Rydges Lakeland Resort Queenstown

Resort

Loving the views… staff are so friendly… close walk to the city. Environment is so peaceful.

Amazing views from lakeside room and new bar is great. As per other reviews room needs updating, bathroom still from the 70s with cracked surrounds and signs of mould and carpet threadbare. Shower and bed good though. And view and distance to town makes it a 4.

Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Rooms were massive. Very comfortable beds. Decent location and views. Quick 10 minute walk to the main restaurants and town.

Swish lobby and lifts but the rooms feel more like motel than hotel. The rooms feel quite aged not very clean. The location is good (15 mins walk from the centre of town) but I think I would choose more modern accommodation next time!

Unfortunately my rating on this property is very very negative.
I enclose some photos to show the crumbling of the structure or at least of our room placed on the first floor.
Don't be fooled by the front desk that looks sleek and modern. Bad Structure!
In addition to that we also paid a very high figure in the room because we had considered to spend here on Christmas Eve. But I think the rates are high even in more normal days.
A nice anecdote is that wandering around the city we stumbled across another couple of Australians who had our own MEDERICMO judgement of the hotel (they told us of their bad experience and it happened to be our own hotel! ).
You don't go there absolutely.

We recently stayed 3 nights at Rydges in Queenstown and were very disappointed with that experience. While the front desk presentation has been glamed up to look good in their web sight, no effort has been done to the rooms in a long while. TV reception was poor, and no double glazing, so the curtains had to be drawn early and the much lauded wonderful view was lost. Promised daily room service was not carried out. Dinner was an expensive $69 smorgasbord (buffet). All you can eat might suit a hungry teenager, but for a pair of old pensioners with small appetites this was too much. After one sting on our first night we had much better dinners by going out and for much less the cost. Continental breakfast was $28! It is time Rydges upped their game. We will avoid this franchise next time.

The hotel has a magnificent view, the restaurant on top floor is so amazing, the food is super delicious and the service is superb. It's also quite close to the shops and restaurants. But two issues can't be ignored. Firstly, they have limited parking spaces, so the hotel staff have to move your car frequently. Secondly the window is not noise-proof, noise from the main road can wake you up early in the morning.

Don't let the pictures of the remodeled lobby fool you… The rooms look like they have not been updated in 20-30 years. The amenities are limited… There is a restaurant and bar… No gym… No gift/sundries shop. Overall I'd consider a different property so you can fully enjoy your Queenstown experience. This hotel does not add to your trip, it just becomes the place you have to be come back to to sleep (restlessly).

Do not stay here. Plain and simple. If ever there were a place to wear thongs in the shower. Trust me it's here. There are beautiful hotels in Queenstown for a similar, if not lower price that don't sacrifice BASIC hygiene and basic needs during a hotel stay. We arrived and the facade of the building was so impressive, we thought we booked so well… until we went into our room and found pubic hair all over our bath. Someone had just shaved and their hair was still inside the bath tub and all over the bathroom after housekeeping deemed our room fit for check in. Beyond unacceptable. We were then moved to another room, which had more issues. We intended to eat breakfast here, but honestly god only knows what their kitchen is like if they can't even wipe a bath down. So we opted for anything, but that option. Our balcony is FULL of cigarettes. We were going to enjoy a cup of tea, but as soon as we opened the door all we could smell was musty old cigarette. There was at least 15 right near our little table alone. For a non smoker, you can imagine how revolting the smell was. Absolutely no issues with guests smoking up there, but cleaning it regularly would keep the balcony clean and free of odour. Don't waste your money. Backpacking hotels are cleaner, cheaper and you're less likely to arrive to pubic hair in your bath tub. Or spend a dash more and stay at Crowne, at least their hotel is clean and have acceptable standards. Such a downer on our hotel stay.

Easy walk to town centre. Staff are very helpful. Bathroom a little dated but room fully functional. View from room balcony very good.

Lovely location with an amazing view of the lake. Negatives: Had the end room. Poor Wi-Fi connection down there. Spoke to front desk and got the palm off reply that it was used by too many people. That was not the problem. Signal strength and usage capacity are two very different things. Please come up with a more valid excuse. Didn't even get someone to come check. Lazy. Also shower didn't drain properly. Not overly impressed.

