Ten Memorable Locations for Queenstown Executive Retreats

Great executive teams make regular space for strategic thinking. The organisations that work on their business are the ones that survive and thrive. Strategic planning is critical to your ability to ride the wave of change, and executive retreats are an investment in your organisation’s future growth. 

Queenstown is a magnet for top-performing senior leadership teams. Luxury lodges and boutique hotels in breathtaking locations deliver an outstanding executive retreat experience like nowhere else.

Give your executives a break from their heavy mental lifting with a mountain hike, a bike ride along spectacular off-road trails, or a soak in hot pools. New adventures spark connection and translate into fresh ideas. Then reward them with delicious seasonal dishes cooked by talented local chefs, or a tasting of celebrated Central Otago wines.

Queenstown hosts hundreds of leadership teams each year. Local event planning experts share their favourite locations for Queenstown executive retreats to help you plan your next retreat.

Kinross

First-ever recipient of the 2024 Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award, Kinross is in the beautiful Gibbston Valley. The vineyard is on the old Kinross Station established in the late 1860's by pioneering Otago farmer, Thomas Kinross. Thomas ran a trading post, farm, and gold agency. It’s fun to think that his entrepreneurial nous still rubs off on businesses that host their retreats here today. 

The Willow Room at Kinross is designed for events. Host 24 people with the room in boardroom format and up to 70 for a cocktail reception. You can stay on site, with boutique four-star accommodation in studio cottages set in a 100-year-old heritage orchard.

The grounds offer an abundance of options for team building activities or simply stroll among the vines and enjoy the breathtaking backdrop of the hills. With hot tubs, wine tasting, and catering from their popular on-site Bistro, Kinross is a gem of a corporate retreat venue. 

Stoneridge Estate

Long before the current lodge was created, Stoneridge Estate was a destination for weary travellers. The ruins of the historic Maynes Hotel can be found at the bottom of the property. Local lore has it the impecunious landlord paid his debts with his roof slates. This didn’t work out for the structural integrity of his hotel. Today’s estate began as the vision of artist Da’Vella Gore, who bought an old church, transported it to her land by Lake Hayes, and rebuilt it amidst gardens and vineyards. Her son added the medieval-inspired lodge and surrounding buildings.

A short stroll from the main lodge, Stoneridge Estate can be booked by corporate groups seeking privacy. Groups have the use of an infinity pool and hot tub, gym, and sauna. There are six suites, each with a private deck or balcony, and your group can come together to meet and celebrate in the open plan living and dining area.

Have your event catered by the estate’s chef or stroll over to the main lodge for their five-course degustation. Your team can kick back and relax with a glass of wine as the sun sets over the lake.

Gibbston Valley Lodge

Gibbston Valley is one of the region’s founding wineries, celebrated for releasing Central Otago’s first commercial vintage in 1987. Gibbston Valley Lodge offers exciting spaces for your executive retreat. Meet or dine in the Gibbston Valley Cellar, where your team can plan your five-year strategy while Central Otago’s finest vintages mature in barrels around them. Or book the Conservatory, a flexible airy space with views over the hills and vineyards. A luxury media room is ideal for screenings or presentations.

Your team can stay in beautiful villas amongst the vines. Each villa has a sunny, secluded courtyard where they can take space from the pace and soak up the stunning scenery. Amble up to the lodge to enjoy a wine tasting and classic European cuisine with a modern New Zealand twist.

You’re close by all the activities Gibbston Valley has to offer, wine tours, cycle trails, jet boating, and bungy jumping at the birthplace of bungy, Kawarau Bridge.

The Headwaters Eco Lodge

Nestled in Glenorchy by the headwaters of Lake Whakatipu, The Headwaters Eco Lodge is an award winning luxury eco retreat only 40 minutes from Queenstown. The tranquillity and majestic beauty of Glenorchy will revitalise your team and inspire new ideas.

The Headwaters’ comfortable meeting rooms look out on the majestic setting, while luxury cabins and bunkrooms can accommodate up to 56 guests. The lodge restaurant uses the freshest local produce – much of it grown in their kitchen garden and orchard or foraged from the surrounding land.

The Lodge also offers a choice of team building activities, including jet boating, horse riding, helicopter trips, day walks, and fishing tours.

Aro Ha

An internationally celebrated wellness retreat in Glenorchy, Aro Ha is the ideal retreat location for an executive team who need to be recharged. Retreats are carefully designed by the experienced Aro Ha crew to restore your team, before infusing them with renewed energy and inspiration.

Aro Ha operates on three guiding principles. The retreat is net zero energy and meets its energy needs renewably. The lodge uses Passivhaus principles for efficiency and longevity, and permaculture’s holistic design philosophy guided the whole design approach. Aro Ha grows 300 edible species and produce almost half of the fresh produce they feed their guests and staff.

After your leaders’ hard work is done, they can slow down and spend time in communion with nature. Aro Ha offers hiking, yoga, and meditation, while guides educate your team about local ecology, place, history, and culture.

Kinloch Wilderness Retreat

Kinloch Wilderness Retreat in Glenorchy combines a heritage lodge with affordable wilderness rooms offering quality backpacker style accommodation, as well as low-energy EcoScape cabins on the lake. It’s a charming, eclectic location for down-to-earth group retreats in nature.

Groups often hire the whole lodge and use the lounge and terrace for their workshops, before heading outdoors to relax. Your executives can eat hearty, homecooked food at the restaurant overlooking the lake or cook for their colleagues using the onsite kitchens and BBQs.

Activities in the area include kayaking, horse treks, ziplining, electric 4WDs, packrafting, and guided walks. There’s all year fishing and an open-air hot tub, or your team can gather round a campfire on the lakeshore to watch the stars and listen to the ruru (Morepork) calling in the woods.

