Sofitel Queenstown - Hotel & Spa - Sofitel Queenstown - Hotel & Spa 8 Duke Street

"best hotel 2021" marketed on website. (April 2022). I can tell you it is not up to scratch, it would not suffice as a 5 star hotel if it was ever properly reviewed. Novotel is far superior and cheaper (we visited them and had a tour). The Rooms and descriptions do not match website. Reduced features and explained away as, "sorry but that advertising is out of date". Seems like false advertising to me? The experience was pleasant for a 3.5 or maybe 4 star hotel. It's certainly not a 5 star experience. *Very central in Queenstown, great location: It has the best placement if you want to visit varied restaurants. The Gondela lift up the mountain is nearby too. *Spa baths in the room are disgusting! After turning on the jets, I found myself swimming in a history of human scum, hair, dead skin and black mold flakes. 3 days later after mentions, the issue remains and they have not been able to clean the spa well enough. I was told by multiple members of staff that this was due to poor water supply (from the lake), which I have been drinking. Yuck! Fortunately, I don't believe this excuse. Either way, this is an extremely worrying hygiene/health concern! The superior rooms are not worth it, the views are not superior, you get no extra amenities or room features. They claim the view is better but I assure you the view I had in the lesser room is significantly better with 2 viewing windows. The fridge is noisy. Quickfix: turn the dial inside down and it will stop buzzing all night, but items won't be cooled. When the room has been made up, some items not cleaned - previous visiter coffee remains in the machine. The bedding has not been fully replaced or aired. I could smell the previous person's bodily odour in the room, and the same pungent BO smell from one of the pillows. 3 times that same pillow was returned. Due to COVID, the minibar was empty and noted once your get in the room. I was offered to have it filled. Twice the few items I asked for were forgotten. My traveling companion had the full mini bar, it is very limited! No snacks or chockies. Room service is very poor with the menu consisting of: a chicken wrap, tin soup, a basic salad, 3 deserts options. You can buy these items from the store about 1 minute walk away for far cheaper. Much better food options are available here with hot food options too. Breakfast buffet is good. They do charge for coffee orders. Egg station, good toast station, table service, fresh fruit, juices, cereals, bacon, sausages, hash, eggs and other expected breakfast items are available. Hot, crispy and tasty. Only negative is that it was self serve, almost everyone was not wearing a mask, including someone coughing and dishing. Hand sanitiser gel was only available outside the eating area - extremely short on the health standards I'd have expected here. (NB: currently Novotel has food service dished to your plate and every single person wore a mask, due to a sign politely asking to do so). No doorman, no consiege, no bag service, no one escorted us to the room. The lift was not straight forward to use either: scan card, press floor number, scan card as fast as you can seemed to be the only reliable way to get the lift to work. I appreciate keeping this secure, how about have the lift take you to the correct floor for that room when you scan the card? Scan required to exit. I paid significantly extra to have a 5 star experience, that is not what I got. I wish I had stayed elsewhere which did offer a greater level of service, friendlier staff and for much cheaper. (Ref Novotel - from the same parent group). Save 30%+ by booking online through.

Nice rooms, however we were not advised there was no hot or cold water. Advised if they had our email that would of sent us an email to tell us about the water, or could offer us a taxi to another hotel to have a shower. Had to go to the lake to have a wash.

My partner and I stayed for a long weekend. The lovely blonde lady at reception was super helpful with everything we needed on our stay. The room was great and very comfortable. However, the low rating is due to the poor service and running of the breakfast bar. 2/3 mornings our coffee never arrived. Multiple waitresses asked for our order yet the food and service still took a very long time. I’m unsure why this was as it looked like there were a lot of staff on just poor management and structure. The valet parking situation is not ideal. The only hotel to charge by day to park the car at $50 a day! Two mornings in a row we were left waiting for our car to be brought around after we called prior to heading down to reception. The last morning we purposely organised earlier as we were heading back to our flight and when we arrived at reception we were still waiting another 15 minutes. This as well just seemed to be terrible time management. We are coming back to Queenstown in a few months and sadly we will not be staying here again.

Going into this stay, I was a bit nervous considering some of the poor reviews and COVID’s continued impact on Queenstown’s hospitality industry however safe to say we were pleasantly surprised. The service from all staff we encountered was outstanding - friendly and warm from reception to housekeeping. Our room was cleaned to a high standard every time during our 7night stay. Not sure why some are complaining about room service options given the close location to so many great food options, it would seem a shame to rely on this. We did try one morning of room service brekkie though and happy with what we received. The hotel location is perfect as you’re within walking distance of everything. Recommend staying here ?

Akura Wines certainly know how to satisfy your hunger pains. Sheltered from the rain, the food and service was excellent. Food ranging from freshly baked bread with truffle butter, duck pate and prawns with sesame crackers get things rolling. Slow cooked lamb shoulder is to die for and the smoked salmon amazing. Served with crispy roast potatoes and honey carrots accompanied by a nice glass of in house wine, I can guarantee that you will leave happy and content. Fantastic venue

Loved our stay at the Sofitel. Very central location and very accessible to the mountain bike park with the added benefit of a bike hire shop right next door. Rooms were clean, quiet, comfortable and spacious.

I am so impressed with their communication . My son accidentally booked accommodation through booking.com. They are really kind enough to cancel the reservation without any charge in the given short notice.I truly appreciate their kindness. All the best to the entire team. The receptionist was very kind too.

WOW, by far the flashiest place I have ever had the privilege to stay. The facilities and decor were mind blowing. The service throughout was extraordinary, thoroughly professional, but also polite and friendly. The location in Queenstown is excellent. The food and service in the restaurant were also excellent. I hope I get the opportunity to stay here again sometime in the future.