Amity Queenstown Serviced Apartments — Hotel in South Island

Disappointing Stay - Avoid This Accommodation!!!

We stayed in a 2-bedroom apartment on the 3rd -4th Jan 2025 that costs $430 a night, expecting a clean and comfortable experience. Unfortunately, it was anything but that.

• Unfinished Window: One window was covered with papers taped around it, making it unpleasant from both the outside and inside.

• Dirty Bedding: Three pillowcases had stains and hair, a sheet had black marks, and the queen bed duvet had a hole with no cover. Despite raising this with staff, they provided "clean" pillowcases that also had stains and ignored the black marks on the sheet. We were told to sleep in the single bed instead.

• Faulty Lighting: The main bedroom had one light that didn’t work and another flickering non-stop.

• Rusty Shower: The shower had visible rust, adding to the unhygienic feel.

• Stained Cups: The cups provided were heavily stained and unusable.

• False Advertising: The apartment did not match the photos listed on Booking.com. The staff also agreed that I didn't match what is advertised when I said the room look nothing to what I've seen online.

• Unexpected Charges: They charged us a $31.25 credit card fee on top of the $430 without prior notice, making the total $461.25.

We traveled with an infant, so we specifically looked for clean, high-standard accommodation. After a long drive, it was incredibly disappointing to arrive at a place that didn’t even meet basic standards.

We raised these issues immediately. While the staff came quickly, they didn’t resolve anything. They didn’t change the stained sheet or address the duvet hole. The unfinished window was dismissed as “meant to be done today.” We were not offered another room, the staff only say she will talk the owner and maybe sort out a refund. That's what we agreed to.

The next morning, the staff informed us there would be no refund. Instead, we were offered a bottle of Lindauer wine and a small box of chocolate fish—items that didn’t even cover the credit card fee they charged. After contacting the owner via email, it took a week to hear back. The owner, Oniel, refused to provide a refund, offering a "free stay" instead. When we declined, he ignored most of our concerns and blamed us, claiming we should have asked to make the stay pleasant—even though we raised every issue immediately.

We arrived at about 6PM, tired and without time or energy to search for alternative accommodation during a busy period. For the amount we paid, we expected much more.

This experience was frustrating, and the owner showed no accountability or respect for customers. I rarely write reviews, but I felt compelled to warn others.

I contacted the owner to try and sort this out as I thought maybe it's just our room that might be dirty. However, I later look at the Google review (which is different to the Booking.com review) and I see other people had experienced the same thing

Save your money—this place doesn’t even meet hostel standards. You’ll find better service and cleanliness elsewhere.

We had to rush out to dinner so I didn't have the time to take photos of all the issues. I wish I did. I trusted that they will sort out a refund in the morning. I highly recommend to take as many photos of the issues if you going through the same...

The only thing going for this place is the location. The pictures on the website totally misrepresented the room. It was not clean, and the decor was dated. There were kids stickers stuck on the coffee table. The wardrobe in one room had no handles, and a hole kicked in the back of it. There was half a cigar in the ashtray outside the unit. The curtains were missing hooks, so hanging down off the windows. The extractor fan in the bathroom was fitted poorly to the wall, it was coming away from the wall. There was no shampoo or conditioner in the bathroom. The toilet had no buttons on it for the flush, just the lever under where the buttons should be. The unit was tiny for 4 of us. The couch had a couch cover on it, made me wonder what the state of it was underneath (I did not want to look). They lost my booking through booking.com, and then tried to tell me they had no rooms left as I had only just booked (I had in fact booked 7 months prior). I tried to discuss all of this with them on checkout, but although standing in reception for 3-4 minutes and ringing the bell, no one came to see me. So I just left. Normally I would give them the feedback in advance, but as they werent there to talk to, I'm leaving a review. This was completely overpriced for what it was, and the pictures did NOT resemble the...

We stayed two nights in Queenstown during our road trip in New Zealand. As hotels in this touristic place are quite pricey, we decided to book Amity Lodge for two nights to stay within our budget. I have to say it was a very good decision. Best value for money so far on our trip! The rooms are very spacious, well maintained and clean. As we arrived, the owner welcomed us warmly and gave us a short introduction to the appartment room with kitchen and living room. Before that he handed out a map and explained the must sees and the directions to the town centre. Overhelmed of this welcome and the long drive from Christchurch, we parked our car in front of our room (so comfortable), had a rest and walked down later to the crowdy city centre (5min walk).

The only negative point could think about is that there is no breakfast available. But for people like us who enjoy the local breakfast much more than the standard-hotel-continental-breakfast-help-yourself-menus...this is perfect! :-) Not to mention there is a kitchen in your room to prepare your own breakfast.

CONCLUSION: I will definetely stay again with Amity Lodge when I am back in Queenstown. Thank you very much Amity Lodge team for making our days in Queenstown so relaxing...