Payments made by partners impact the order of prices displayed. Room types may vary.
The listings of booking offers for each property take into account the compensation paid to us by our partners. Prices shown may be for varying room types. Prices displayed are the lowest available, corresponding to the least expensive room type available, as provided from our partners as of the time of the user’s search.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Business
Centrally Located
Languages Spoken
English
Location
18 Lake Esplanade, Queenstown 9300 New Zealand
Lakefront Apartments & Lodges
151 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
As some of the previous reviews have stated, the location is ace and you cannot fault it. It’s easy walking distance into town and they offer free undercover parking which is a bonus. The views are spectacular. However we were very disappointed upon arrival as the photos when we booked were not as they were online. Terrace was ALOT smaller than it showed online. The apartment was run down and needed work - a paint, update of furniture and some general TLC. Our couch was sagging, there was a dripping outside my room which kept me awake for hours in one of the pipes which sounded like someone bouncing a basketball (not exaggerating I took a video and showed reception), cleanliness was okay but there was nothing wow about staying here. An extra couple of power points wouldn’t go amiss, making sure all blinds go up and down but the second room felt a bit “dungeon like” to be honest. Bathroom was good, property was small. The reception area is also run down, which I think then shows throughout the entire property. To finish, advertising this as luxury accommodation is an outright lie as there is nothing luxurious about these apartments, it’s an average 3 - 3.5 star establishment at best.
Read more
Date of stay: April 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Ask for the room as photographed online as whatever we got was certainly not shown online!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
These apartments are in a fabulous location and great views of the lakes. Sadly they feel completely neglected and in need of major repair. Part of the wall was falling in in one bedroom, the wall paper is torn in lots of places, marks on the walls, very poorly furnished with old dated furniture and the deck was filthy with two old (also dirty) deck chairs. The amazing view was ruined by dirty windows. For $300/ night its not good enough and a bit of a disgrace as a representation of NZ accomodation. Staff were nice enough although they sent us to the wrong room, they did allow us to park there until midday on our check out day which was lovely.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from VRGroup, Reception at Lakefront Apartments & Lodges
Responded 26 Feb 2020
Hi Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review we are glad you made the most of our location and amazing views. Apologies for the cleanliness of the room we pride ourselves on our cleaning but we will be sure to investigate so it doesn't happen again. We are also currently renovating the Apartments, hope to welcome you back when these are complete so we can give you a better experience. Warm Regards Michael
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Really disappointed as the website photos are completely misleading to what this place is really like. Couldn’t fault the people that work there and how accomodating they are but the comfort of the place for the price is a bit of a joke. The beds are almost unbearable to sleep in with how uncomfortable they are, the pillows have nothing in them and it’s just a cramped apartment. Bathroom was nice. Parking was a nightmare. Very limited spaces so more often than not, had to park on the street. This place has so much potential, it just needs some money to be spent on it to get it up to speed. There are much cheaper and nicer places to stay in Queenstown. Location was 10/10 though.
Read more
Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This place is absolutely horrible. The apartment is old and the furniture worn and partially broken. Worst part was the lack of cleaning. Kitchen table top was dirty in several places and none of the floors without carpet had been washed, or even just vacuumed for a long time. There were even dirty wineglasses in the kitchen cupboards, some of which were also very dirty. Won’t even mention the fridge and freezer. Remote to the tv didn’t work, not the same brand. We contacted the reception they promised someone would give the apartment a proper clean the next day. After a day of skiing we returned the next day to find the place exactly as we left it. Talked to the reception again, and managed to get a new remote, and another promise that they would clean it the next day. Next day we return and the cleaners are still in the room, with a vacuum cleaner. But it was immediately clear they only vacuumed the carpets. Kitchen table top and tiled floors were still as dirty as when we arrived. I asked the cleaner if he vacuumed the bathroom floor and he admitted he didn’t. No answer to why not, he then came back with a spray bottle and a piece of cloth to clean the areas missed. Even asked me to let me know If I wanted more cleaning. I would never expect to have to tell a professional cleaner how to clean a room, but when talking to the reception again later in the week, when service hadn’t been done at 4pm, they also asked what I needed cleaned. Seems to me there is a reluctance to pay for proper cleaning, and just trying to get away with how it looks. At the price that is simply just horrible. Just stayed in another VR hotels owned hotel in Auckland CBD, which was also worn and not really nice, but they cleaned the place and it was half the price of Lakefront Apartments. I would never recommend anyone to stay at this place - we stayed in apartment 14 - another review also had a bad experience with this apartment, unfortunately we saw that review too late.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Just avoid this place
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I'll start with the pros: The apartments are in an excellent location on the waterfront with a fantastic view from the top floor. We were happy to receive clean towels each day.
