The flight into Queenstown is possibly the most spectacular in the world. The flight path takes you over the magnificent Southern Alps, known by Kiwis as 'The Great Divide' that does indeed divide the South Island of New Zealand like a perpendicular crooked spine, and down towards the guardians of Queenstown, the Remarkables Mountain Range. The descent is impressive at any time of year and our summertime visit was no exception. On arrival at Queenstown airport we were greeted with the most wonderful, spirit-stirring panorama, the mountains on one side and an impossibly blue/green Lake Wakatipu, fed by fresh, pure, rapidly flowing alpine rivers. Definitely a sight to gladden the most jaded traveler’s heart!

	Exterior

We are met by our driver and transferred to our Queenstown haven, the wonderful, boutique The Spire Queenstown, privately nestled in Church Lane, just steps from that magnificent lake. This turns out to be an exceptional property and we are welcomed by Mel Bohse the General Manager who explains the hotel’s raison d'etre over a glass of Pinot Noir wine, a local specialty. The hotel is exclusive and discretely chic, offering only ten beautifully detailed guestrooms, featuring original, contemporary New Zealand artworks, designer furnishings and an exceptionally special level of personal service.

Suite

We feel right at home here and who wouldn’t? Our guestroom is expansive and beautifully fitted out, from the luxurious furnishings and the opulence of the possum fur throw to the magnificent bathroom with an elegantly indulgent bathtub surrounded by shutters to either open out into the room or close for privacy.  There are thoughtful touches, such as subtle lighting and superior linens and there's even a pillow menu as well as an interactive multimedia system, i-pod enabled, with plasma television and a WiFi network. 

	“Suite” View!

The crowning glory, though, is the vista of the astonishing Remarkables Mountain Range from our private, furnished terrace. Mel explains that Spire guests often find it hard to leave their rooms and we can understand why. However, an exceptional adventure playground awaits us locally and we are both keen to explore, knowing that we can return to the blissful Spire enclave.

Amisfield winery entrance

Queenstown is indeed the adventure capital of the world, the original home of bungy jumping, jet boating and paragliding, amongst an impressive array of outdoor pursuits. Personally, we like to seek out the more gastronomic fare and are astonished to learn that this region is home to a number, in fact over 175 internationally recognized vineyards. Our friendly and obliging Spire staff member immediately springs in to action and before we know it we are transferred by complimentary transport and seated on the terrace at the glorious Amisfield winery, in brilliant sunshine. This boutique winery set overlooking Lake Hayes and up towards Coronet Peak offers a tasting menu of their wines and has a well-patronized bistro restaurant specializing in local produce.

	Courtyard dining, Amisfield winery

We ‘trust the chef’ for our choice off the menu for lunch and experience a glorious array of locally produced, seasonal temptations including Linguini with lemon, chili and fried bread crumbs and Serrano ham, fresh nectarine and arugula, washed down with a glass or two of exceptional Amisfield wines. Absolutely stunning.

Back at The Spire we decide to explore Queenstown for this evening’s dinner, aided and abetted in our choice for dining by our ever-obliging, enthusiastic and knowledgeable Spire staff.

Inspire Bar

We luxuriate in our glamorous bathroom, sampling the superb amenities, pure New Zealand natural soaps, creams and lotions, then head for the private in-house Champagne Bar to relax with a pre-dinner cocktail, glass of chilled champagne and mingle with our fellow guests.  Viggi, the Inspire Bar Manager mixes our drinks with aplomb and a theatrical manner that makes us smile and engage her in conversation. We adore the service that every staff member we encounter prides themselves in offering and are pleased with their local knowledge and warmth they hold for this amazing region. We suspect that they are all astonishing skiers, jet boaters, golfers and fisher-folk on their days off!

We sleep soundly on the most luxurious of mattresses, at a perfectly individually controlled room temperature, rise the following morning at a leisurely hour and breakfast on a delectable feast. Exclusively for guests, Inspire Breakfast Restaurant knows just what hungry visitors need to start the day off well fed!

Whatever your style of leisure, Queenstown is a year-round recreational paradise catering for all ages and stages, we experienced the best of the Queenstown summer climate, but the region is equally delightful in any season and offers so much to see and do. The Fall brings astonishing foliage color, the Winter converts Queenstown to a true Alpine Aspen-style village with ski buffs delighting in a choice of 4 nearby ski fields of varying terrain and skill ability, the Spring showcases the winter melt when the rivers are at their most beautiful and the new growth is appearing on the vines.

Naturally, we have decided to return to this fabulous region and have booked our next stay to experience winter’s delights and hit the slopes, of course we have booked The Spire Queenstown.

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