Blanket Bay

Blanket Bay Lodge is one of the world's best! This was a truly remarkable stay in a breathtakingly beautiful part of the world. Firstly, the suites/lodges are so wonderfully designed and incredibly welcoming and comforting. The sofa's are designed to just sink into them and everything in the room worked like clockwork. You feel like you are coming home every time you walk back in, so beautiful and charming, like a real log cabin, but just so much better! The entire lodge is designed to blend in with the surroundings whilst still having this incredible charm from its American design. The polished wooden floors, incredible wooden beams and soaring ceilings are just amazing and with the real log fires going all day, it is sometimes very difficult to leave the lodge! The food is honestly the best we have ever had in New Zealand. Every meal, particularly dinner was just amazing - my husband and I ran out of superlatives to describe the quality of the chefs food and we would go back, just for that! Breakfast was equally as wonderful and nothing was too much of a problem. The wine was also incredible with an array of (obviously) amazing New Zealand wines but also some very beautiful French burgundies. Sebastien, who heads up Food and Beverage was an absolute joy and he and my husband had much fun discussing NZ vs French reds! We also did two amazing experiences from Blanket Bay Lodge - the extended Milford Sound helicopter and the Dart River jet boat. Both were out of this world and we would highly recommend both, particularly the helicopter experience. Bing able to land on a glacier is a once in a lifetime experience, never to be forgotten. What really sets Blanket Bay Lodge apart is the staff - Marcus, on front of house was charming and was on hand to help at any time. More huge thank you's to Sebastien, Skye, Hannah, Nicole, Damien and all others who helped make this trip so unforgettable. The team are absolutely first class and we are already looking forward to our return visit. Having stayed earlier this year at Rosewood Matakauri, I would strongly recommend a visit to Blanket Bay Lodge instead where every aspect of the stay from the rooms and the food through to the staff is just so much better at Blanket Bay Lodge!

We stayed at Blanket Bay Lodge with high expectations due to its reputation and price point, but unfortunately our experience fell short. During our stay, we interacted with a staff member named Tom Butler. Several interactions were difficult and left us feeling uncomfortable due to the tone and handling of certain situations. Specific requests were not handled in a way we expected for a property of this standard. Overall, we felt that the service was inconsistent and did not match the level of hospitality we were anticipating. While the location and surroundings are beautiful, the guest experience did not reflect the premium positioning of the lodge. We hope management reviews internal communication and guest service standards to ensure a more consistent experience in the future.

Extremely disappointing experience due to unprofessional staff

We spent five glorious nights at Blanket Bay our first stop in our tour of New Zealand and what a way to begin. The drive from Queenstown airport is nothing short of spectacular and a fabulous introduction to New Zealand. What we loved.. 1. The location of the property is not to be believed, glorious views from everywhere. 2. We stayed in one of the villas and it exuded comfort and luxurious style. The nighttime sky was nothing sort of spectacular with amazing views of the Milky Way. 3. Its location close to Glenorchy , The Route burn Hikes and Milford Sound make it an ideal spot for touring. You must visit all three places and make sure to take a helicopter ride to Milford sound. 4. In Glenorchy stop at Mrs. Woolsey for lunch , Noble and Childs Merino sweaters( the softest and best quality )and make sure to go to the fresh fruit ice cream store afterwards.. 5 . The staff at the lodge is warm and welcoming under Andrew’s leadership 6. We especially enjoyed the daily cocktail hour a great opportunity to meet other guests. 7. Was very nice to have a breakfast buffet which supplemented delicious hot meals from the menu. Dinner was fantastic.

… wow what can we say … from the moment we arrived we were looked after, welcomed by the entire team upon arrival, welcome champagne we were took to our room which was amazing like an old epic ski lodge, everything and I mean everything was taken care of the entire experience from the restaurant which tbh is Michelin level easily to the games room to being toured around Queenstown and shown the sights .. if only the rest of Queenstown provided service to this level… we can’t even begin to fully describe the hospitality we received… Thank you team, much love and respect..