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Roki Collection Queenstown, which arrived in September 2025, raised the bar with 15 ultra-luxurious suites and high-spend services, just close enough to the action of town. Opening in late 2026, Waimarino Luxury Lodge will introduce 20 oversized villas to secluded Bob’s Cove, blending modern, raw concrete architecture with luxury trimmings like l electric boats, fine dining, and spa rituals. In December 2025, Coronet Ridge Resort will reemerge as a 40-room alpine retreat near the slopes. Meanwhile, QT Queenstown is expanding its footprint by taking over the 152-room Rydges Lakeside Queenstown hotel on Lake Wakatipu, with new rooms opening in stages from the first half of 2026.
Adventure is still the heartbeat. The 2025 expansion of Soho Basin added just over half a square mile of advanced terrain to Cardrona Alpine Resort. Set to open in early 2026, the new Kawarau Gorge bike trail will connect the vineyards of Gibbston Valley with Cromwell in one sweeping ride. Later in the year Skyline Queenstown’s gondola will launch a redesigned summit platform and refreshed restaurant with panoramic views. Wellness is getting a glow-up too. The Bathhouse Queenstown will debut its winning formula—vitality pools, cold plunges, Finnish and infrared saunas, scented steam rooms—in the new Upper Village precinct in December 2025, while the sleek Bathe by Aluume thermal pools on the shores of Lake Wakatipu are soon to be joined by New Zealand’s first floating sauna in mid 2026.
Beyond the upgrades, Queenstown is thinking long-term, aiming to become a carbon-zero visitor economy by 2030, a regenerative vision that looks to give back more than it takes. For travelers it’s a place that promises beauty, adrenaline, and luxury with purpose.
How to plan it: Fly direct to Queenstown from major Australian cities, or connect via Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch if arriving from farther abroad. Queenstown is a true all-season city, but its inimitable magic is unlocked from June through August, when fresh snow transforms its ski fields into a winter playground. Its food and wine scene is epic year-round, and you can team it with blossoming trails in spring (September through November), warm lake days in summer (December through February), and gold-tinged landscapes in autumn (March through May). —Johanna Thornton
Uluru, Australia
Go for: spiritual connection, epic trekking, and a desert that lights up after dark