Avoid this hotel at all costs! Our room on the third floor is extremely hot, it is 30C at least! The hotel staff are aware of this but seem un willing or unable to do anything about it. The room is so hot because of the plumbing running behind the bathroom wall, the wall is hot to touch! We are sitting in a very expensive hotel room with two fans going. There is no air conditioning. They offer car parking, what this really means is they have about 15 parks & they double & triple park your cars. So if you have to get your car out you will have to find someone to move the several cars that are blocking yours in. It has a nice view.

Nice hotel, too high prices for that level hotel. Queenstown make them rising.

Slightly far from the town centre but still within a well walkable distance. Annoying walking back if you had forgotten anything however. Booked for 3 nights with 3 adults and 1 toddler. All of us slept fairly comfortably. Rooms are slightly dated but still tidy and clean. Room service was good. Breakfast buffet menu was decent but not fantastic. A typical selection of cereals and hot dishes that you may expect. All in all not a bad place but probably a little costly. But often advertises good deals. Parking was free.

What you see from outside is not what you get inside. The best part is the location but apart from that very few good things. We stayed here because of Qantas offering us accommodation for a cancelled flight. It took them over two hours to make the room available to us which is the first for me and not acceptable for a hotel that claims four star status. Whether we are direct customers or indirect, the service level should be a lot better than what it was. The rooms also seemed quite ordinary and dated at best. Apartment from the lakefront location, there is not much to talk about this place.

This hotel gets 3 stars from me mainly because their beds where very comfortable and their pillows also. They did however charge $15.00 a night for parking which was stated as free on the internet. Location is excellent, great views and friendly staff. Rooms where very outdated I am presuming these are gradually getting upgraded like the foyer and the dining areas/pool areas. No air conditioning in the rooms either which didn’t affect us too much as the weather was not too hot. But I can only imagine that they would have been very stuffy on the warmer days.

Parking — is not free as stated in the hotel website (complimentary car parking spaces available on the ground level). Which is an important feature expected from any accomudation close to busy centers. Not to mention an hotel that claims to be at a resort level. Air condition — does not exist! At 34c it is needed. And a big surprise from hotel, and again, from a resort, which my understanding of that word is probably not in line with the NZ term. The room was clean, however, the shower didn't have a vent, so after a shower, you need to get out to dry, in my case the heat out side the shower, in the room with no air condition, just kept me sweating. This is a 2.5 star hotel. The small pool is nice.

Spent four nights here, the first night was a nightmare. We were put in a room with no adequate ventilation. The room was hot as hell and this is due to the heat pipe running in the bathroom. You can imagine how hot was the bathroom, feels like you're in a sauna. We requested to be moved, the manager was very helpful and we were moved to a better room the next night. The view to the lake is exceptional and the location is great for us. I could have given 4 stars if not because of the heat issue and had to stayed one night in that heated room.

Bed is soft, the room to see the dim sum is to pay, lake view balcony can stand on the sky, the door out to the lake is the shooting hotspot, around Ben LeMond Park is very suitable for hiking.

The lobby makes you think the rooms are much nicer than they are. The showers are utter nonsense. The view of the lake is very amazing tho! Feel like the rooms should be updated for the price. It is Queenstown tho!

Location is fantastic, rooms are well looked after. However there is no air conditioning, so it is stuffy during the summer. Main issue is the difficultly to find parking, provided parking is limited and always full and street parking is similar, requires time to find a place to park.

Location is 10 mins walk from city centre beautiful view and welcoming staff. Down side is we left in morning came back at 2:15 pm for a rest room not serviced. There is no Air condition and was a bit humid a night so not the best sleep either. In addition, they only provide one very small shampoo for me and my husband! Furniture is fine but needs an upgrade as looks old. Swimming pool was so dirty and we couldn’t swim in it, no one was there either. The water was cold and was not heated. We expected more for what paid for. If I go to Queenstown I will be trying another hotel for sure.

Hotel is well located right across the road from the water and about a 5-10 minute walk to town where there are numerous restaurants and shops. Rooms are large and most have balconies facing the water. Ours could have used some updating as the carpet was stained and needed replacing. Nice restaurant and bar on the top floor with beautiful scenic views.

Rooms are nice and clean. View of the lake and balcony are nice. Rooms are a little small but with the location being so prime you will. Not spend much time in the rooms anyways! They need to clean their pool as it was pretty gross when we were there and you can see where there used to be a hot tub. Too bad there is no longer one.

