Hotels & accommodation

Eichardt's Private Hotel

Historic lakefront hotel on Marine Parade in central Queenstown, in a building dating to the 1860s gold-rush era

Eichardt's stands on Marine Parade at 2 Marine Parade, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu in the middle of Queenstown. The building began as a homestead in 1859 and became a hotel during the Central Otago gold rush of the 1860s; Eichardt's Bar has traded on the site since 1867. Today it is one of New Zealand's best-known small luxury hotels, facing the lake and The Remarkables with the town's café and restaurant precinct at its door.

The historic building holds a small collection of suites — Lake View and Mountain View suites and Heritage suites — designed by New Zealand designer Virginia Fisher, mixing contemporary fittings with antiques and lake or mountain outlooks. Beyond the main house, the collection adds split-level Lakefront Apartments a few metres away, a three-bedroom self-contained Residence a short walk from the hotel, and a Penthouse on top of the main building overlooking the lake.

The hotel's parlour, overlooking Lake Wakatipu, is where breakfast is served, and Eichardt's Bar — with its fireplace, sofas and cocktail service — is a Queenstown institution in its own right, open daily from early morning until late. The Well Spa provides treatment rooms for guests, and the concierge team arranges the region's signature outings, from lake cruises to Gibbston Valley winery visits and trips toward Milford Sound.

As a scouting base, Eichardt's puts the whole of central Queenstown on foot: the lakefront, the botanic gardens, the gondola base and the town's main shopping streets are all within a few minutes' walk, while Frankton — the suburb where many new residents settle, with Queenstown Airport and the Remarkables Park shopping centre — is a short drive or bus ride around the lake shore.

• At 2 Marine Parade, Queenstown, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu
• Building began as an 1859 homestead and became a hotel in the 1860s gold-rush era; Eichardt's Bar dates to 1867
• Suites in the historic house, plus Lakefront Apartments, a three-bedroom Residence and a rooftop Penthouse
• Interiors by New Zealand designer Virginia Fisher
• Hotel parlour for breakfast, Eichardt's Bar, and The Well Spa on site

Visit the property — Eichardt's eichardts.com

This featured showcase is an editorial selection by our editors. We have not stayed at this property and it is not a paid placement; no rating is implied. Paid placements never influence the New Zealand liveability score, safety rating or warnings.