Room check: Staying at the Heartlands Hotel Queenstown

Heartland Hotel, Queenstown. Photo / Supplied

Tess Nichol checks into the Heartlands Hotel Queenstown.

Location: 27 Stanley St, Queenstown

Check in experience: Unremarkable in a good way. I turned up pretty late, a lovely South American woman ran me through the amenities and took my credit card details and I was in my room getting ready for bed a pleasingly short time later.

What's in the neighbourhood: Everything, but most importantly Lake Wakatipu, which is visible from my bedroom window. All of central Queenstown is a short 10 minute walk away (less if you have sensible shoes on).

My room: The rooms are funny wee sloping units with triangular roofs. It's charming apart from the two times I whacked my head on a sloping beam in the bathroom because I wasn't paying attention.

The Heartland straddles motel and hotel, with the little units lacking the luxe of a hotel.

Having said that they're clean, they're cosy, they're near the city: they're a nice place to stay. They're also extremely warm. I don't know if it's the sloping roof but heat seems to get trapped in the room all day long making for a toasty homecoming when the weather turns chilly by the lake.

The bed: Clean, comfy, again unremarkable.

Bathroom: Small, utilitarian with a tiny bench space by the sink. The shower pressure left a lot to be desired and I never quite managed to make it hot enough.

Free Wi-Fi? Yes.

Noise: I was woken in the middle of the night on my first night by someone watching TV in the room next door to me. Not exactly soundproof and therefore maybe not a good destination for honeymooning couples.

However the area is generally quiet apart from noise coming from the main road running by the hotel.

Food: I had three breakfasts here, two full buffet and one continental. The bacon was particularly tasty and I appreciated the option of a poached egg along with the usual buffet fare of scrambled. Another nice addition was a hotplate full of chopped potato, fried onion and capsicum.

Would I return? Yes, but not if I wanted a full luxury Queenstown experience.

Contact: scenichotelgroup.co.nz/locations/new-zealand/queenstown/heartland-hotel-queenstown