Outrigger At The Beacon Queenstown

We stayed here for 3 nights early Sept - Beautiful resort, very new. The location is perfect you can walk right on into the town centre whenever you like & there is plenty to do. We were on a ground floor apartment & my only complaint would have to be being able to hear people walking around in the above apartment & when you are really tired & all you want to do is sleep it is very annoying! So try to get an apartment on top level & I am sure everything would be perfect! Queenstown is a beautiful place & well & truly worth a visit.

As a bit of background, I spend about 100 nights a year in hotels, often at the Four Seasons or the Ritz-Carlton properties, so I have a reasonable database on which to base comparisons of hotels. All things considered, this property was one of the most special I've encountered. Perhaps the magic of Queenstown makes it 'more special' than it would be elsewhere, but the location is ideal; gorgeous setting across the street from the lake, in a quieter area but just a 5 - 10 minute walk along the lake to the downtown shops & restaurants. Our two bedroom suite on the 8th floor was very well designed, with two decent sized bedrooms, two nice bathrooms, a gorgeous kitchen with high-end appliances, a nice dining room, a cozy living room with a huge roaring fireplace, and an enormous balcony with simply stunning views of the lake and the snow-capped mountains. Service was very friendly and genuine, and we encountered none of the problems with housekeeping that some others mentioned earlier. The hotel is not 'full-service' in that there is not room service, a restaurant, or extensive recreational facilities, and the desk staff double as bell staff, but the desk staff are very knowledgeable and anxious to please. After bringing our 8 suitcases up to our room, and showing us around the apartment, as well as offering suggestions for excursions, the desk clerk even refused to accept a tip! We will definately try to return to Queenstown, and if/when we do, there is no question that we will book the Outrigger again.

My husband and I stayed 6 nights at this hotel in April of 2006. While the property is perfectly situated with remarkable views of The Remarkables, our room faced the back... and our view was of a bunch of houses. Not very ideal... I was picturing sitting on a balcony sipping wine while looking at the mountains.

That's not to say that we didn't enjoy our stay here, though. The hotel is a short walk (with no hills) to the center of town, and the walk alone is beautiful. You go through the park and walk all along the waters edge. It's actually quite a lovely walk. We didn't eat breakfast in the hotel and truthfully spent most of our time out and about exploring, but it was a nice place to come back to at night.

The beds were nice and the bathrooms were very modern. I'm not sure if we'd stay here again... maybe if we were traveling with more than just the two of us and it would be feasible to splurge on the larger suite with the great view. Otherwise, I might go for another location that could guarantee an excellent view no matter what size room is offered.

So, moral of the story... SPLURGE for the balcony room! (Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm in my 20's and my husband's in his early 30's).

My partner and I stayed at this hotel for one night recently and were very happy with it. We stayed in just the standard room but it was great. The bed was very comfortable and the room was warm and quiet.

The hotel staff are very friendly and the cooked breakfast the next day was also good.

The hotel itself is located right on the lake front, but how much of a view you get depends on what type of room you have. We only had a small window which looked out over a very small part of the lake and we were prevented from looking anywhere but straight out due to the other parts of the hotel blocking our view, however this isn't really a complaint as we knew it may have been like this as the hotel specifically mentions it is only a partial lake view.

You can just about walk anywhere you want to from the hotel. It is just far enough out of the city centre that it's quiet, yet close enough that it's only a 5 minute walk or thereabouts into town.

Free underground car parking as well which is also a bonus.

We will definitely stay here again but next time will probably upgrade to the bigger room which has a panoramic view of the lake and a fireplace. The room we were in is only suitable for singles or couples.

About the only gripe I can come up with is that you can't watch TV in bed! There's just the one small TV in the lounge area and the bedrom is off the lounge but you can't move the TV, otherwise that's about it.

Stayed here to celebrate my husbands 40th birthday in April 06. Apartments are amazing, real fireplaces , 2 bedrooms with ensuite facilities, fully equipped and modern self catering kitchen, comfy sofas, and views of The Remarkables from your own balcony are amazing. All apartments are privately owned and managed by the Outrigger so decor may vary but only slightly. Buffet breakfasts available. 10 minute walk to Queenstown centre along the lake, where everything you could ever want can be found, heaps of excellent restaurants and bars along with excursions. Small playground directly opposite Outrigger is good for the children and underground parking is useful. We had a fabulous time and would definately recommend to other families looking for top class accomodation in Queenstown. Mr Capper, the manager and his staff run a first class hotel.

We stayed at Outrigger in Jan 2006 and had a lovely Lake View apartment, that suited our family perfectly.

As we had rented a car we found the car parking convenient also, but as it is quite central we walked into town.

The staff we encountered were extremely friendly and helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.

