

On a quiet, elevated street of residential houses overlooking Queenstown, Queenstown House offers boutique accommodation for up to 30 people. The 40-year-old house has been refurbished to offer five rooms with ensuites. Shared intimate lounges, an outdoor terrace and manicured gardens make it welcoming and homely.

Next door, fully self-contained apartments are available with configurations of one- to three bedrooms. A roomy kitchen overlooks tastefully decorated lounges with fireplaces and modern, velvet-covered seating, open plan with the dining area. Balconies have fabulous views.

Location

It takes less than half an hour from the airport on the airport bus, which includes a six-minute uphill walk from Stanley St bus stop, to the accommodation on Hallenstein Rd.

Views encompass central Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables, and to the gondolas moving silently up and down the pinecovered hill to Bob’s Peak and the Skyline complex.

The space

Staying in the house, we enjoyed restrained elegance in the generously sized Earl Room offering two single beds with plump pillows, duvets and throw blankets. A leather couch and armchairs around a coffee table make the room intimate. It also has a wallheater, Sky TV, and tea and coffee-making facilities.

The small balcony with table and chairs has a view of The Remarkables.

The ensuite is spacious with a shower, handbasin, hairdryer and toiletries.

The heated towel rail warms thick white towels. Two communal lounges are available. The cosy Winter Lounge has enticing armchairs to curl up in, and a piano and bookcase crammed with paperbacks add a homely feel. I am sure when the fire is lit on a cold day, it would be difficult to leave.

Out by the breakfast room, mellow, instrumental music softly welcomes throughout the day. In the other bright and airy lounge, New Zealand art by Don Binney graces the walls.

Stepping out

With car parking available, you could drive into central Queenstown, but it is barely worth starting the car when it is a 10-minute walk to restaurants, supermarket and shops. A couple more minutes and you are on the waterfront for the TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak Station, the Million Dollar Queenstown Cruise on Lake Wakatipu or KJet for blasts up the Kawarau and Shotover rivers.

Queenstown Gardens is a 15-minute walk, and the gondola is 12 minutes away. The return, uphill, walk will have the heart pumping but there are taxis. If feeling energetic, the start of the Queenstown Hill walkway is within steps of the front door. This steep-ish, 11⁄2-21⁄2-hour return walk gives wide-reaching views over Queenstown, Frankton, Jack’s Point and the mountains.

The food

The continental breakfast would have been plenty, but the a la carte breakfast menu tempted too. The eggs benedict was the perfect size, as was my companion’s Hiker’s Delight – scrambled eggs with spinach and salmon.

The coffee is excellent – L’affare from Wellington, Sublime from Nelson, and Allpress. Tea and orange juice are also available.

Highlight

Hosts Sam and Paul are extremely welcoming, and breakfasting looking out on picture-perfect views of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables is a great way to start the day.

Lowlight

It is difficult to find any. I occasionally had trouble getting internet in my room, and the bathroom’s cold, tiled floor in the morning was a bit of a shock.

Essentials

With a two-night minimum stay, room rates at Queenstown House Boutique B&B and Villa Apartments are from $295 a night, which includes breakfast and pre-dinner drinks with canapes. Visit queenstownhouse.co.nz.

The writer stayed as a guest of Queenstown House Boutique B&B.