Hermitage Hotel – The Best Hotel in New Zealand

The Hermitage Hotel in the Mount Cook area is the best hotel in New Zealand. The natural beauty surrounding the hotel, on-site accommodations, friendly staff, delicious food, and opportunity for adventure make this hotel as good as it gets!

Mount Cook National Park is one of the best destinations in the world for nature-lovers and adventure-seekers. The enormous peak of Aoraki Mount Cook is the gem of the park, however all of the stunning lakes and glaciers surrounding Mount Cook all add to the appeal of this park.

And smack dab in the middle of everything, in a perfect location, is the Hermitage Hotel. Why is the Hermitage so great? 4 reasons: view, dining, accommodations, and adventure.

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel
Hermitage Hotel Common Area

The View of Aoraki Mount Cook

What are the 3 L’s of real estate? Location, location, location! The Hermitage Hotel stands apart from the crowd because of its perfect location.

The view of Mount Cook is the pièce de résistance of the Hermitage Hotel, and whoever built this hotel understood that perfectly. You’ll see perfectly placed windows, rooms, and dining areas places all around the hotel, perfectly showing off the stunning peak that stands over 12,000 feet tall.

Mount Cook, standing at 12,218 feet tall, is the tallest peak in New Zealand!

If you have the chance, book a room with a view of Mount Cook. Watch the sky change colors over this beautiful peak as the sun rises and sets each morning and night. If you don’t have a room with that view, then you can still experience this awesome view from many common rooms placed in perfect locations throughout the hotel.

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel
Mount Cook View – Hermitage Hotel

On-Site Dining

The Hermitage Hotel has multiple fantastic options for on-site dining. The Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe is a perfect place to pick-up some food for your adventures in Mount Cook National Park.

At the Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe, you can grab an excellent healthy breakfast option, and a delicious coffee. If you need lunch on a hike, pick up a to-go lunch as well to fuel your adventure!

The Alpine Restaurant is the main dining area in the hotel. The first thing you’ll notice at the Alpine Restaurant is the jaw-dropping view of Mount Cook. Huge windows line the walls, making this a perfect viewing point for the tallest peak in New Zealand.

The second thing you notice at the Alpine Restaurant is the delicious food! The breakfast buffet is perfect in every way, with a wide selection of delicious and healthy eating options. The food is hot, made fresh, made to order, and good for you! The dinner buffet is delicious as well, and you’ll be able to watch the stunning sunset while enjoying a fantastic meal.

Finally, the Snowline Lounge is a wonderful place to enjoy a drink or a snack. You’ll have a selection of wines from around the world, but we suggest ordering some local wines from the Marlborough area of New Zealand!

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel
Hermitage Hotel has Awesome Accommodations

Hermitage Hotel Accommodations

The Hermitage Hotel pulls out all the stops in terms of accommodations. In each and every room, the hotel offers:

  • Tea and Coffee Making
  • Large Flat Screen Satellite TV
  • Ensuite
  • Free WiFi
  • Refrigerator

On top of all of the in-room accommodations, there are a ton of common rooms free to use for all guests. As mentioned above, there are many Mount Cook viewing rooms. A few of these rooms even have a piano for you to play! Or if you don’t play, you can enjoy the music as someone else tries their hand.

There is also a Panorama Room at the Hermitage Hotel. This room is a dining room, however when it is not in use it is available for guests to use. The Panorama Room has a beautiful view of the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park landscape. The glaciers, lakes, and rivers in the National Park are absolutely jaw-dropping, there is no shortage of adventure.

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel
Try your hand at piano at Hermitage Hotel!

Adventure in Mount Cook National Park

The number one reason to visit Mount Cook National Park, other than visiting the Hermitage Hotel, is to experience all of the outdoor activities! The hiking in Mount Cook is as good as any in all of New Zealand, and the adventure doesn’t stop there. Glacier tours, helicopter rides, and more are all ready for you to experience here in Mount Cook National Park.

Easy Hiking in Mount Cook

In our humble opinion, hiking is the best activity in Mount Cook National Park. There are hikes for everyone of any age, shape, and size.

The Tasman Lookout Track is the easiest in the park, at just 0.7 miles (1.1 km) out & back. The view of the Tasman Lake and Tasman Glacier at the end of the hike is stunning. This hike is low effort, high reward.

mount cook national park, mt cook hiking, aoraki mount cook, mt cook national park, mueller hut hike, mueller hut, tasman lake, sealy tarns, sealy tarns track, mueller hut track, tasman lake hike, tasman lookout, tasman lookout track, red tarns, red tarns track, sealy tarns hike, mueller hut mount cook, tasman glacier, tasman glacier viewpoint, mueller hut route, best walks mount cook, aoraki, mount cook, mt cook, hooker valley trail, hooker valley hike, hooker valley track, nz, travel nz
Checking Out Tasman Lake

One of the best, and easiest, hikes in the park is the Hooker Valley Track. This trail is 3 miles (5 km) each way, and is basically flat the entire time. You’ll walk over a few stunning bridges that cross a rushing river, and emerge at Hooker Lake.