Stayed at the Outrigger for 3 nights during the new year period, and I cannot agree more with the review below about the housekeeping at the hotel.

Upon returning to our hotel room on the second day of our stay, we found a plastic bag lying on our table, and it turned out to be our trash! Looks like the housekeeping person forgot to bring the bag with her! We also noticed the bed sheets as well as the hand/face/floor towels were not changed during our stay there. And the glasses and cups were never cleaned, they were just left untouched on the countertop or bedside! Their housekeeping service was just horrible.

We got a lake view hotel room, which is quite big, but the space is not utilized well at all. There's a wall and 2 doors dividing the bedroom and the somewhat "living" area. The TV is in the "living" area, but you can't see it at all from the bedroom. And they only have a one-seater leather chair facing the TV, so you can't have two people sitting comfortably together to watch TV nor pay-per-view movies. And who would sit through 2 hours of pay-per-view movie when you got no comfy seats in the room?!

As our room was on the 8th floor (the hotel is built along a slope), we were in the building that's further inland. We did get some lake view, but it's blocked by the balconies and walls of the 2/3 bdrm apartments next door. I am sure the view of those apartments will be much nicer as their balconies are pretty big.

The bedroom is fine in general, and the bathroom (shower only, no bath) looks pretty nice. However, the carpet of the room looks kinda old, and the furniture doesn't look too nice either. I think they could have done much better with the interior design of the room as the exterior of the hotel looks really nice.

There's a small fitness room on the 7th floor, as well as a breakfast lounge (not sure if breakfast is provided, doubt it though) and a laundry room (you need to get your own detergent). Saw some people using the BBQ grills on the platform level on the 5th floor, looks kinda nice. The hotel is about 5-10 minutes walk from town, which is really not that far, but sometimes after a long day, I wish the hotel would be closer. The walk is quite pleasant in the summer, but not sure about winter.

Don't expect the Outrigger to be a full service hotel as its reception closes at 9pm or 10pm. They will charge a fee for non-emergency service after those hours. Ethernet cable can be provided for connecting your laptop to the internet (not cheap though, about NZD23 for 1 day).

My family had a 5 night stay in December 2005. Spectacular location with panoramic views- easy walk into town .New property with lovely facilities,huge apartments, big and comfortable beds and a well maintained garden but housekeeping was poor. When we arrived the garbage( old and mouldy ) from the previous guest was still in the kitchen tidy.I informed reception of a few problems but in the end I felt that would just "let it go". There was incidental rubbish under the lounge chairs and beds (including an empty can of Bourbon & Coke and other things best not to mention), tea, coffee, dish washing powder, clothes washing powder etc was not replaced over the entire 5 day stay and other small things which gave you the impression that this lovely apartment was going to be allowed to become "run down".The last straw was on our final night when a group of local men rented the apartment next door in order to have a pre-wedding send off party. It was loud and the guests were "under the influence" . At 1am I complained to Reception and at 2am the Police were called. The overnight staff member at Reception did all he could- which we acknowledged - but it would have to have been one of the worst nights I have experienced in many years of travel.At my request management adjusted our final night's tariff as a good-will gesture - despite the magical and convenient location - I feel we will chose alternate accommodation next time.

I had the pleasure of staying at the Outrigger at the Beacon in April 2005 with my wife and son and it can only be described as superb. We had a two bed apartment which was tastefully decorated and equipped with luxurious fixtures and fittings. There was a large Living, dining, kitchen area, two double bedrooms and a luxurious bathroom with quality chrome and glass fittings and underfloor heating, supplied with fluffy towels. It did only have a shower though. The kitchen was fully equipped with quality appliances and there was also a TV and CD player for entertainment in the lounge area. The bedrooms were very comfortable and spacious. My son was particularly impressed with the flat screen TV angled from the ceiling in the master bedroom.

The complex is located on the lake front within easy walking distance of all the bars, restaurants and attractions of Queenstown. The complex is built in two sections, one right on the lake front all with view of the lake. The remaining apartments are built on top of the but a bit further back, we had one of these. They all have covered secure parking. Looking at the exterior it exudes quality and class.

If you want a complex with on site restaurants and bars and maybe leisure facilities then this isn't the place for you. If you want a luxurious, spacious and private home from home and you don't mind using the wide variety of Queenstown's facilities right on your doorstep then this is the place. Thoroughly recommended.

Stayed here in late August. Room 702 - 2 bedroom suite-excellent quality, very clean, good furnishings incl laundry faciities in room. Internet as elsewhere in NZ is expensive (NZ $50/3 days) but it is available and does work! Location is great for views of lake and mountains -it is about a five + minute walk from the downtown / restaurant ares. Parking is available under hotel and very convenient. Not sure of individual price as we booked as part of an overall NZ package,

Would definitiely recommend as it will meet easily a US business travelers expectation.