New Zealand · Queenstown, Glenorchy & Lake Wakatipu
The Southern Lakes around Queenstown, where The Villa at Blanket Bay keeps four King suites on a hill at the head of Lake Wakatipu.
Now in Queenstown & Lake Wakatipu
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New Zealand · Queenstown, Glenorchy & Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu, the longest lake in New Zealand, runs between the mountains of the Southern Lakes from Queenstown to Glenorchy. Queenstown, the country’s adventure capital, keeps the middle of its shore, with its bars, restaurants and boutiques and the old steamer TSS Earnslaw at the wharf. Forty minutes up the lake road, Glenorchy is one of New Zealand’s last frontier towns, bordered on two sides by national parks, with the Routeburn Track at its door and the Dart River running down from Mount Aspiring.
Just outside Glenorchy, on the historic Wyuna Station, The Villa at Blanket Bay stands on the hill above Blanket Bay Lodge: four King suites, a private chef and twin hot tubs on the lawn, with the lake and the Humboldt and Thomson ranges in view. We hold the head of the lake for travelers who want the wilderness close and the house entirely their own.
Three minutes from town on the Frankton shore, The Rees Hotel & Lakeside Residences keeps five three-bedroom houses at the water’s edge, with hotel rooms and apartments on the hill above and the True South Dining Room, featured in the Michelin Guide 2026.
Over the Crown Range, the high country of Central Otago holds The Lindis and Mt Isthmus Villa, and in the subtropical north the Bay of Islands brings the sea and the vines together. Our New Zealand guide joins all three.
Why visit
Featured properties
Houses we know by name, the ones we would open for this landscape.
On the hill above Blanket Bay Lodge, Glenorchy · head of Lake Wakatipu, near Queenstown: two or four King suites
Four King suites in a stone-and-timber villa on the hill above Blanket Bay Lodge, with a chef in its own kitchen, twin hot tubs on the lawn and Lake Wakatipu below.
Frankton Road, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, three minutes from central Queenstown · New Zealand · Lakeside Residences, apartments and hotel rooms
Five three-bedroom Lakeside Residences at the edge of Lake Wakatipu, with hotel rooms and apartments above, the True South Dining Room from the Michelin Guide 2026 and a private jetty, three minutes from Queenstown.
Lake Hayes, between Queenstown and Arrowtown · an 8 minute drive to Arrowtown, about 25 minutes to central Queenstown
A seven-bedroom house on the hillside above Lake Hayes, between Queenstown and Arrowtown, with lake and mountain views, a yoga studio, a gym and an oversized spa pool in the garden.
Edinburgh Drive, above central Queenstown · minutes from the town centre and the lake
A six-bedroom house above central Queenstown with sweeping views of Lake Wakatipu, an art collection, a lake view spa pool, a cedar sauna and a terraced garden, minutes from town.
Park Street, Queenstown, a stone's throw from Lake Wakatipu · a flat ten minute walk to the town centre
A new three-bedroom house a stone's throw from Lake Wakatipu and a ten minute walk from central Queenstown, with floor-to-ceiling lake views, a media room and a spa pool in the garden.
Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road, beside the Millbrook golf course · under five minutes by car to Arrowtown, a short walk to Ayrburn
A six-bedroom homestead in sprawling gardens beside the Millbrook championship golf course near Arrowtown, with an infinity pool, spa pool, tennis court and views to The Remarkables.
Limerick Lane, on the hillside above Lake Wakatipu · minutes from central Queenstown
An architect-designed house of cedar and Otago schist on the hillside above Lake Wakatipu, minutes from central Queenstown, with five en suite bedrooms, an NZ art collection, a fire pit and a spa pool.
Earl Street, in the heart of downtown Queenstown · steps from Lake Wakatipu and the Queenstown Gardens
A two-bedroom luxury apartment in the heart of downtown Queenstown, steps from Lake Wakatipu and the Queenstown Gardens, with two en suites, a gas fire and a private balcony over town.
When and how
Each season keeps its own calendar. We plan the transfer around it.
Best time to visit
The head of the lake is beautiful in every season. Summer, January to April, brings long days for the rivers, the trails and the Lodge’s heated pool; winter, May to September, brings snow to the ranges and heli-skiing.
Seasonality
Spring, from October, is quieter, with snow still on the peaks. The festive weeks of late December and early January fill first. Your advisor confirms the Villa’s dates when you inquire.
Airport / logistics
Fly into Queenstown (ZQN), about three hours direct from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, or an hour and three-quarters from Auckland. Blanket Bay is forty minutes by road from Queenstown and fifty-five from the airport; a helicopter, or a light aircraft to Glenorchy’s airstrip, is the short way in.
Luxury experiences
Ways of traveling
Begin with the collection that holds these houses and shores.
Collection
Whole houses for the whole family: a hilltop Residence in Fiji, an exclusive-use villa in the Maasai Mara, a 1930s lake house in Austria, staffed villas in Bali, a Tuscan estate of private villas, a staffed sea-view villa on Capri, pool villas of four and five bedrooms on Hvar, three-bedroom Reserves on a Vietnamese bay, a four-suite villa above Lake Wakatipu, a sole-use house between Lake Hāwea and Lake Wānaka, and a garden haveli in Rajasthan.
Open the collectionCollection
Blue water, clear rivers and the far edge of the map: marlin off Fiji, trout on the Ahuriri, bonefish on South Andros, salmon by helicopter in Alaska and roped days on the Antarctic ice.
Open the collectionRelated destinations
Landscapes that sit well beside this one.
Destination
The Southern Alps and great lakes of New Zealand’s South Island: a private villa on a hill above Lake Wakatipu, and a high-country station in the Ahuriri Valley.
Austria
Lake Grundlsee: Salzkammergut alpine-lake living anchored by exclusive-use Villa Anna, curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
New Zealand
Otago’s high country of lakes, schist ranges and mountain passes, and beyond the Lindis Pass the Ahuriri Valley, home of The Lindis.
Plan My Trip
Tell us the season, the company, and the feeling you want to keep. We will write back with a considered path, not a link to a search.
Write to an advisor
