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We provide four luxury villa accommodation options: Each villa is 165 sq m with 2 bedrooms, a central drawing room, and private hot tub. The Villas are private and romantic and set in one of the world's most picturesque locations. A garden to plate 3 course meal prepared by our chefs is included each night and fresh breakfast provisions each day. Stargazing in our onsite wine cellar observatory is available and we offer massage, yoga, and cooking demonstrations with chef. The Retreat is spread over 66ha of rural land next to Lake Pukaki, and overlooking Aoraki Mt Cook, NZ's highest mountain. Experience the best in warm kiwi hospitality.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Qualmark.
HOTEL STYLE
Charming
Languages Spoken
English
Location
86 Mount Cook Rd Lake Pukaki, Pukaki 7944 New Zealand
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We didn't know a thing about Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat. We were just looking for a place to stay in the area on our way from Christchurch to Queenstown and luckly found that they had a few nights available that met our travel dates. Arrived to find a privately situated lodge with a wonderful bottle of wine and snack on the kitchen table in the homiest of living rooms. The living room overlooked the deck (and Jacuzzi) onto open fields with sheep and dear meandering about. In the backdrop was a beautiful mountain range. The bedroom and bathroom were to die for. Floor to ceiling windows in the bathroom to a private view of mountains and fields. The bedroom was expansive with windows and light galore. The food was gourmet and individually prepared to meet our dietary needs by the property's own chef. We opted to have dinner brought to our lodge. Breakfast was placed in the refrigerator the night before for us to eat at our leisure in the morning. Spectacular farm to table fare with incredible plating and presentation. The staff were warm and gracious and made every effort to inquire about our stay to make sure all our needs were met. We would HIGHLY recommend a stay and will be back if we return to New Zealand. You would be missing something really special if you are in the area and don't drop in for a night or two or three. No hesitation to recommend this to anyone.
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Date of stay: December 2022
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 Kaye and Luke Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 12 Jan 2023
This is a superb review, thank you! You have described the experience of staying at the Retreat so well. We aim to create a destination luxury experience that is more than a room. The team loved meeting you and hope to see you again on your next visit to NZ. Nga mihi, thank you Kaye, Luke and the team.
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From the friendly personal attention to the taste of the pure water to the star gazing it was all beyond our expectations. Having a chef deliver cuisine to our dining room while the fire crackled was a treat. Not that underfloor heating did not already have us feeling cosy. So much to see and do and absorb that three days were not enough. Hope to come again soon.
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Date of stay: August 2020
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 18 Nov 2020
Thank you for this lovely review. We loved having you to stay and experience the warmth of the villa, pure water, stargazing and chef's cuisine. The Retreat is a unique destination with so many onsite and local activities. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Nga Mihi, Kaye, Luke and the team.
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The location of the villa overlooking the lake is stunning - you see no people or boats and barely a ripple in the water. The villa is spacious, well appointed and homely. They offer you an in room dining option which falls short because the food is delivered warm with no choice. On the two nights we ate in the Lodge the food was superior ; particularly on the night when the chef served a degustation menu which was world class quality. Breakfast is only served in the villa with few choices. There are walking trails for hikers and Twizel and Mount Cook Village are within easy reach.
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Date of stay: March 2024
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.
Treat yourself to two nights in this fabulous retreat overlooking the beautiful azure waters of Lake Pukaki. We stayed in the Moraine Villas overlooking the tawny landscape of the Mackenzie country and beyond to the Ben Ohau Range. We were met by lodge manager Anna and shown to our villa to unwind and relax. It was so spacious with a stunning one way window from the shower looking out to the countryside. And even better, there's a delicious spa pool filled with artesian water, and just the most relaxing place to dip into, maybe with a glass of bubbles which, by the way, is complimentary. So much is included from the nibbles platter, the bubbly, a 2 course dinner and breakfast provisions. A decanter of scotch and gin. .....everything is here. You can trek over the property to the tennis court and view beautiful Lake Pukaki and beyond to Aoraki Mt Cook. If you want this view next time you stay then choose the Ashley Mackenzie Villa. We plan to go back soo to relax and rejuvenate as the Ashley Mackenzie Villa comes with its own private sauna, massage room, small gym and a fabulous wooden hot tub overlooking the lake. And then there is the star gazing. This retreat has its own private observatory - we booked for a stargazing experience and were wowed at the stunning galaxies. You're right in the heart of the Aoraki International Dark Skies reserve here. No light pollution
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Date of stay: May 2021
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 30 May 2021
Wow, thank you for your review Susan, we loved that you explored the Retreat and experienced the stargazing in the observatory. We aim to pamper guests during their stay and make their stay relaxing, private and rejuvenating. We are so pleased that you experienced the Retreat in this way. We are looking forward to having you return. Thank you, nga mihi Kaye, Luke, Anna and the team.
