Cardrona Alpine Resort Review

The website says that it is "A short drive from Queenstown or Wanaka". It is not. Although I recognise that it is a ski resort and as such, it's elevation is 1670m, there is no mention in their literature of the rocky, dirt, unpaved mountain goat track one must negotiate to reach the resort. I'm taking a punt that 4wd's would be able to reach the site quicker (again, no mention on the website about this) but we had to crawl along no faster than 25km per hour in the interests of safety and to not damage the vehicle. We stayed during summer and had we have known about the trek to Mordor to reach the accommodation, we would not have stayed there. Additionally, construction was taking place during our stay. The rooms are small. The living area and kitchen is large and modern. The staff were very friendly and polite. It was certainly a novel experience. I just feel Cardrona should be more transparent and honest regarding how long it takes to get there and what to expect with the road leading to the resort.

Best and most accommodating ski field of the lot. 4 stars because its blardy expensive

Really really loved my experience here. Unfortunately I have had opportunities to visit but never did so I will make sure that going forward I visit here much more with friends and family

Lovely and very accommodating staffs and very nice and spacious slopes to ski/snowboard.

Great open space to ski . Mostly blue runs . Great for intermediate types. Can get crowded at the lift line . But nothing as bad as Australia

All the staff were really helpful and nice, facilities were great. Beginners ski area was a little difficult with the amount of lesson groups on at the same time all crammed in .

Be careful purchasing tickets in advance as they have a strict no refund policy even if the conditions are bad.

Relaxed ski resort, with a real family focus. All staff on the mountain are very friendly, and little wait time for lifts, food, rentals and bathrooms. Highly recommended for first timers. Plus - THE VIEWS.

Cardrona had the most snow out of all the parks near Queenstown. Glad I choose it

Service is great, and there's a laundry room included. However, the top story rooms are inconvenient because there is a lot of stair climbing (there're no elevators). Also, the resort itself is a long drive from everywhere, so inconvenient if you are hoping to spend time around the city.

Mountain Carts. It's dusty so bring a bandana for under the helmet.

Ski teacher was amazing. Snow board teacher was terrible. I think the experience for a beginner really depends on the teacher you get. Lots of slopes and real snow. Food very disappointing. Very limited options for food allergies. I noticed the resort opened in 1980. I think they have kept the same menu! Rental area for equipment was very good. Clothing was difficult to get as the counter was mostly not staffed.

After getting my 2yo daughter on some skis for the first time yesterday at the Queenstown winter festival, we headed up the hill for a bit more practice today. Half an hour with the helpful staff and Matilda had a free season pass, some rental skis for $15 and we were away. You can also have a wine while supervising the learner slope! Shout out to all the helpful staff especially Edd from the children's programme for the advice.

Too many people during school holidays to have an enjoyable skiing experience. Tried calling in the morning but no one answered the phone on any extension to provide more information. We then went past the shop in Queenstown who advised that everything was fine, no indication that it was overcrowded. We spent over an hour between finding parking, getting tickets and then rental equipment, not to mention getting lunch where it is impossible to find a table. Finally once you hit the slopes, you have to wait half an hour for a chairlift. Good luck going down the mountain more than a couple times before everything closes at 4pm. They need to restrict the number of people who can enter, it s not fair to paying patrons but who cares when they re making millions?

Great instructors i went from never have been to the snow and not evening beening able to balence to skying down mountain at a gazillion miles per hour.

Amazing views, crazy downhill carts, good food, and a great uphill road.

Wonderful experience ! Large ski field with amazing scenary

Great staff who with a smile gave a great welcome to us. Great place to ski on the perfect day.

Favorite ski resort. Good learner areas, heaps of runs for intermediate and a bit for advanced. Very family friendly and a great crew

Friendly and enjoyable. Some good food options and early in the season was an excellent time to be there, even if some of the runs were closed.

For a place hosting such masses of people, extremely efficient!!! Loved it!

