Cardrona Alpine Resort Review

Love this place - awesome ski park. Only drawback is crowds and long lines.

Very nice views and fun place. Great equipment. Good instructors

It was a stunning day when we went in early August. There is lots of space for learners, including a safe little fenced off Kindy area for small kids, with a little conveyor, plus a big practice area for adults and older kids who are total beginners. Then there's a big learners' area with a tunnel conveyor. And there's a long easy slope up the chondola which is also ok for learners. There were sheepskin covered chairs outside the cafe which was a good spot to park up and keep an eye on the kids. I wished there was an area for toboggans since it's a fun way to cheer the kids up when they get tired or frustrated with skiing but they weren't allowed until after 4pm. We didn't use the rental service as it was a lot cheaper to hire the kids' gear in Queenstown.

Cardrona is one of my favorite mountain resorts near Queenstown and Wanaka. You can stay up on the mountain, the Captain Cafe is good fun to get to, and all the mountain runs are suitable for many varied skillsets. They've also upgraded the main lifts to include a gondola.

It is a great skiing place for beginners, great for intermediates and great for experienced skiiers two good cafes, base cafe and captain's cafe.

Perhaps a little bit crowded but the beginner slopes were excellent and variety of terrains available fit for all skill levels. The hot chocolate (+ bailey) at top cafe was excellent on the cold summit.

Great in the summer months for a bit of mountain karting or biking. Stunning views. Not sure about health and safety though!

Ms. Sophie from the Booking office provided excellent customer service experience even above & beyond. From the phone reservation, you can hear her helpful & cheerful personality. More so, when we arrived in the venue, she personally assisted us from completing our gear rental with equally accommodating colleague of her, off loading our luggages from the car with the help of her cheerful & hunky mates who all of them carried it all straight to our 2brms apartment. Sophie took time to go through apartment s amenities, services, activities after snow lifts close & even offered to drive my car to its designated parking. I could not fault her customer service skills & will even give 10 ratings.
2brms apartment was beautiful & cosy with all amenities such us oven, dishwasher including jar of powder soap, stove, fridge, washing machine with dryer with ample laundry soaps, etc, etc. We basically only need to bring ourselves & clothes.
All staff in the gear rental department are awesometastic too!
Had to leave early to catch our glacier cruise in Mount Cook by 11am (3hrs drive). The staff came before 8am & happily received the key even before the reception opened.
Sometimes its not the place nor the activities why you ll keep coming back but the people who makes your stay convenient, happy & memorable.
Cardrona is certainly our go to ski resort!

Absolutely brilliant.
From the girls and guys in the clothing rental like Courtney and Jen.
To the ski instructors.
A big thanks to Cody who took us beginners on today. With patience and professionalism.
Well done all!

Great slopes and plenty of cafe around the mountains

Great snow and fantastic instructors. Lesson organisation was superb.

We loved Cardrona. Great ski field to learn at, with nice terrain for beginners. The first timers package was a really good way to pay for it all at once. All of our instructors were amazing and super helpful! The resort also has a decent range of food and other facilities available.

Awesome runs and stunning views when it's a clear day. Had some big waiting times when we were there but overall a great ski field.

Cardrona was a great place to have my first experience on real snow for skiing! All staff we encountered were lovely and helpful. Hope to be back sometime.

Had two amazing days of skiing. Lessons were outstanding. Cardrona was sensational.

Much better than expected... really chill staff for the rental and setup of new card excellent experience

Amazing ski field. Pleasant ski trip while the weather is good

Well run considering the sheer volume of people going through in peak season.
A great layout and the staff were always helpful.

A great Ski field with awesome instructors for the kids

Great place to ski. Worth the experience of trying to ski.

A very well run resort. The Electronic ticketing is easy to use. Your pass just goes in your pocket. The Ski hire was great and well organised. It was the first time ever that my boots could stay on all day. Runs were well groomed and the snow was fantastic for this time of year

The staffs are always helpful, a great area for skiing

Great skiing especially for beginning and intermediate skiers because of wide slopes. There is a windy 12 km dirt road going to Cardrona which may not be for everyone. Be prepared for snow chains on two wheel drive cars.

Drift carts over summer is great value and so much fun!

Great set up. Heaps of alternative fun on heaps of groomed tracks. Lots to explore and do. Good facilities all round.

The drive from Queenstown to mount Cardrona was a must self drive. Very picturesque in September, snow on sides of road. Road up the mountain needs to be confident driver but so worth it for sightseeers

Loved our time here!
The Chondola up to the top is well priced and it's an incredible view up the top on a clear day. We also had lunch upstairs at the base and the truffle pasta was 10/10.
Can't wait to come back.

Had a blast snowboarding for the day. The beginner slope is very busy. So i hit the next one up and it is not that bad for the beginner. Head up on the gondola for quick access and shred to your hearts content

Great drive up to the resort.
Wonderful mountain karting experience.
Slightly disappointed to find out that only one track was open and the rest ( probably the longer ones)were under repair/ maintenance.
Still good place to spend a day.

We came as a group to do the Karting. What a hoot!!!! Soooo much fun!!!

We had a private lesson with Vermont-native Russ and it made for a great day. Russ, thank you so much for your patience and graciousness in our tardiness!

The resort itself - great facilities, quick lines (unless you want a gondola) and passionate lift operators that don't neglect a slow line!

The runs were beautiful and busy but well managed - I'm a beginner and I didn't run into anyone.

Access was easy - we had a hire car, two wheel drive and chains but the drive was easy. If you have a pass and equipment you don't need to go all the way to the top - just access a lower lift (you may not need chains this way).

