Great central location

We stayed at the Novetel for two nights during July, 2005 school holidays. Family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children). We had 2 interconnecting rooms which were excellent and very comfortable. Rooms could have been larger but no other complaint. The staff were all very polite and extremely helpful. Being centrally situated near the lake everything was totally accessible by foot and there was no need to use the car at all during our stay. Would certainly recommend this hotel to anybody (especially families) thinking of coming to NZ and staying in Queenstown. Dinner in the dining room on our last night was magnificent. They had a special 3 course meal deal (straight off the a-la carte menu) for NZ$39 per person.

Great spot!

We stayed 3 nights here and it was great. The design of the place is quite stylish, it has useful amenities like internet in the lobby, and the location is STUNNING--beautiful views from the lounge and restaurant, across the lake towards the snow-capped mountains. The rooms were nicely done, the staff was all very friendly and informative. It's a great walk from the lobby out to the waterfront, lined with rose bushes--you feel like the whole landscape is part of the hotel's property. Great little hotel!

Not bad but make sure you have a printout of your reservation

Hotel is in a good location, is clean and efficient. I had made my reservation on the Novotel/Accor website and had booked a deluxe king room at a rate of $109 per night. When I we checked in the front desk put us in a deluxe room on the main floor but with a lake view (not much of a view). When I went to check out the next day my rate went from $109 to $185 - why you ask - because we were put in a room with a lake view. I told the reception that I did not book that rate and she told me that I did (based on a list she had). I showed her my printout but she continued to say that the rate for that particular room was $185. I politely made a point that what is the use of booking a rate online at their website when they were going to charge me more - I found it highly unethical. She agreed and did me "a one time favour" by honouring my original rate - gee thanks! She was very polite about it. Thank god for the printout. Other than that incident which took 5 minutes to settle - the hotel is fine and I'd probably stay there again. It was great value and a real good location.

Check your reservation

We stayed in a standard lakeside room in March 2005. The room was well equipped but we were suspicious about cleanliness (the details are unpleasant) and had the room re-valeted while enjoying complimentary drinks. The hotel is otherwise clean and modern, offers a free car valet service and enjoys an enviable location close to the Lake and away from the hubbub in the main town (for which we did not care).

I had booked the reservation using the internet Accor Hotels reservation process (which caters for the Novotel hotel chain) and which requires a credit card confirmation. The Novotel had no record of the reservation, however, and the receptionist was not particularly apologetic until I strongly complained. It transpires that the central Accor process sends an email to the Novotel hotel which then has to transfer the booking to its internal system. Not surprisingly, this system breaks down if the email goes astray, as would appear to have been the case in our instance. The only proof of my reservation was the printout of the automated email which I had received from Accor - and which I had taken with me. In the circumstances, we were probably lucky that the hotel had a vacancy though we were given a twin double-bedded room rather than the requested single king.

Ok but nothing special

We stayed 2 nights at the Novotel in Queenstown during our honeymoon in March 2005.

The hotel is located directly at lakefront within very short walking distance to all the shops and restaurants.

The outside of the hotel is quite nice and attractive, unfortunally the guest rooms are not that nice. The size and environment of our room was mostly ok, but seems to be a little bit dirty.

A very big minus for the bathroom which is very small, old fashioned and very dirty.

The staff mostly is friendly and nice, but there are some exceptions at the reception.

Overall the room is ok, but the very poor bathroom and the impression of the room and bathroom being dirty did not very satisfy us. Next time we maybe will try some other accomodation in Queenstown.

Perfect location

We stayed in a lake view room in January 2004. We had stayed at the Park Royal in January of 2002. We much prefer the Novotel Gardens because of it's location away from the busy streets and it's fine restaurant. Excellent value for the money.

You can't go wrong staying at the Novotel

The Novotel is in an excellent location - it is just near the water and right in the heart of Queenstown. The hotel itself is great - clean, comfortable and the staff are really friendly. We stayed there on two separate occasions and both rooms were really quiet even the one facing the road. If you go there request a room overlooking the garden. If you love roses, you will like this garden!

If you want to stay in a nice hotel which is close to the centre of town, you can't go wrong with the Novotel. I will definitely stay there on my next trip to Queenstown.

One negative - The bar downstairs isn't fantastic - whilst it has a nice fireplace and a decent range of alcohol the service is really poor.

Take plenty of money!

I just spent 3 days in Queenstown with my husband, 13 yr old daughter and 14 month old son.What a spectacular place it is. It is so beautiful it actually seems surreal. We stayed at the Gardens Novotel. It was OK. Great location right near the wharf but the rooms were really small. We had 2 double beds in what was loosely termed a 'superior' room. I had requested a cot but was glad my request had been ignored because there was nowhere inside the room it would have fitted.

There is a great little food court where we found some sensational malaysian food. We tried to eat in at Pizza Hut but despite arriving at 8.15 and a sign on the door saying open till 11pm we were told the dining room was closed.We had breakfast at a lovely cafe near the wharf, very friendly service. We went up the gondola and down the luge and my husband and daughter skiied The Remarkables. We didn't do any other touristy things because we simply couldn't afford it. I was astonished at the prices being asked and paid. Obviously the US dollar and Japanese Yen go much further than the poor Aussie dollar.

The position is awesome

Just came back from a skiing holiday in Queenstown, NZ. We stayed for a week at the Novotel Gardens and the location is great. Situated right on the lakefront, the hotel is not surrounded by buildings and so all hotel rooms have a great view. We went for the lake view room and were impressed. The hotel is right in the middle of town but in quiet side street so there is no noise problems. Room service and front of house is astute and prompt. Most package tours have representatives in the foyer in the morning so it's really a well rounded package. Will we stay there next year. Definitely.

Location location location

We spent 4 nights here in mid summer (february).From the Novotel Gardens you can walk in two minutes to the town, the wharf and the park.Location just could not be bettered. and some rooms have great views over the lake or the mountains. With fine weather its close to Paradise.Avoid rooms facing onto the small garden at the side.They are a bit dark with no views.Apart from this it is a solid tourist hotel full of coach parties every night. But they are always gone away on tours during the day and everything works-and if it does not,then the staff are willing to come and help.