We had booked at Nugget Point Hotel because it looked comfortable and quite. Also they were very accommodating regarding our broken stay and quick to respond on the internet with good rates. The down side is the remote location to Queenstown itself, approximately 3 miles away and a $15 taxi each way – although the hotel does offer limited shuttle service to town and service to the airport without charge.

The upsides were plenty. The rooms and bathrooms are nicely furnished with turn down service. The beds are comfy, nice linens and towels, granite and marble tops and bath floors, very spacious – the Shotover rooms have a nice view of the river valley with heated bathroom floors. The garden rooms are the same size and equally nice, simply missing the view and heated bath floor. Actually they have a separate shower from the whirlpool tub, which was nicer than the combo in the shotover rooms.

Style - While the rooms are elegantly and simply furnished, the hotel's public rooms are more Bed and Breakfasty with collections of unusual decorations including a huge head of David in the entry, many animal heads in the bar, large birdcages in the dining room for canaries, lots of garden pergolas and decorative statues.

Staff - The staff consisted of about 6 constant members: 3 nzlanders - a young nz man who served breakfast and dinner and was very friendly knowledgeable about local activities, the housekeeper who did a good job and the owner who toured about at meal times greeting guests. 3 asian members - Helen at the desk who was very helpful, a guest services person (wife of owner?)who also served, and a driver for the shuttle.

Food – the breakfasts, include both a cooked to order and cold buffet, were great. Dinners were good. The food tended to be rich, lots of butter and cream. I preferred the food and pricing of the restaurants in town even with taxi fare.

Service – we checked in and out of the hotel over a period of 2 weeks due to hiking trips. Our luggage was always stored properly and was awaiting our arrival in our room. The rooms were spotless, with very nice tea/coffee available. Flat screen plasma TVs abound but south island NZ has very limited stations so forget CNN news. While internet was available, it is faster and cheaper at internet cafes in town. We would have enjoyed laundry access, but it was not available so we had to spend an afternoon in town with our loads.

Facilities – the pool was not usable when we were there. It is not heated so I am not sure about the time of year it would be available. They do have a hot tub but with nice whirlpools in the room I didn't understand this. They had a dated but nice work out room, (under renovation?)with free weights and a few cardio and weight machines. NZ hotels typically do not have extensive work out rooms or heated pools so this was really more elaborate than any place we stayed – ps. a ‘spa’ is whirlpool tub – which is heated.

Overall – this is a very nice hotel with the only problem being the remote location from activities and restaurants in Queenstown, not an issue if you have a car. The scale is personal, no tour groups, it is quite and very comfortable and one of the nicest hotels we stayed at in NZ.

Alternatives – The choices in Queenstown seem to be large hotels which are tour group oriented or small B&Bs - everything is expensive for what you get. The hotels either don’t have exercise rooms or they hit you for extras on breakfast and airport pickup. I think the Sofitel with a lake view would be my choice on a return. It is out of the main stream of traffic, (Queentstown has many tourists during the season), being on a side street but is within walking distance of the good restaurants, internet rooms and activities centers. Otherwise Nugget Point is a good option.

Queenstown is the place for gear. The gear stores and tour operators abound. The town sits on the lake and a steamer cruise ship comes in periodically for tours. It’s quite a pretty town and a fun walkabout, reminiscent of a Vail or Aspen or Telluride with their holiday feel, but not as elegant as those locations.

My husband and I arrived in Queenstown for our last stop on a 24-day trip that included business and holidays. After the hustle and bustle of the trip and staying in large business hotels in other cities, we were delighted to be able to stay at the Nugget Point. It is a small, boutique resort nestled in the hills a short distance above Queenstown, in a lovely setting overlooking the Shotover River. It had been recommended to us by friends in Auckland.

There were just a few couples staying there during our off-season visit at the end of February. The owners, Salina and Barry, could not have been more attentive to our needs. They recommended several sightseeing trips, and we were not disappointed.

The decor of the resort is exquisite. We can’t comment what is was like before the renovations last year, but the environment exudes class. It is tasteful and relaxing. The food was fresh and tasty. I had New Zealand rack of lamb one night and Akaroa salmon another. The views from the full-glass dining room were breath-taking. It was hard to tear ourselves away to try the seafood cuisine on the Queenstown wharf.

The resort is situated on a lightly traveled two-lane road, which gave us the opportunity to take a nice walk each evening after dinner. Away from the glare of the downtown lights, we were able to see the Southern Cross and myriad other constellations each evening.

About our only complaint was that the in-room TV selection was thin, bringing in only over-the-air signals. Satellite TV was available on two large, flat screen TVs in the lounges. We also enjoyed having a DVD player in the room and chose movies each night from the resort’s extensive collection of recent releases. There is even a large screen HDTV movie room on the lower level, with nice, comfortable furniture. It was a treat.

We did suggest to the owners that they provide in-room computer connections. They are aware this is an issue for some travelers, but wiring/cable access is a problem at the moment due to the way the building was built. There is a computer in the lobby that guests can use for a nominal fee. This made it possible to keep in touch with our office each day. But frankly, this resort offered such a wonderful, relaxing environment that we really didn’t care. It offered us the opportunity to get away from it all for a few days.

Our stay at the Nugget Point was much too short – 3 nights and 4 days. If we lived closer, we would return again and again. The peace and tranquility are a welcomed benefit of this lovely spot.

I would say that one needs to have some level of sophistication in travel to appreciate a resort of this nature. If you like hustle and bustle and enjoy being in the thick of activity, then stay in downtown Queenstown. If you are a free spirit, you can avoid having to rely on the resort’s shuttle schedule by renting a car for a few days. We had driven from Christchurch, so we already had a car

The bottom line is that Nugget Point is a delightful resort geared to the discerning traveler who is not constrained to a tight budget. It wasn’t cheap, but it was well worth it.

Our stay at this hotel was blissful. The rooms, views, food ,ambience were all absolutely first class. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable. During the course of this two month trip we stayed at 17 different hotels and normally preferring the bigger hotels it meant that we spent time in the Hiltons, Millenium and the like. I approached this booking with some trepidation as we had encountered some pretty dreadful hotels in NZ and had just left one such place in Franz Josef. However, my worries were soon put to rest when we entered this most unusual and charming hotel. I would recommend this establishment to anyone and everyone.

How strange that one persons view of this hotel is so radically different from another. We found this hotel to be one of New Zealands gems. The view from the restaurant is unbelievable with full floor to ceiling views of the Shotover River. The staff were gracious and helpful, the rooms were beautifully decorated and the standard of decor throughout is what one would expect from a luxury boutique hotel. Selina, the owner, could not have spent more time ensuring that our every need was catered for. If we return to NZ, Nugget Point without doubt, will be high on our list of hotels to revisit.