Now on to the cons: The place seemed dirty and extremely tired. The curtains, carpet and couches were filthy and broken. Under the door stoppers was a build up of dust. The stairs were creaking and we could feel movement in some of the top steps. Some of the crockery had not been washed properly. In the bathroom, the shower head would not remain at the top of the slider which required pushing up every minute. The upstairs toilet window handle was broken off so would not shut. A CRT TV that came out of the arc was being stored in the main bedroom downstairs, potentially working but we didn't want to try (it's from the previous millennium). Duvet cover designs were very dated and one of the spare blankets supplied was dirty. The coffee table upstairs was delaminating and heavily scratched with chips out of it. Most of the photos show the apartments in the front row of the complex which are much neater and recently renovated compared to the apartment we stayed in. For the record, we stayed in apartment 14, which is necessary to mentions as each apartment seems to be done up differently. Parking was very tight, and one night we didn't manage to find a park in the assigned spaces. Honestly, we could go on, but hopefully someone reading this will see our point.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2021
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I don’t even know where to start… Our apartment was not cleaned when we arrived. Talking to the reception did not help. There were stains on kitchen tops (easily removable with a cloth), dirty glasses, hair and dirt on the bathroom floor when we arrived. After complaining they vacuumed the floors with carpets but not the bathroom and changed the beds. I also found the fire alarm/smoke detector in one of the drawers with an empty battery in it.
VR Group seems to avoid costs by not cleaning their hotels. Hotels.com write that the hotel disinfects the rooms between customers. Well, they did not even use water in ours. The group knows about the state of the cleaning but does absolutely the minimum.
Disgusting.
I will never book another night at any of VR Group’s hotels.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Find another (any) place
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We secured a 3 bedroom apartment through booking.com for our family trip, at Lakefront Apartments, Queenstown, 7-8 months prior to our planned trip. However, just 2 weeks before our trip, booking.com informed us that Lakefront Apartments have cancelled our accommodation, stating they could no longer accommodate us. We managed to find alternate accommodation for the 8 nights, at a significantly higher price, in order to keep the sight-seeing activities and flights already booked.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have stayed here a few times before, most recently in 2019. Over those 5 years, the price has increased by 50%, almost 10% per year. By comparison, other places we had stayed at in 2019 had increased their rates by between 4 and 20%. On top of the exorbitant price, they added a 2.5% credit card surcharge (the only place where we stayed that applied any surcharge) and converted our Aussie dollars at NZ$1.00 when the going rate was $1.09. These latter two charges added a further $80 to the already excessive price. There were next to no toiletries, not even a box of tissues and minimal tea, coffee etc. I would also endorse other travellers' comments regarding the tired look and dated furniture. This is a 2 star accommodation in a 5 star location and didn't compare with any of the other places we stayed, despite being by far the most expensive.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ONE OF THE WORST HOTELS IN QUEENSTOWN This hotel is a one star rather than four star hotel. When you arrive at the hotel, there is no signage for the reception. I have to ask a guest on their balcony about the reception. It is in the next building. Once we parked our car in narrow parking space, we found the lift in debilitating state, dirty and awful carpet. There is no pedestrian path to leave the apartment as you have to come in the way on incoming cars.
The room which we were given was no way compareble to the photos on their website. Photos on the website looked from a different hotel. Interiors looked like 100 years old. The furnishing were cheap and poor in taste. The linen seemed to be bought from a dollar shop. Kitchen had a gas stove which seemed from Jurassic park with one knob broken. Rangehood did not work at all. Dishes were left in the dishwasher by cleaners. Cleaners left the toilet roll on the basin for us to put on toilet holder. Carpet outside the toilet was drenched with water. One of the toilet did not have exhaust. The only good thing was the view from the first floor but you cannot go in the balcony as there was water logging on the balcony floor. Downstairs did not have a view a all. This is a dodgy hotel and a run down place. Never booking again!
Read more
Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were a party of 4 who had booked Lakefront Apartments and Lodges at least 8 months in advance of our stay. We were travelling 6 hours to get to the accommodation and 24 hours before we were to stay they cancelled! It was a extremely busy weekend for Queenstown as the Gibbston Valley concert was on, so not only was alternate accommodation booked up when we did manage to find somewhere it was very expensive and not ideal as we had to take 2 separate places. We went to Lakefront Apartments during the weekend to find them still open and the manager used the excuse that due to the apartments being privately owned there was nothing he could do, he couldn't even tell us why it was cancelled. The gardens and outdoor spaces we saw looked old and rundown with more weeds than garden in some places. So disappointing and very stressful trying to find alternative accommodation at such late notice.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Queenstown area.
PRICE RANGE
$413 - $597 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
lakefront apartments hotel queenstown
LOCATION
New ZealandSouth IslandOtago RegionQueenstown
NUMBER OF ROOMS
15
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