Best ski resort in the Queenstown/Wanaka area. Consistently good and varied runs

What can I say? Best skiing, great facilities if you love groomed slopes. Pray for more snow though as trails limited while awaiting natural snow fall. Loads of fun regardless though.

just a casual five stars from the lizards. thanks for doing the right thing team.

An excellent ski field. I love it! If I can slide down the high hill A real journey, I will much appreciate myself but I didnt. Next time, I'm gonna overcome this obstacle! Had a great time on Cardrona Alpine Resort!

The staff is very friendly. We took the beginner class and the teacher was very patient. The food at a fair price. The cafeteria gets very crowded and it is very difficult to find a place to sit.

We love this sky field. Good access road and handy shuttles from the car parks. Lots of chair lifts and looking forward to the new Chondala going in 2017. Well groomed slopes. Love the pizza.

Cool fun and great for everyone but it gets busy so be prepared to wait on the runs.

They also do Stargazing Tours with a BIG telescope and lazer pointer. It's pretty out of this world!

Best for kids and beginners out of the options from Queenstown

A nice place, big rooms, a good service, amzing view. Unpaved road to get there though.

Whats not to love about this place. The staff make you feel welcome, the service is good, the pricing is fair and the snow is fresh. Loved our time here. Memorise that will last forever.

Lots of tracks, good snow and wonderful views from the top!!

Great slopes! Got a tad windy but the slopes are wide are cruisey.

So much fun, love the mountain carting, highly recommend

Wicked resort, comparable to international fields and resorts such as sunshine Village (Banff) . Plenty of intermediate to beginners runs, great amenities as well as friendly staff. Cloud levels as well as inclimate weather creates difficult field conditions, such as contrast and depth perception; particularly on the lower field. Nothing staff can change, but always plan ahead.

Fantastic ski field. Can be pretty busy at peak times. Can still have good snow when other fields are getting icy.

Been here quite a few times this season and the team is always super happy and available to help. Yesterday, Ger (short for Jerry?) helped me fit my chains on my car on the way up (I was utterly hopeless when attempting) - I really appreciated his help along with his super upbeat and happy vibes. He even explained what he was doing to all the other guests who needed help so they could give it a go too...alas we all failed miserably so Ger expertly fixed the mistakes. Jonny in Captain s cafe was super upbeat and positive as well, despite it being a bit hectic at lunchtime! I watched him ask each guest how their day was and bring a smile to their face. Matias (sorry if I got the name wrong! The snowboarder from Argentina) who was running the Valley View cafe was also really upbeat and was nice to speak to when I needed a coffee down at the bottom. Anyway, just wanted to mention some specific names because you guys are doing an awesome job and clearly have a super strong team who deserve credit for being 100% for all their guests. It definitely makes a difference how positive and upbeat you all are. Thanks guys.

Friendly staff made us feel very welcome and not just like another visitor. Had a great time.

Even during the week away from school holidays Cardrona seems to be over attended. A flaw in the design of the chairlift system means people end up collecting at one (4 seater) chairlift in particular meaning long periods of time standing around.
It's still a good ski area however, could be fixed by better management

Best snowboarding and ski instructors ever, followed by some great snow and awesome slopes! I stayed in an apartment and the quality of the rooms were fantastic - good service, extremely comfortable beds, great amenities and comfortable heating. Rentals were easy. The only downside was the line for the chondola!

Great location for those who are not super confident on the snow and enough to keep a skillful ski or boarder interested. Awesome team there with lessons. Plenty of space to enjoy yourself or with friends/family. Can't wait for next season to go back.

Good ski field, not the best season 2020 for snow fall, quite icy.

Stunning resort. One of the most beautiful places in New Zealand.

We had an amazing time at Cardrona.
I visited Cardrona with family and hadn't experienced skiing EVER ! The instructor Grant helped us feel confident in no time. Highly recommend Cardrona for both beginners and advanced skiers.

