Established in 1863, the Cardrona Hotel is one of New Zealand's oldest hotels and one of only two buildings remaining from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. Set on the spectacular Crown Range Road between Queenstown and Wanaka, its historic facade is rumoured to be the most photographed building in the country and is an important part of New Zealand's history.
Behind the facade you'll find an award-winning restaurant, a legendary beer garden and cosy bar and eating areas that guests describe as homely, warm and full of ambience. The restaurant and bar are open seven days from 8am until late, and each winter the après ski tradition that began here in 1983 draws skiers in for the famous after-ski high tea.
The hotel also offers 14 charming rooms in its accommodation block and hosts functions and weddings. Owned since 2013 by friends-turned-business-partners Cade Thornton and James Jenneson, it remains a must-see while in Central Otago — a genuine slice of Kiwi history with an atmosphere second to none.
The Cardrona Hotel sits on the spectacular Crown Range Road, the alpine highway that links Queenstown and Wanaka through the heart of Central Otago. Established in 1863, it is one of New Zealand's oldest hotels and one of only two buildings remaining from the Cardrona Valley gold rush era. Rumoured to be the most photographed building in the country, its historic facade hides an award-winning restaurant, a legendary beer garden and charming hotel rooms — all with an atmosphere the owners describe as second to none. For travellers crossing the range, it is a must-see stop in Central Otago.
Cardrona began in the 1860s when hundreds of prospectors flocked to the valley chasing the miner's dream. Within three years a prosperous settlement had developed, and the hotel — then one of four in the township — offered accommodation, livery services and a coaching stop for gold miners and itinerant travellers. When the boom faded, Cardrona's fortunes waned, and with a shortage of timber in the area most of the remaining sound buildings were carted off to the growing township of Pembroke, later renamed Wanaka. The Cardrona Hotel stayed put.
The hotel's longest-serving publican was Jimmy Patterson, who bought it in 1926 and ran it until his death in 1961 at the age of 91. Patterson became a local legend for controlling how much his patrons could drink depending on their direction of travel: men crossing the treacherous Crown Range were allowed one drink, while those bound for Wanaka got two. After his death, a licensing condition forced the hotel's permanent closure, and the building slid into disrepair. Local farmer and entrepreneur John Lee stepped in to save it in 1970, and in the 1980s Wanaka couple Rosemary and Eddie Jones took on the mammoth restoration. Their restaurant opened in 1983, and the after-ski high tea they served marked the beginning of the Cardrona Hotel's legendary après ski experience. A later owner, Mark Wescott, added the 14-room accommodation block in 2002, and since 2013 the hotel has been run by friends-turned-business-partners Cade Thornton and James Jenneson, who were so taken with the pub on a winter road trip that within months they owned a slice of Kiwi history.
Today the restaurant and bar are open seven days a week from 8am until late, every day through the winter season. Inside, guests describe the bar and eating areas as cosy and inviting — homely, warm and full of ambience. Outdoors, the legendary beer garden makes the most of the spectacular mountain setting. The kitchen's Dirty Eggs dish takes top billing on the restaurant's own page, and the après ski tradition that began in 1983 still draws skiers in each winter afternoon.
The hotel's 14 rooms keep the feeling of times long gone while offering a comfortable base in the valley. Guests return year after year — one family calls an annual stay 'the highlight of the trip' — praising the lovely relaxed atmosphere and the staff who look after them. Few places let you sleep inside a building that helped anchor a gold rush town.
Beyond the restaurant and rooms, the Cardrona Hotel hosts functions and weddings in its historic setting. Those who want a souvenir can browse the hotel's online shop, which sells merchandise including a Cardrona Hotel A3 print by Bridget Hall, the Angelo's Wild Kitchen cookbook by Angelo Giorgalli, a Sunrise, Lake Wanaka fine art print and Golden Clay and Lemongrass soap.
You'll find the hotel on Cardrona Valley Road in Cardrona, on the Crown Range between Queenstown and Wanaka. Call +64 3 443 8153 for restaurant reservations and accommodation enquiries, or email [email protected]. Whether you pull in for a winter après ski, a long lunch in the beer garden, a wedding or a night in a gold rush-era room, the Cardrona Hotel is a genuine piece of New Zealand history still very much alive.