Staff aren't very efficient or helpful at all. We waited in the foyer for an hour and a half to check in. 45 minutes after our check in time. When we finally arrived in our room the room didn't have all the ammenities and it smelt stale. We were waiting for room service for an hour and when we went to the front seat the two receptionists smirked at us when we asked about the food. They obviously forgot to place the order. 45 minutes lasted they wrote a note apologising and placed it under our door with no purpose to the note. We had people come in and out of our rooms to clean the room at 2.30 — 5.30 pm the first day then Our rooms weren't cleaned once. When you pay so much for 'service' and you don't receive it … It makes no sense to stay here. I would highly recommend to stay somewhere else and avoid this hotel.

Came by for a conference and the place was still undergoing refurbishments. It was ok for the most part unless you ended up outside in one of the tents where it was cold and noisy. The rooms inside were alright although they arranged the rooms so that you couldn't see out to the lake (which is maybe a good thing? ). Its about a 10 minute walk into town so easy enough to pop into town to get some food. the lobby looked really nice though.

Recommend it, rooms could do with a spruce up but they were comfortable. Service and food good.

Enjoyed a brief break and Rydges. Room was warm and comfortable with a great view of Lake Wakatipu. Staff were warm and very approachable. Had a wonderful meal upstairs at Bazaar — food was fantastic.

Great location, just a short walk from all the excitement of town. Just far enough away to avoid the noise, views etc. Nice rooms. Buffet breakfast is beautiful spread, nothing exceptionally delicious but I didn't give it a good enough effort. Great place. Would go again if in the area.

Absolute disappointment. We booked and paid for a king room, received a twin room and was told they were fully booked, the error was not their fault and nothing they could do. The superior lake view room they promised was a few steps below ground floor hence it was actually a car parking lot view. The room was below ground floor towards the back, you would think it was staff quarters and it smelled so bad as it was probably next to the kitchen. So disgusting. No bell boy services was even offered to get to this horrid room. I was charged the full price of our room as a security deposit which took more than two weeks after checkout to return after numerous calls to them and my bank. Rydges staff told me it would be immediate on the day then 2-3 days then 5-7 days. The 10% discount on best rates for Rydges members was not honoured. Never making the mistake of staying with Rydges again. My mistake I suppose as I ignored the many many bad reviews on Trip Advisor.

Really appalled at service. Arrived with my partner to check in with 4 big bags of luggage. Lady at front desk gave us our room keys and told us what room we were in (as if we knew how to get there? ) did not offer any assistance with bags, and left the desk for us to find our own way. For the price you pay, you'd expect better service. Rooms were dated, and shower water did not turn hot, at all. Positives: warm, and beautiful view of lake wakatipu. But that's as about positive as it gets.

So frustrated with the lack of professionalism in this place. We accidentally left behind 2 expensive jackets in the room cupboard after we checked out from a 3 night stay. I placed a lost property report over the phone and nobody got back to me, so I called again… nothing. I was told they'd call back first thing in the morning. No phone call… not even to tell me they hadn't found anything. I was frustrated so I went in there in person the next day and the person I spoke to seemed to be oblivious to the report and claimed that the housekeeping manager was off for the day, therefore they couldn't possibly look into it. "We'll be sure to call you back first thing tomorrow morning. " Did they? No. We went back in there one final time the next day and waited around for ages only to be told that they think it may have been stolen. I know our property is our responsibility but where is their communication? Why did I have to come in not once but twice and place multiple phone calls only to be told nobody is doing a damn thing. Disappointed to say the least.

When we arrived after a long trip from Christchurch after a flight from Auckland we were tired, we went to check in and asked where we the car parking for the hotel was, and was told basically good luck, the car park is full you will have to park on the street, we ended up parking far up the road and having to bring the car in about a day later when there was finally a space, then when we checked in we were told that the pool was not open, even though on their website it was, so we got the keycards and went up to our "Deluxe" room, what a bloody let down, first the key cards didn't work, we tried and tempers were frayed, my husband went back down the reception and found the key had not been activated, Bad service, no apology, first thing we noticed when we entered was the musty damp smell in the room, on checking the bathroom, it was dirty, the bath badly mark with years of wear, the shower we would later find out, when you turned to shower on, you either had cold or hot, the control would not sit in the middle if you turned it to warm, it flew to hot, useless, the lack of ventilation in the bathroom was shocking and explains the damp stink to the room, you could not see what you were doing in the mirrors, and the windows in the room would fog over if you opened the bathroom door, then we tried to turn the heater on, no luck, it was 3 degrees outside and no heater, I rang the front desk and some guy came up and fiddled about with it and basically said, dont touch it, they

Only just checked in and I wish we were checking out. The room is tiny, goes out onto a large balcony shared with multiple other rooms and the bathroom is in serious need of updating. The floor has a very loud creak, the walls I think are made of paper and there is constant banging coming from somewhere. Can't believe we are stuck here for three nights, only good thing is the bed is comfy although can't get any sleep due to the various constant disturbances and noise. Hugely disappointed as we stayed here 3 years ago and loved it.

