Crowne Plaza Queenstown by IHG — Hotel in South Island

We visited Queenstown recently and spent 2 nights at the Crowne Plaza (with a 4 night gap in the middle to go and visit family). We planned to treat this as a mini-break to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and to take any possible edges off the family visit. The CP in Queenstown is an older hotel but in excellent condition. We particularly love the bathtub/shower combination - as so many hotels (including Intercontinentals - Sydney for instance) have wasted loads of money refurbishing and ripping out all their tubs (only left in suites). Save the Bathtub is my current campaign! Great location for a Queenstown visit, right on the Steamer Wharf and central to anything you may want to do - particularly Milford Sound coach trips as we saw the coaches picking up each morning for Real NZ just over the road. We were upgraded (with status) to a Lake View Room which was stunning - by day and night. We sat on our balcony and just soaked in the awe inspiring views of the Remarkables and the Lake. The bed was comfortable (yay!) and the room temperature was great. We had breakfast after our first night’s stay and it was outstanding. Famke really looked after us and the Eggs Benedict to order were excellent - as was the Barista coffee. A great value and experience and highly recommend having this hotel breakfast. Other touches? The hot chocolate set up in the lobby was a nice winter touch - we saw it years ago when skiing in Park City, Utah and it is always a popular treat. On our second night there was a pair of anniversary towel art Swans on the bed and a treat in the room - much appreciated and the Swans have made it into our ‘towel art of distinction’ album. There was a service hiccup on our first stay but it was taken care of by the Duty Manager Martin. Staff were generally and genuinely friendly and helpful, even getting us and our bags up to the room. Ornella in reservations was lovely over email and we got the chance to meet her in person - definitely lovely. Overall an excellent couple of 1 night stays and it reinforced our fondness for Crowne Plaza hotels. Things that would improve the stay - We’ve been able to chrome-cast our iPads/Netflix up onto the TV in the room at recent hotel stays (CP in Hobart, Tasmania also in Intercon. Melbourne and others, currently escaping me) - I know we should be out doing Queenstown things… but the ability to just use own Netflix and put a movie up on the TV after a big day is amazing - would be great to see this rolled out at CP Queenstown. USB charging next to the bed would also be useful. Genuinely recommend this hotel for a Queenstown stay - we were 100% ready to head to the airport for a massive day of travelling...

We visited Queenstown recently and spent 2 nights at the Crowne Plaza (with a 4 night gap in the middle to go and visit family). We planned to treat this as a mini-break to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and to take any possible edges off the family visit. The CP in Queenstown is an older hotel but in excellent condition. We particularly love the bathtub/shower combination - as so many hotels (including Intercontinentals - Sydney for instance) have wasted loads of money refurbishing and ripping out all their tubs (only left in suites). Save the Bathtub is my current campaign! Great location for a Queenstown visit, right on the Steamer Wharf and central to anything you may want to do - particularly Milford Sound coach trips as we saw the coaches picking up each morning for Real NZ just over the road. We were upgraded (with status) to a Lake View Room which was stunning - by day and night. We sat on our balcony and just soaked in the awe inspiring views of the Remarkables and the Lake. The bed was comfortable (yay!) and the room temperature was great. We had breakfast after our first night’s stay and it was outstanding. Famke really looked after us and the Eggs Benedict to order were excellent - as was the Barista coffee. A great value and experience and highly recommend having this hotel breakfast. Other touches? The hot chocolate set up in the lobby was a nice winter touch - we saw it years ago when skiing in Park City, Utah and it is always a popular treat. On our second night there was a pair of anniversary towel art Swans on the bed and a treat in the room - much appreciated and the Swans have made it into our ‘towel art of distinction’ album. There was a service hiccup on our first stay but it was taken care of by the Duty Manager Martin. Staff were generally and genuinely friendly and helpful, even getting us and our bags up to the room. Ornella in reservations was lovely over email and we got the chance to meet her in person - definitely lovely. Overall an excellent couple of 1 night stays and it reinforced our fondness for Crowne Plaza hotels. Things that would improve the stay - We’ve been able to chrome-cast our iPads/Netflix up onto the TV in the room at recent hotel stays (CP in Hobart, Tasmania also in Intercon. Melbourne and others, currently escaping me) - I know we should be out doing Queenstown things… but the ability to just use own Netflix and put a movie up on the TV after a big day is amazing - would be great to see this rolled out at CP Queenstown. USB charging next to the bed would also be useful. Genuinely recommend this hotel for a Queenstown stay - we were 100% ready to head to the airport for a massive day of travelling...

MAJOR SECURITY RISK - BEWARE! + HOSTILE STAFF

This review serves as a serious warning about both security risks and inexcusable staff behavior at this establishment. Our 5-night suite stay revealed alarming issues that potential guests must know about:

DANGEROUS SECURITY PRACTICES: Most disturbing was the front desk's INSISTENCE on viewing our credit card's CVV number - a practice that violates basic security protocols and that NO OTHER HOTEL in New Zealand required. The consequences? An attempted fraudulent transaction at 6 AM just three days after check-out. Coincidence? Even more concerning, NZ$100 disappeared from our backpack during our stay. Thank goodness we had the sense to lock our card immediately after leaving - a practice I STRONGLY recommend to anyone foolish enough to still choose this hotel.

AGGRESSIVE STAFF BEHAVIOR: One particular front desk employee (distinguished by her glasses and curly hair) displayed what can only be described as hostile behavior: Constant eye-rolling at guests Contemptuous smirks instead of professional smiles An outrageously superior attitude Deliberately condescending tone in every interaction

A particularly appalling incident occurred when we reported flies in our room: She mockingly misinterpreted "flies" as "fries" - then used this as an opportunity to belittle a guest's English Arrived at our room with an openly hostile attitude Had the audacity to blame US for the fly infestation Dismissively declared that flies were "normal" with an incredibly nasty attitude Completely ignored the fact that flies were present BEFORE we even opened any windows

ABSOLUTE DEALBREAKERS: Suspicious credit card handling that potentially compromised our financial security Staff who treat guests with open contempt Management that allows such behavior to continue Complete disregard for basic hospitality standards

STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS: AVOID sharing complete credit card details - their practices are highly suspicious Record all interactions with staff if you must stay here Better yet, choose ANY other hotel in Queenstown Report any similar experiences to hotel corporate management

This is not just poor service - it's a combination of potentially criminal negligence with credit card security and outright hostility towards paying guests. For a supposed "luxury" hotel chain, this behavior is not just unprofessional - it's shocking and potentially dangerous to your financial security.

Save yourself the trouble and money - there are numerous other hotels in Queenstown where you won't risk both your financial security and...