QT Queenstown

QT is one of EVENT most luxury and quirky brands, you might be familiar with the name Event if you are residing in the Oceania region, as they are a large cinema operator here. They have a total of 4 hotel brands in their portfolio, the most well known brands is Rydges hotel. You will know QT is a hotel like no other when you step into any of their properties, custom design theme for each city they operate in, it is the most exciting hotel I have ever visited to date.

QT Queenstown is located near the heart of Queenstown, a short 5-10 minutes walk will get you to the centre of town. They have 69 rooms in their property, with 4 different categories. Starting with QT King Room, Remarkable King, Lake King and finally Alpine One Bedroom. The set up of their room make it rather inflexible especially for families or friends, since they only provide King Bed or for their One Bedroom, a twin King Single or/and a Sofa bed.

I have been attempting to contact them through their website and social media to ensure that the room I have booked actually does have a sofa bed, since I wasn't sure whether all of their One Bedroom suites are equipped with a sofa bed, but I have failed to get any response from their team. It is important since I am travelling with my parents and they will be taking the main bed while I will take the sofa bed, I do not want to end up checking in and find out that I won't have a bed to sleep in. I am rather disappointed by this as I have high expectations when booking their property knowing that they are one of the top hotels in Queenstown. This is definitely something they have to address if they want to remain competitive while staying as a top hotel in the tourism industry and the luxury market.

CHECK IN

Entering through the chic and colourful design lobby, the staff was really lovely and check me in swiftly. As there was limited car park space outside the hotel, I was lucky to be able to score a spot as one of the cars left. The hotel car park would cost $15 per night or free street parking can be found around 3-6 minutes walk but space is also fairly limited as it is also a residential area.

ROOM

Entering into the room, we have the living room. They prepared the sofa bed in advance, the room became smaller as most of the space is now occupied by the bed, I would have preferred there to be a turn down service so that they can pull the bed out when we actually need it rather than blocking the whole space. First impression of the living room is the feeling of modern, quirky and a unique twist. The colouring of the entire suite is consistent with white, black and gold. The work desk is also snuggled right at the corner, the size of the table is fine and can allow people to work comfortably.

Passing the living room into the corridor, on the left we have a kitchenette with a microwave. There are some storage space and the rest of the cabinets are filled with expensive alcoholic drinks. The refrigerator if you have not already guessed it, more alcohol fully occupying the space. A closet is also alongside with space for some clothes but there aren't any hangers. The coffee/tea and kettle are hidden inside a small box inside the closet.

On the opposite side, we have a separate bathroom and toilet. The toilet is small but the bathroom is another story. As you enter, a large mirror with a build in ring light is to die for, his/her sinks, large rain shower and the highlight of the bathroom, a deep soaking bathtub. There is a frosted window in front of the bath to provide natural light into the bathroom, while at night you have a nicely lighted bathroom to give ample of light but also create a romantic and relaxing atmosphere.

The end of the corridor is the bedroom, right at the entrance is a wardrobe design to flow with the wardrobe outside the bedroom. There are a few hangers inside the wardrobe, but the one that stood one is the shoehorn with a dog head. This is the kind of quirkiness I expect to find in QT and it is why they also stand out from most traditional hotels. The large King bed is great and comfortably fit 2 persons, with 2 separate nightstands on each side.

While I want to love the room, I can't ignore the few issues I have discovered during my stay. The first issue is the air conditioning system. I would have thought the air conditioning is separate between the living room and the bedroom, while that is not a huge issue, the problem presents itself when the bedroom is far colder than the living room, I am not sure if the air conditioning vent is located much closer to the bedroom or the positioning of the vent pushes most of the air towards the bedroom, but this is unfortunate when being my case where I am sleeping in the living room and my parents are in the bedroom, but I will be feeling much warmer than they are.

The second issue I've discovered is the lack (or none of) charging port located near the work desk. Since that's the most logical purpose, I would have thought they would add a wall socket for people to charge their laptop or other devices, but the closest one is going to be near the TV on the back when you're sitting at the work desk, so you will have a wire across the corridor blocking and potentially creating a hazard where people can trip over if they are unaware of it. There are 2 double wall socket on the same side of the wall not far from one another, which adds to my curiosity as to why they didn't just place one under/on top of the work desk.

The third issue is the master light switch panel inside the bedroom next to the bed. As there is no light switch near the entrance, the closest one is next to the bed, so you will have to walk in the dark to get to the light switch during the evening. The light panel controls the bedroom, the toilet and the living room. There is no clear label, layout or system, it seems like the electrician simply connect the wires to whichever switch and you will have to play a guessing game to find the right switch. With the bedroom room closed, you can accidentally turn on or off the lights in the toilet or living area without realising it. This comes down to poor design and thought process.

The last and final issue I have is the lack of phone access. There is only 1 phone located next to the bed, while many hotels would have added another one in the living room, there was none in this. It would have been great if they have set up another phone in the living room, so that it would allow quick and easy access when people are in the living room, or for people sleeping in the living room, they would be able to use it without needing to interrupt whoever is sleeping in the bedroom.

FACILITIES

I have been wandering around the property looking for a gym, but there doesn't seem to be one that I can find. There is a pool area that is shared with the Rydges hotel located in the lower levels, but the door was locked and the key card is not compatible with the ones given to us at QT. I am not sure how we can access the pool area but I didn't bother to trouble the staff as I wasn't going to need to use it anyway.

CONCLUSION

This is one of the best boutique hotels I have come across in terms of interior design. They create different themes for each city to complement the attraction of that region. I am however disappointed with a few things after staying here.

I would have liked the one-bedroom to be located on the mountain view side, as this is the most expensive room advertised within the property and I think they could have done better with the layout design when they build the hotel. There is no mountain view suite advertised so I can't say whether they have any unadvertised ones reserved for upgrades or VIP/elite members.

There are design flaws that are inconvenient and somewhat seem unplanned when they build these. I think it is important for them to be focusing as much on their interior design as it is on the general area to ensure that they make sense and deliver a superb experience for guests.

I would still recommend this hotel for anyone looking for something different, whether it may be a special occasion or travel.