The location is amazing but that's about the only good feature. The S was missing from the Rydges sign (bad sign). There is a lot of construction going on at the moment and it was loud! The rooms are clean but OLD! The bathroom didn't have any ventilation or extraction fan. Limited parking and the spa and pools were closed. This info would have been handy in the confirmation email. I would have book somewhere else. This place just felt like it was about to go under.

Don't be fooled by the online photos of how nice their rooms are, the photos are skillfully taken to make the room appear spacious and welcoming, but the reality is they are small and cramped. We paid for a deluxe room but what we got was tiny and outdated. The walls were dirty, in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint, there was no air conditioning, just a wall plug-in heater that squeaked intermittently during the night. The room only has one chair to one side of the bed and on the other side is a cubed stool for sitting at the tiny work desk to write or have a meal. The bathroom is old, with vinyl flooring that after years of wear appears very dull and dirty. Keys to the room didn't work half the time, big inconvenience having to get a lift back down to the lobby for them to re-code. Staff had not replenished the mini bar properly before we checked in, we asked a staff member and the response was to "just say the missing items weren't there upon check out, it will be fine" so, we did this and as you can imagine, the receptionist tried to bill us for wine we never drank. Overall, would not stay there again and I would think with so many negative reviews, the hotel should be trying to better themselves, however, it looks like they don't care, as they will constantly get business from unaware tourists.

Thought we would have a good experience but alas no. Had very very very load party going on just above us and rung reception a couple of times to complain as was not told there was going to be a party up stairs. Man at reception said noise was not stopping till midnight but said he would try to get noise turned down. Never happened (not acceptable). Rung back at 11.30pm was told that the song playing was going to be the last but no! it is now 11.54pm and music is still playing load room is vibrating. Staff here obviously can't tell the truth.

Very spacious Hotel built back in the 80's. Currently undergoing major upgrades and modernized retro fit … Queenstowns largest hotel by far!

Reasonable prices, lake view from restaurant on the top floor is awesome. However, very limited car park space available on site for guests. Friendly and helpful staff especially Mr. Antony J (Manager) and Mr. Shane.

The hotel is at a very good location and has great views. The rooms are clean and spacious. The convenience to city centre makes this place affordable. Internet in room is amazing although it does not work in cafes or pool area on level 6. The downside to this is that parking is not always easy around the place due to limited car spots. There is free parking on streets but due to closeness to city its hard to find parking. Secondly the reception staff are not friendlier. They have a serious attitude issue. The concierge is great guy. The pool is not that good and the Jacuzzi does not work. Finally if you planning to stay for few days and want to include breakfast, please dont. The chef in restaurant is uninspiring. The food is same day in and day out. No change to variety or even the layout (I mean how had is to put different egg varieties each day atleast) The coffee is crap and if you ask for coffee from bar its extra rip off. There are very good cafes around town. So if you are not interested in having tea and coffee and same breakfast in the hotel, I suggest save money on breakfast option and eat out as it is really not worth the money.

First impression was good on the outside of this building as it sits in one of the best locations in Queenstown. The rest of experience was called horrible I could say among all hotels I've stayed for next 6 days. We stepped into reception and staff was not very happy with our travel cards which we've got no problem in all the other hotels. Besides, all the other staff seemed not very happy to work there as they were not greeting or showing any expressions. In addition, the price of $330 we paid for that night was quite ridiculous for such outdated room. We booked lake view room which I can only see car park in front of me. I just want go asap next morning as there was no view at all. I really hope this hotel could ultimate its best location with best service and room refurbishment. Hotel maybe was once new but now it definitely needs urgent renovation instead of make-up on outside. Hopefully this will be a good feedback to both tourists and hotel itself.

Stellar view. Great access to city centre and shore line. Excellent restaurant, bar, pool and spa etc. Just a shame the rooms were in bad bad need of renovations. Although we did hear that they are renovating all the rooms in 2016 which will be awesome. In saying that we got very good value for money so not much to complain about really. Especially when you look back at the view again.