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From the moment we arrived we felt so welcome, and knew we were in for a special experience. We weren't disappointed. The accommodation is so comfortable and beautiful, the setting and views are superb, even on an overcast day, and then there was the most amazing food delivered to our villa each day. Every one of the staff were so friendly and accommodating. It was all so good we booked an additional night! We really enjoyed the outdoor hot tub on the cold nights, gazing up at an incredible starry sky, and also loved taking the owners 2 Springer Spaniels for a walk on the numerous tracks. All in all, just perfect really, we couldn't fault it, and will be back for sure! This place is a credit to the NZ travel industry.
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Date of stay: June 2020
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 18 Nov 2020
An amazing review thank you. We really enjoyed meeting you and making sure your stay was a unique luxury experience. Max and Meg (the springer spaniels) loved their walks!! We think they have the most glorious life living here and meeting so many wonderful guests. We are looking forward to welcoming you back. Nga Mihi, Kaye, Luke and the team
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we spent 2 unbelievable tortuous nights at this so called retreat. i unfortunately made my reservation based on the website. i should know better than to judge "a book by it's cover" we arrived with a supposed lakeside booking. told the lakeside villa was booked. come to find out there are one 3 villas on the property. bad start. then come to find out the meals included were brought to our room and left for us to eat. what a shock. no reception area, no dining area. and worst of all, no tv in the room. the measly breakfast was also left in the refrigerator. we were left alone with no phone in our room. the website claims there is a work out area, but come to find out only the lakeside suite has access to the work out space. one feature on the website that caught my eye was the stargazing in the wine cellar activity. we paid extra for this and come to find out it's in the owner's back yard. the wine cellar is a creepy little space in his basement. we were offered a sip of whiskey and a look through a binocular. don't be fooled. the owner is a creepy man who entered our unit without asking. he had an answer for all our complaints, but i felt duped. worst of all, we were over charged hundreds of dollars from what was quoted on his website. we were retunded a month later after our travel agent went after him. i caution anybody considering booking here to look elsewhere. contact me if you need more reasons to avoid this place.
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Date of stay: December 2019
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 Kaye_Luke, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 24 Jan 2020
We do appreciate all feed back we get and especially with criticism we take time to look at what we can do better. For TripAdvisor readers, we felt it important to identify a number of inaccuracies in your feedback. Firstly, Pukaki Observatory and wine cellar experience is not in the basement of our house. It is a purpose build venue located away from any building and right beside our organic vegetable garden. The Observatory has a 6” refractor telescope mounted on a state of the art mount allowing us to view and photograph night sky objects such as planets, star clusters and nebula. We are unsure of where you used binoculars. We consistently get excellent feedback on our garden to plate cuisine prepared by Tom, our head chef, and his team. We love going out of our way to cater for all our guest needs and this was the case for you and your husband. We even managed to provide one of your favourite foods, popcorn. We encourage our guests to relax and enjoy private dining in their villa or to join Luke and I and other guests at a hosted dinner. Hosted dinners are regular events at Moraine Lodge Great Hall. You and your husband joined us for one of these nights during your two night stay and appeared to enjoy the company of other guest and ourselves. Re your villa. Looking back at the correspondence with the agent who booked your stay with us, the Ashley Mackenzie Villa (which has lake and mountain views) was put on hold by your agent and later released. When your agent came to book this villa later in the year, the Ashley Mackenzie Villa was not available so they booked one of our Moraine Villas. The Moraine Villas have lovely views of the Ben Ohau Mountain Range with stunning sunsets and an outdoor hot tub. On reading the itinerary provided by your agent we noted that they had not updated the villa information, so understandably on your arrival you were expecting lake views and we know this was a disappointment for you both. We wanted to give you something to acknowledge the agent's mistake and provided the stargazing wine cell experience free of charge. The Ashley Mackenzie Villa does have the Fantail Spa attached for private use by guests at this villa. However, the Moraine Villas do have their own outdoor artesian fresh water hot tubs as well as in-room massage and wellness therapy options. Soon after your arrival, you contacted us and requested to meet at your villa about the price that you