On our honeymoon we spent a few days at the Arrow Private Hotel in Arrowtown, New Zealand as a relaxing breather in between a couple of days of long driving. Arrowtown is only about 15-20 minutes from Queenstown, so it’s an easy drive for any Queenstown activities or for the Frankston New World Supermarket. We really enjoyed it there and decided to stay there again for our anniversary. We spent 4 nights here and once again loved the place. Tim, your host, is extremely friendly and helpful and goes out of his way to make your stay as comfortable and pleasant as it possibly can be.
We stayed in the Cherry Suite on our honeymoon and Tim booked us into this one again this time – I think he knew we liked it! From the looks of the photos on their website, most of the rooms are fairly similar anyway, but this one is right at the front, which we felt gave us a little bit more privacy because we only had another suite on one side (granted there are only 6 suites in the entire hotel just out of the centre of a quiet town, so it’s not like any of them would have a privacy issue really). This suite is named for the beautiful cherry blossoms that are planted around it. When we were here last time, they were out in flower and were stunning, we were a bit earlier this time though and they were just budding.
When you first enter, you can turn to the left where you have bag and clothes storage as well as the air conditioner, fridge and bathroom access.
Then off to the right is the bed, lounge, dining, kitchen and study with large windows for taking in the beautiful mountain view. The bed is a “super king” size bed. Unfortunately, it is not a single mattress, so there is a join in the middle, but of all the king size beds we got to try on our honeymoon that were joined together, this was one of the most comfortable. The join was almost unnoticeable and the sheets were beautifully soft. Both times we have been here it’s been some of the best sleep I’ve gotten!
The study nook on the far wall is equipped with the Sky TV set-top box, a PlayStation 3, lamp and an information guide on the accommodation and area. The information guide includes the wi-fi password. The Arrow provides you with unlimited free internet access. There seem to be two access points that cover the Cherry Suite and sometimes I found my phone or laptop got confused between them and so wouldn’t connect to either, but for the most part, it was not an issue. The PlayStation 3 is provided more for watching movies than for gaming and Tim has a collection of DVD’s available to watch. Having the Sky TV box over here means you have to remember to point the remote here instead of at the TV, or nothing will happen, but the TV remote needs to be pointed at the TV of course. Tim has Sky TV set up with one of the most extensive channel selections of anywhere we visited in New Zealand. So between it and the DVD library, you will be able to find something to watch when you want that snuggled up night in.
The bed is directly opposite the TV which is great for snuggling up and watching movies in bed. It is also strategically placed so that you can watch it relatively easily from the big double ended bath tub.
The kitchen is well equipped and is kind of hidden away in the corner beside the dining and TV. The kitchen has a half size dishwasher, sink, kettle, stove, convection microwave (so you can cook pizza and other baked things in there – yep we cooked a pizza in it) and a regular stove top.
A handy little feature is that you can actually slide the entire wood panel that the TV is mounted on across. This covers up the kitchen but also makes the TV easier to see from the bath.
A peek into the cupboards reveals there is also a toaster and plenty of tea and coffee facilities. The kitchen does have a plunger and coffee to suit, so if you aren’t into instant you can have it that way. The instant though is pretty good, definitely one of the best instant coffees I’ve had!
Continuing around to the left where the sliding glass panels are is the bath tub. If you would like some privacy, you can slide the glass panels across to close in the bath room. The bath tub is not a spa, but it is a very comfortable, deep, double ended bath tub with hand held shower head. On the other side of the bath is the double vanity, double shower and the toilet is around the corner. This bathroom is lovely, the double shower is hidden in behind the vanity and each shower head has dual modes, so you can have a firmer shower using the water jet mode, or a softer one using the sprinkle mode.
Most places in New Zealand has heated towel racks, but this one was one of the nicest with the most rungs, which meant if you happened to get a bit wet in the (usually regular) rain, or on one of the many water based activities around Queenstown and Arrowtown, you can dry them off relatively quickly on here if need be.
Continuing around, opposite the bathroom and beside the front door is the secret cupboard where Tim places your delicious, fresh breakfast each morning. Tim arranges what you would like for breakfast the night before and what time you would like it, and it is all based around local produce. These are some of the nicest eggs I’ve had, and not to mention the local jam is fantastic, even Tammy loved it and she’s not a big jam person!
Opening the curtains reveals a beautiful view through the mountains in about three different directions!
All in all, the suite is beautiful, extremely comfortable, quiet and well located. The service provided by Tim is absolutely fantastic, and it is somewhere that we would keep on going back to. I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the area. It’s not the cheapest, but it is well worth the cost.
I will write another post soon with photos and descriptions of the breakfast we had each morning!