Pro: they have economical rooms that offer value for money, their hotel is overlooking the lake which is quite a spectacular location. The hotel is well maintained and big. Cons: the staff looks to be very insufficient to handle all the guests and are quite unhelpful.

Well worth the money spent and has some of the best views of the lake and beautiful walkway by the road. The rooms are adequate and each has a balcony with the same view. Staff are friendly and quite efficient. The bar and restaurant on the top floor are small. Parking can be a little scarce. Only 5 minutes walk from the town centre.

Super view of the Lake! Very close the town, just 10 mins walk. But the most confusing to get there using Google Maps. Parking is scarce especially during peak seasons. Get there early. But there is roadside parking available. Overall excellent experience with the family. Especially the view from the Lake facing rooms…

Visited in September 2015. Stayed for 2 nights in deluxe room with balcony directly facing the Lake Wakatipu. Located about 5-10 minutes walk from the town centre. Free unlimited Wi-Fi and strong signal. The staff are friendly and helpful. However it is difficult to find parking, very limited parking even it was off peak season.

Awesome! highly recommend it!

LOVED our room at the Rydges! Read the other reviews, but maybe because we had a nice suite which was spacious and very clean. The living room and bed room doors opened up onto a shared balcony that had a spectacular view of the water. I loved eating breakfast buffet, everything was delicious, but I just couldn't get over the scenery. The water, mountains, and everything was autumn leaves, it was heavenly. It was a great way to start my morning. Also the hotel is easy to get to and from the town shopping area, also to the Skyline for outdoor activities. Queenstown is just lovely and hope I can visit again.

Rooms pathetically small don't ever take this hotel if ur in queens town, No AC for summer and it's really suffocating rooms Good not worth ur money either. Total waste of money hotel.

Very cool accommodation but not so cheap :-).

This has to be 80's / faulty towers themed hotel. The hotel has a worn and dated feel and run with disengage staff who provide appalling yet comical attempt at service. The restaurant is the main event, it was as cold as the service with temporary tables. The hotel bar featured a confusingly busy bar waiter busily doing nothing to avoid serving anyone. Do not stay here. Don't ask for cheesecake it's clearly a drama.

We thought the world should know what they're getting into by staying here. Our experience was awful. We were greeted with blank stares. We stood at the counter for near 10 minutes before the lady tried to help us. She charged us the wrong rate, when asked about it, she said she gave us the special rate, we mentioned again we're with a group booking. We showed her the rate we were quoted (which was $30 less per night than the "special rate" she gave us. She said there was nothing she could do. We asked to see the manager. "Leo" the manager was short, both in temperament and stature. He refused to honour the rate we were quoted and refused to refund our money, citing a 24hour cancellation policy. We stayed one night, cancelled the rest. The room is average. Oaks Shores down the road costs less and has nicer rooms with nicer views and nicer staff. Our friends stayed at scenic suites, lovely place, great staff, very friendly and no issues over the price quoted and price charged. There are better places to stay, with more hospitable hosts.

Realy disappointed in our one night stay in Queenstown — expected "Rydges" premium — even at room rates, they put us up the back overlooking the alley — got linen and bread delivery trucks at early hours — and poorly made bed (short sheeted), not even good enough for the hired help! I felt like I was in a bit of a prank nightmare! A few extra dollars and we could have stayed in town, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

One of the worst hotel experiences I have had in a long time. Arrived on friday, checked in and were give no information on anything, Got ready to go to the spa and couldnt get in, so went to reception only to find out tha it was "undergoing maintenance" and the spa was 1 of the main reasons we choose This hotel. I complained to the girl at reception telling her that I should have been notified prior to booking and she didnt seem to care. Later that night we decided we were going to have dinner in the restaurant. Which was closed for the evening. The breakfast in the morning was really good. Next night the restaurant was pretty much all reserved for a conference. Then sunday morning breakfast was a complete disaster. The staff were so rude. And was just saying "oh we only have 1 chef, on today" like it was acceptable. We there were ques waiting for the cooked breakfast, and once 2 or 3 peopkle got food it was all gone again. You would think having a conference on, and it being a long weekend there would have been more chefs on. I did not hear a positive comment come out of the restaurant that day. Overall I did not enjoy my experience staying at this hotel. The Rydges hotel Rotorua is amazing, awesome staff, great service and amazing rooms so I was expecting a similar experience. Butt that is far from what I experienced. I would not recommend this hotel at all.