had been charged for accommodation. You had been charged much more that what our website was quoting. You are correct in stating that you were overcharged, but this charge was made by the agent who made your booking with us, and not by the Retreat. We spent a lot of time explaining this to you, to the point where we needed to show you the paperwork relating to the price we charged the agent which was the website price. So we do take a little offence at you saying, incorrectly, that it was the Retreat that was charging you 100's more when the price you were charged was between you and your agent. We can understand your frustration at receiving the wrong information from your agent and the disappointment you experienced when you arrived. This certainly effected your feeling about the Retreat during your stay with us. We did our utmost to accommodate your needs while you were here, and, please note, we always entered your villa by invitation. Nga Mihi, best regards Kaye and Luke Owners, Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat NOTE: This review is not related to this TripAdvisor Listing
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Wow, mt cook lakeside retreat exceeded our expectations. What a special place this is, from the down to earth warm friendly owners to the meals cooked from scratch and delivered to our villa by the chef, everything was perfect! We enjoyed 2 amazing nights in the ashley mackenzie villa, it is so nice and cozy with underfloor heating. The open fireplace is so welcoming and lovely to spend evenings in front of playing a selection of boardgames. We absolutely LOVED the hot tub under the stars.. it really was special. The detail that was put into our stay was so lovely and something we will remember. Thankyou so much for having us and we would love to return one day. If you are looking for somewhere special, this is it!
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Date of stay: August 2020
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 9 Dec 2020
Thank you for your superb review, we appreciate you taking time to do this. We agree the outdoor hot tubs are an amazing place to view the stars. As we are in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky reserve, there is no light pollution which means we have the most incredible starry night skies. We loved having you to stay and hope you can make it back to see us again. Nga Mihi, Kaye and Luke and the team
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We had the most wonderful 2 night stay in the Ashley & Mackenzie villa, well worth upgrading to this Villa, which includes an awesome hot tub with views out over lake Pukaki and beyond to Mt Cook. Felt like we were the only people on earth .
The service was friendly and very thoughtful. Food was outstanding. The owners have clearly put a lot of time and effort in developing this into very special place. Definitely planning on returning again one day
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Date of stay: April 2021
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 22 Apr 2021
We loved sharing this piece of kiwi heaven with you Simon, thank you for such a wonderful review. We agree, the private location of Ashley Mackenzie Villa overlooking Lake Pukaki creates the feeling of being the only people on earth. We look forward to your return, thank you for staying! Kaye and Luke
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We stayed in a villa and our stay included an in-room massage and private yoga class. Anna also helped us arrange additional activities outside of the facility, which were incredibly memorable.
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Date of stay: August 2020
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 8 Dec 2020
Thank you for taking time to review your stay with us. Anna is a gem, and has so many experiences and activities at her fingertips, we are so pleased that you enjoyed the activities she arranged for you. Thanks for coming, Nga Mihi Kaye and Luke adn the team
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Here is everything what you need for a luxury perfekt stay, we really enjoyed our stay and the fantastic food. My husband and I stay in the Matariki itself was very beautifully designed and finished and a lot of space. We loved the wonderful view over the mountain from the bathroom. Kaye and Luke are wonderful hosts.
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Date of stay: March 2020
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 Kaye Paardekooper, Owner at Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat
Responded 18 Nov 2020
Thank you, we are pleased that you enjoyed your time here relaxing in the Matariki Villa. The Villa overlooks the Ben Ohau ranges which are often snow capped and throw all kinds of colours and shaddows. We look forward to welcoming you back if you are passing this way again. Nga Mihi, Kaye and Luke
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There are more places to choose from in the Pukaki area.
PRICE RANGE
$1,355 - $2,611 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, High Country Estate and Luxury Villa Collection
LOCATION
New ZealandSouth IslandCanterbury RegionMackenzie DistrictPukaki
NUMBER OF ROOMS
4
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.
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