Cardrona is a great place to ski. Usually seems to have better snow than the surrounding resorts. Rentals are so efficient and organised, it puts places like Whistler to shame. Runs are great in Captain's Basin and you can stop anytime for *excellent* pizza and a beer at Captain's Cafe. Thumbs up!

Bit of something for everyone here, from beginners to the advanced. Food/drink isn't ridiculously expensive either, which makes a nice change from other resorts in the North.

One of the best resorts in the world for snowboarders! Interesting well connected runs, efficient lifts and amazing views. Many eating places

Amazing everything except food prices. Two average pies, drinks (soft drink) and 2 chocolates for $30.. price left a bad taste in mouth considering spending $150 on board hire and lift pass

Nice staff and trainers etc

Very helpful with boot and snowboard

Great for families, beginners and park riders. Not much else, as even the blues were really green. Pretty boring terrain with VERY short runs.
My experience was 1 star, but the hill itself was run well with solid facilities (could use better on mountain signage, but meh) so I gave 3 stars. I just had a really disappointing day and won't go back.

Thank you to all the staff at the Cardrona Alpine Resort for a fantastic skiing experience. Mark E.Mark went out of his way to ensure myself and my partner had the best possible boots.
I recommend arriving around lunchtime to get boots etc sorted, the morning rush can be a little 'daunting'. The staff were lovely all the time, but they able to provide more personal assistance late morning when the queues have died down.
The truffle fries upstairs at The Mezz were to die for. Definitely get a hot chocolate with Baileys (or not), at Vista Bar, blankets provided!

Great ski field , caters for all levels with some nice wide runs.

Best family holiday ever, staying on-resort at the apartments. Admittedly 55cm of fresh snow helped! The resort is so well run, with legions of helpful, friendly and happy staff who can t do enough for you, and wonderful instructors. Our 4 bed apartment was ample for 2 families, and was well appointed with everything you could need, and the onsite restaurant- Mezz has food to die for! You can t really buy any provisions at the resort so need to shop on Wanaka or Queenstown for groceries before you come- but basics are provided such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate, washing powder, dishwasher powder etc, and the apartments are serviced daily.

You wouldn t stay here for the Apres-ski but for a family it was perfect, giving us the flexibility to get out on the snow as much or little as we felt like, as well as the ability to be on the first lift every morning.
We are already planning our next trip!

Excellent skiing for intermediates, good variety of runs and different areas on the mountain. Road up can be a bit hairy. Beautiful views of the alpine region.

The resort has great routes for all levels. What we found inconvenient is that there's only one lift from the base to the top and a queue can be very big. Also, we wanted to have lunch and at 12.40 (!!) we were told that they sold out all non-vegeterian food other than meat pies. We ended up having lunch at Noodle bar and it was very average, dumplings were tasteless with almost only pastry and no prawns. Other than that we had a great time.

Parking is so close to the ski field.. super friendly warden, esp the guy who helped us put chains on to our tyres. There were bay to check chains and also to remove them. Kids had heaps of fun and penguin mascot was super funny..

Friendly staff , great liftie humor, well organized no dramas level 2 conditions , first ever for Nz .... well done cardrona for making it work for us

Pretty cold place, especially for the one who never go to ski. The place offering some gears and clothes rental, so don't worry. Order the ticket from the web or the cardrona store, not the third party. If you bring motorhome, you can park near there and wait for the shuttle to the ski place. It costs you 10 NZD, and it comes every hour.

Went there for mountain carting !
Had a really fun time I really enjoyed it. The staff members were really nice with us, chatty and helpful !
Unfortunately one of the three tracks was closed
Would have been good to know it before.
I guess I ll have to come back next year !

Great terrain... Great snow... Way too busy! 30-40 minute lift queues

Great spot when the snow is happening with views that rival any place on this earth. Food is a bit $$$ so bring some food/nibbles and water. Staff are helpful!