I have stayed at this hotel in Queenstown several times, always going back because of its excellent location, on the lake front and very close to the centre of the town. This time around I booked the $100NZ room on the website and consider it to be a very good deal. The hotel has been recently upgraded and is now modern and comfortable although obviously not luxurious. The public areas are spacious and the bar and restaurant pleasant. There is a good information desk and helpful staff. Valet parking is provided but there is ample car parking around and I would not bother with the valet parking during weekends. Queenstown is very tourist oriented and everything is very easy to reach from the Novotel. Many cafes, bars and restaurants are only a couple of minutes walk away.

Novotel is a great base for exploring Queenstown! Checking in and checking out is very quick and the hotel staffs are very helpful. It is very close to the Mall and other shopping area but still quite at night. The room is very functional, clean and comfortable. Love the big sofa/daybed. It is not huge but you are not really in Queenstown to sit in a hotel room. The hotel does have a lovely lake view. But most room will still be looking to the street side or the inside garden. Again, if you really want a lake view room, book a lake view room! There is also coin laundry facility on site, which is useful. The hotel’s own website offers some really great rates; it is definitely a good value for the money!

This hotel is being run by what seems to be amateurs pretending to be in business. Noone knows anything, no concierge, no service. Rooms were also horrible, we had one in which the shower was not enclosed, the water was not draining at all. We called them to clean the mess but they did not bother. We got moved to a different room only to be miserably hot. We were then told that only the 4th floor was air-conditioned and we were on the second floor. And to top it all of, the rooms and lobby are not pleasant, friendly or inviting. We would never consider this hotel as an option. CG, San Mateo, CA

Nice hotel right next to the shopping district and lake. Most of the rooms do not have a view of the lake, and I'm sure the hotel is less expensive because of this. No frills stay. Breakfast buffet (included) was about average.

Its all about perception!!! We have been to Queenstown probably 6 times over the years and this is the 3rd time we have stayed at the Novotel Gardens. The refurbishment is very nice and we enjoyed our stay as we expected we would. We did get a lakeview room on the second floor but the lake view was through the trees and possibly a higher floor would have been a better view but as we weren't in our room alot during our stay it didnt matter but we probably would not pay extra for the view next time. That said the room was spacious with a chaise to lounge on instead of just either a chair or the bed...nice touch and great to read a book on. The bathroom was clean and we had little to complain about during our stay. We did spend some time in the bar area whilst waiting for our shuttle back to the airport and we did enjoy the nice fire and we had a relaxing time reading our books and the view through the gardens..... Nice place to stay and excellent location close to town.