Let us begin at the end: If you go to New Zealand, and you can stay at Blanket Bay, you must stay at Blanket Bay. There is nothing — lodge, resort, boutique, hotel — quite like it.
It begins with an email. After our two-night stay, Tom Butler, the General Manager of Blanket Bay alpine lodge and resort, sent a personalized email after our two-night stay, it was polite, mentioned a few personal details about our stay to show it was not “canned”, and asked what he and they could do better.
We turned to each other and sat in silence for several minutes. The simple fact was, there was nothing the place and people could have done better. Not one single item, detail, nuance, nothing. It was perfect in every way. Try this detail: they knew we were catching a private car to the airport at 4:30 a.m., and what does a smiling Emil show up with at 4? Two takeaway cups of coffee.
The estate, the room, the food, the people, were all part of the well-ordered chessboard of Blanket Bay; the main lodge and satellite lodge homes resting in perfect position between two mountain ranges — specifically all views aiming across the glacier-carved Lake Wakatipu , the largest lake in New Zealand,which rises quickly to the mighty Southern Alps.
For comparison and context, Treehouse Lodge & Estates on the North Island was incredibly nature-worshiping. Blanket Bay lodge was different; as a lodge, it was designed where Humans come first, yet every detail is meant to convey the power and beauty of nature. The number of people they can can cater to is 40 or so.
As with the best lodging experiences, what makes it superior is consistency —- from the moment you arrive to the moment you depart.
As we had experienced in other lodges in New Zealand, we didn’t check in; we were met with a member of the staff and immediately given a condensed tour of the lodge and the main lodge room. The blue stone schist might normally have seemed stern, but was made soft by the use of light and wood.
This Great Room was the two-story high anchor of the main lodge building, done in a traditional A-frame alpine style, all in bleached, sand colored wood — which in itself is an amazing story told later in this post — punctuated by books, stuffed animals and everywhere, more books. The large brass telescope positioned on the right corner of the room faced the river; you could only imagine how mighty the stars must be with so little ambient light, letting the Milky Way do its magic. (It’s why you should download Star Walk for stargazing). The room just made you wanted to claim a corner and rest. With the pervasive sense of comfort, it begged for a good sit-down with book and cheese plate.
The greeter’s quick tour finished at the dining room with the stunning veranda overlooking the with its tables and portable heaters, where we were served with grace, poise, and very genuine smiles.It was almost a matter of pride they all exuded. Later, we got a more thorough tour of the lower floor, which held a spa, game room and gym.
Arriving at our room it felt like someone had slipped in for a few minutes earlier and adjusted and tinkered everything to perfection. The large stone fireplace, facing the bed, was on. The curtains were opened and allowing for a view of the river and sunset; a tray of fruit, small bottle of champagne with two flutes and a note sat off angle on the table between the two chairs that faced Lake Wakatipu, the largest in New Zealand.
The ceilings were at least 12 feet high, maybe more. Once again, everything was carved and expressed in wood, with a large, white two-sink bathroom, shower with a seat and a step-in closet. The comfort of nature and luxury entangled with an incredible sense of detail. The interior and exterior, like the main lodge, were made of schist stone, which has a flaky surface a slight glimmer of silver mica.
Similar to the other two outstanding places we stayed — Treehouse and Hapuku — the dinner menu was created daily and handed to you in a small, square folded sheet. The four courses were all appealing, the service incredibly human, solicitous and thoughtful. Clearly, the chef and team were of the highest talent.
The sun went down over the lodge length veranda and tables, and with it a large exhale from a busy day and the long drive from Mt. Cook, the lamb and other items consumed with a local pinot noir. We went back to our room to view the stars.
When we ate dinner there the next night, the menu was different. The Leelands Lamb Saddle was near perfect. Whatever was left of tension just eased into the moment, sun sunk, mountains aglow, river deeper blue than natural, like looking at a Maxfield Parrish painting. You could hear the other patrons speaking at their tables, but the hush of nature was louder.
The quality of chef and team are challenge themselves every night. The menus have many courses, each growing in size, which can be an issue in some upscale restaurants — the two schools of this kind of menu is: one is a piling on of flavors, sensations, eccentric combinations: or a linear experience, where the flavors are not meant to overwhelm the next, but to flow in a growing progress of the palate. Blanket Bay was the latter. So good.
The Blanket Bay area is rife with outdoor activities — the web site lists many. We chose the Dart River jet boat tour and would highly recommend it; this was a four hours of touring the forest and then boarding a special jet engine boat, holding about a dozen, to ride with incredible speed and what felt like near abandon across the shoals and pebble-strewn river beds. The jet allowed such adventure because a propeller would have snapped off. There were mountains, and valleys, waterfalls, and not a sign of Humankind. At the end, the boat guide drove us back to the private dock at Blanket Bay. Clearly, this is a great location to center your adventures around.
Two things worthy to note. The staff: we have never seen a better, more refined, poised and genuinely friendly staff. They were very well trained but even more so, authentic, real. Every single person we met had a consistent upbeat, smiling and genuinely warm nature. For a place like this to remain great, it is the people who preserve the spirit — they do so with genuine pleasure.
The wood experience: Tom, the owner, working with a vision and a great architect, constructed the entire property from old logs, timber, from railroads and other sources no longer in use from new Zealand and Australia. Visit and get the whole story firsthand.
Location? Blanket Bay sits at the north end of Lake Wakatipu, which is stunning in the blue or cloudy sky. It is 45 minutes down a winding road from Queenstown, which has a major airport.
This is very rare place. And what a delight for the OutspokenTraveler; so often you do not get what you paid for — attempts at luxury defined either in a mass market way or a vision so narrow as to not be shareable (think boutique hotels).
Can we go back now?
About Queenstown…a very pretty town but sadly overwhelmed. It is as charming and visitor friendly with beautiful architecture, history, and pedestrian plazas, all ending on the nearly azure blue south end of Lake Wakatipu. But there are just too many people to allow it to shine, so best advice? Go off season. And avoid the ridiculous line at Fer Burger, a Social media success.
A footnote: this lodge has won so many awards it would be almost impossible to catalog. One of our favorites, which we trust implicitly is Small Luxury Hotel of The World.
Enjoy the pics!
Outspoken Traveler 
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