Hooker Lake is beyond beautiful, and offers a beautiful photo opportunity. Just beyond Hooker Lake is Hooker Glacier, which feeds the lake. Beyond that is Mount Cook. On a clear day, this view is as good as it gets!

mount cook national park, mt cook hiking, aoraki mount cook, mt cook national park, mueller hut hike, mueller hut, tasman lake, sealy tarns, sealy tarns track, mueller hut track, tasman lake hike, tasman lookout, tasman lookout track, red tarns, red tarns track, sealy tarns hike, mueller hut mount cook, tasman glacier, tasman glacier viewpoint, mueller hut route, best walks mount cook, aoraki, mount cook, mt cook, hooker valley trail, hooker valley hike, hooker valley track, nz, travel nz
American Gothic in front of Hooker Lake

Difficult Hiking in Mount Cook

Sometimes a bit of effort is worth the reward. Mount Cook National Park has some beautiful viewpoints that require a bit of a challenging hike to visit.

The Sealy Tarns Track is difficult, but the view is jaw-dropping. The Sealy Track is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) each way, so it is not the longest trail. However, the trail is basically a staircase the entire way and it is DIFFICULT.

At the Sealy Tarns you’ll get a bird’s eye view of all of the beautiful lakes and glaciers in Mount Cook National Park. In addition, of course, you’ll have a stunning view of Aoraki Mount Cook.

mount cook national park, mt cook hiking, aoraki mount cook, mt cook national park, mueller hut hike, mueller hut, tasman lake, sealy tarns, sealy tarns track, mueller hut track, tasman lake hike, tasman lookout, tasman lookout track, red tarns, red tarns track, sealy tarns hike, mueller hut mount cook, tasman glacier, tasman glacier viewpoint, mueller hut route, best walks mount cook, aoraki, mount cook, mt cook, hooker valley trail, hooker valley hike, hooker valley track, nz, travel nz
Reflective Sealy Tarns

Further up the Sealy Tarns Track is the Mueller Hut. The Mueller Hut is 3.2 miles (5.2 km) each way from the trailhead. Therefore it is another 1.4 miles past the Sealy Tarns.

The view from Mueller Hut is the best in the park, without a doubt. On a clear day, you’ll get the very best view of Mount Cook there is, in addition to the chance to see a wide panorama of glaciers and waterfalls. You’ll see all of the lakes in the park, and can even see Lake Pukaki in the distance. This is the most difficult hike in the park, but if you are up for the challenge it will be VERY worth it.

mount cook national park, mt cook hiking, aoraki mount cook, mt cook national park, mueller hut hike, mueller hut, tasman lake, sealy tarns, sealy tarns track, mueller hut track, tasman lake hike, tasman lookout, tasman lookout track, red tarns, red tarns track, sealy tarns hike, mueller hut mount cook, tasman glacier, tasman glacier viewpoint, mueller hut route, best walks mount cook, aoraki, mount cook, mt cook, hooker valley trail, hooker valley hike, hooker valley track, nz, travel nz
The Mueller Hut

Mt Cook Video

If you still need more convincing that Mt Cook National Park is a bucket list destination check out our youtube video!

HIKE MOUNT COOK | Best Day Hiking in New Zealand | Mueller Hut, Sealy Tarns, Hooker Valley & more

Glacier Tours

The Tasman Lake and Tasman Glacier offer a wonderful place to take a glacier tour! These tours will take you on a speedboat across the Tasman Lake, where you reach the toe of the Tasman Glacier.

You’ll get the chance to actually walk and climb on a live, active glacier! Of course, all the gear you need will be provided by the tour company, in addition to a guide who will help with everything you need throughout the day.

Helicopter Tours

One of the most unique and incredible ways to experience Mount Cook National Park is from the air! You can fly around the Mount Cook peak, and the surrounding glaciers and lakes, in a helicopter.

These tours typically leave from Glentanner Holiday Park, and take anywhere from a few hours to the entire day. Flying above this beautiful scenery, you’ll be seeing all of these beautiful landscapes from a bird’s eye view. Some helicopter tours even offer snow landings.

When you see things from the air, sometimes your perspective can change. You’ll get a beautiful view in addition to a new appreciation for how stunning these landscapes really are. If you love flights, check out our article on the most scenic flight on earth.

We sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this article, and hope you learned a thing or two about the Hermitage Hotel! This is really the best hotel in New Zealand, both for the on-site amenities and the adventure surrounding the hotel. If you liked this article, please use the below images to Pin It to Pinterest!

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel

mount cook hotel, hermitage hotel, where to stay mount cook, hotel hermitage, the hermitage hotel, hermitage mount cook, hermitage hotel mt cook, mt cook lodge and motel, mt cook lodge, mount cook lodge the hermitage mount cook, mount cook lodge and motel, luxury hotels new zealand, 5 star hotels in new zealand, best hotel new zealand, new zealand, travel nz, nz, travel new zealand, visit new zealand, mount cook, aoraki, travel mount cook, aoraki mount cook, mount cook national park, motel

Leave a Comment