Great staff, really helpful. Good resort for beginners and intermediate.

Beautiful snow. Great for everyone including newbies

Already have a membership card, we must go again in the future! When the first day arrived, Uncle Big Bird personally helped me to explain wearing shoes and socks. The next day I went there again. Many tourists even recognized me and said that I would like to visit again. It is really kind. The venue is also very suitable for beginners, spacious and slippery. The membership card can also record how many times you slipped, the total height of the taxiing, and the feeling of leveling is really happy.

Staff was helpful, but our family had such a hard time putting on their ski boots. Almost need a lesson how to. Learners area was cute. It would be nice to have a sledding area open during winter as their wasn t much snow. Cafes were so crowded hard to find a space to sit down. Drive up was so scary. I don t know why they don t have a fence going up the whole way. I don t think I would have felt any safer in the bus.

Maybe not the cheapest place to ski but the team at Cardrona are certainly part of a very slick well oiled machine. From friendly advice & booking in Wanaka to efficient ski and gear hire on the mountain, everyone we came across including ski instructors were extremely helpful and friendly.

Arrive early to avoid the queues for gear & byo food & drink if you can. Very expensive on the mountain (as you would expect).

Awesome service and apartments. Great trails. Thank you!

Not all tutors are good. I had a really bad experience with our morning tutor for lessons as she was very racist and was not giving much of attention to Asians and she was taking care more of whites. Was really annoyed by that but then midway through our second lesson we got another tutor who was really supportive and was not at all biased.

Easily the best mountain in the Queenstown/Wanaka area. Bigger than the others and a huge variety of things to do. The terrain park is one of the best you'll see if you're into that kind of thing. Lots of natural features and drops that are fun when there's powder. Staff are super friendly and the food isn't too badly priced in the main cafeteria. The noodle bar is pretty expensive and way too heavy meals for a day of skiing/boarding.

If you buy a lift ticket and bus pass together (from Queenstown), it's almost the same price as the closer mountains. You just need to get up a bit earlier to make up for the longer bus ride.

If you're a beginner, there's plenty here for you too.

Had a great time. Staff were all very helpful. Hard not to have a great time surrounded by all that beautiful scenery.

I didn't realise the resort is smoke free till we.got here.not smoking areas at all completely smoke free other than that it's good meal isn't flash from restaurant staff are lovely

Love this place. Great snow. Great vibes. Happy staff.

Staying in the apartments us awesome, especially before it opens and after it closes and there's few other people around. Great facilities so bring stuff for a feed but the restaurant is really nice also. Staff really nice and helpful.

Runs to suit all abilities (and disabilities ) and ages. Friendly, fun staff. Lots of different cafe / food options.

Great systems. Helpful staff. Reasonably priced unlike Australian ski resorts.

Great for people of all skills. As a beginner they make everything easy. From getting your gear, to lessons, to finding your way about.
Also a huge area, much larger than the other two ski fields in the area.

One of the best ski resort in New Zealand. Love the view too.

More runs more snow compared to any in the queenstown area, food price on the mountain not ridiculous like remarkables either. All round awesome!

Big ski resort with park. Good for beginner and experienced ski and snowboard. If you are plan to drive there, better get a 4WD or get your snow chain ready. Snow chain rental available at the bottom of the mountain. Road condition can be muddy or cover with snow depends on weather.

Cardrona is a MUST VISIT in winter! It's hands down the best family ski resort in New Zealand, because it has terrain to suit all abilities. Our family have been visiting here for well over a decade and love bringing friends here too!

There are great ski and snowboard instructors, plenty of terrain on piste and off piste, okay cafe food available (albeit expensive, like all ski resorts), and the lift passes are reasonable if you book their deals.

Best resort in Cardrona. Roads at the top are a bit treacherous, especially for visitors who don't have a 4wd. Why don't they just pave the top section?

Cardrona is probably the best all round ski resort in New Zealand. The snow and weather are usually very reliable. The facilities are top notch, really world class with great food and lots of options.
The resort is very family friendly and we had and an amazing sunny week with our 8 and 4 year old boys who were both learning to snowboard.
The runs are very beginner friendly with a decent amount of immediate and more advanced features as well as a really good park.
The gondola option takes beginners to the top of the mountain with nice easy green runs back down. These were perfect for my wife and 8 year old son to get them off the learner slopes to experience what it's all about and they were both left buzzing.
Staff were all super cool too very friendly and helpful the whole week.
We can't wait to go back again!

P.S. Make sure you check out the iconic Cardrona pub afterwards for apres ski! At the bottom of the access road (as you leave) turn right and it's just a few minutes drive you can't miss it.

Went here mountain biking today and had the best day mountain biking I have ever had! Trails are sick but The best part was how super cheerful and helpful every single staff member was, I don't know what drugs you're feeding them but it's definitely working!
Thanks and so much for the epic day!

Drove here to see the home to New Zealand s highest mountain bike park. Take a short drive from Queenstown or Wanaka.

We enjoyed this large ski field. The many cafes and lodge overlooking the beginners slopes was great. The panoramic views are impressive. The windy dirt road to the ski field scared everyone in our tour bus.

Finally a bluebird day when the mountain it's practically deserted. The pizza oven is cranking, the beers are cold. Perfect.

Love Cardrona snow ... when itrs not blown off the mountrain

The place is good for beginners and the lesson looks nice. But It depends on who is your instructor. The first one only focus on beautiful girls so if you are good looking....we walked away and in the afternoon we found a very good one. But my money is wasted, since we had to learn it again.