Blanket Bay Lodge

Voted one of the world’s best luxury lodges, Blanket Bay is on the lakeshore in Glenorchy, at the head of Lake Whakatipu., Blanket Bay is a rugged yet refined alpine lodge built with New Zealand timber and local stone. Your team can admire the lake views from beside a roaring fire, adventure in the local area, or enjoy fine dining.

Groups often book the Villa. Four king suites with bedroom, bathroom and sitting areas surround a grand lounge, bar and commercial kitchen, and outdoor seating areas with fire pit and hot tubs. The Villa has spectacular views across Lake Whakatipu to the Humboldt and Thomson mountain ranges. If you need more accommodation your executives can stay in the luxurious chalets or the main lodge.

The Blanket Bay team can organise jet-boats, horse trekking, fly-fishing, and hiking tours from the lodge. You’re a 45-minute drive from Queenstown, its art galleries, golf courses, restaurants, and shops, while Gibbston Valley Wine Region with its boutique wineries is only an hour away.

The Rees Residences

The Rees Lakeside Residences are part of the Rees Hotel, a five-star hotel beside Lake Wakatipu. The Residences offer secluded meeting areas and accommodation, ideal for an executive retreat. Spaces can accommodate any layout you desire, from boardroom to banquet. Comfortable breakout areas enjoy views over the lake and wood burners make this a wonderful option for a winter retreat.

A private chef can create an exclusive dining experience for your team, or they can take the free shuttle or a water taxi into Queenstown and dine in the cosmopolitan buzz by the lake.

Groups are offered the services of a travel curator, who can arrange activities for your team. Hotel facilities include a library of rare books, a spa, kayaks, and a gym. Your team can even swim from the hotel’s beach or jump off the wharf – so long as they’re prepared for that alpine water.

Queenstown Park Boutique Hotel

This boutique five-star hotel in central Queenstown is family owned by hoteliers with 50 years’ experience. You can see their expertise in every quietly considered detail, from the complementary pre-dinner drinks and canapés to their commitment to sustainability.

The bijou hotel has only 22 rooms. It’s ideal for a larger executive team if you want the whole place to yourself. The hotel’s comfortable meeting space opens onto an outdoor area, where your team can stretch their legs and take the fresh mountain air between sessions.

The central Queenstown location is ideal for taking advantage of our celebrated nightlife. Your team will also be walking distance from jetboating and cruises on the lake, the extensive local network of off-road cycle trails, and hikes into the hills.

Hulbert House

This restored Victorian villa built in 1888 is one of Queenstown’s original residences, the house has a racy history. Built by receiver of gold Horatio Nelson Firth with his gold rush profits, he was sent to prison for embezzlement in 1901, leaving his wife to run the property as a boarding house. The house then waltzed through many incarnations: maternity hospital, private nursing home, wartime refuge for girls, a base for the Salvation Army, and backpacker’s accommodation. The walls have tales to tell.

Today, Hulbert House combines contemporary luxury with historical elegance. The interior is opulent, with period details enhanced with splendid wallpapers, custom carpets inspired by willow pattern china, French antiques, and chandeliers.

The hotel sleeps 12 and you can book the entire place, so it’s ideal for a small senior leadership team. Meetings can be held in the Palm Lounge, or on the Victorian veranda when the weather is fine. The hotel is only 500 metres from downtown Queenstown, where your team can enjoy the bustle of bars, restaurants, boutique shops, and experiences.

Rosewood Matakauri

Set on the hillside in Fernhill, a short seven-minute drive from central Queenstown, Rosewood Matakauri regularly hosts Queenstown executive retreats. This sophisticated lodge has a focus on elegance and privacy, as well as a dedicated event planner to help you organise your retreat.

There are a choice of group spaces, including two lounge areas, one hung with Picassos, a library, and an outdoor terrace. The main dining room seats 18. Accommodation is in 11 suites, some in the main lodge, others in cottages in the surrounding woodland. There is also a villa with four bedrooms.

The Rosewood team can arrange bespoke dining experiences for your group, as well as an itinerary of experiences to suit your needs. Activities include wine tasting, visiting glaciers, lake cruises, and exploring the alpine landscape, from short strolls to a full-day, guided hike.

Private Stays in Your Own Secluded Retreat

If you’re bringing a small executive team to Queenstown and you want your own space, a group of luxury accommodation companies specialise in bespoke experiences in premium villas and lodges.

MajorDomo specialise in exclusive use villa stays. Many villas have interesting architecture, significant art collections and stunning views. For a villa to be included in the MajorDomo portfolio, it must have superb facilities. The MajorDomo concierge team will help you plan your groups’ stay, personally meet and greet your executives, and arrange welcome packs.

Touch of Spice has curated exceptional locations for Queenstown executive retreats. Their Queenstown private villa collection includes a home with a private cinema, a roaring fire and a hot tub near Lake Hayes, a slate and cedar hillside haven on Queenstown Hill, and a peaceful Jack’s Point villa, with panoramic views. The Touch of Spice team can curate a full itinerary for your team.

Luxury Stays Queenstown have a collection of villas and apartments selected to offer home comforts combined with the luxuries of a hotel. From penthouses in the heart of Queenstown to secluded lodges in the hills, they’ve some real treasures on their books. Luxury Stays have teamed up with Indulge Mobile Spa to offer your executive team massages and facials as part of their retreat.

Book Your Next Executive Retreat in Queenstown

Get in touch with the Queenstown Convention Bureau team for free, impartial advice on how to create a Queenstown executive retreat for your senior leaders to remember. Our local event experts can help you arrange accommodation, events, and activities for your team.