Surprised Excellence!!  We didn’t know a thing about Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat. We were just looking for a place to stay in the area on our way from Christchurch to Queenstown and luckly found that they had a few nights available that met our travel dates. Arrived to find a privately situated lodge with a wonderful bottle of wine and snack on the kitchen table in the homiest of living rooms. The living room overlooked the deck (and Jacuzzi) onto open fields with sheep and dear meandering about. In the backdrop was a beautiful mountain range. The bedroom and bathroom were to die for. Floor to ceiling windows in the bathroom to a private view of mountains and fields. The bedroom was expansive with windows and light galore. The food was gourmet and individually prepared to meet our dietary needs by the property’s own chef. We opted to have dinner brought to our lodge. Breakfast was placed in the refrigerator the night before for us to eat at our leisure in the morning. Spectacular farm to table fare with incredible plating and presentation. The staff were warm and gracious and made every effort to inquire about our stay to make sure all our needs were met. We would HIGHLY recommend a stay and will be back if we return to New Zealand. You would be missing something really special if you are in the area and don’t drop in for a night or two or three. No hesitation to recommend this to anyone.