Hermitage Hotel: An Old Hotel with a Great View of Mount Cook
When I went to visit Aoraki Mount Cook Village, a large signboard welcomed me. It pointed the way to the village center. There was some snow on the ground and there was long brown grass growing everywhere.
My first view of the Hermitage Hotel was very pretty. I knew that it was an old hotel and it was one of the best hotels in Mount Cook Area. The original hotel had been built in 1884. It now had a new building but the same name. I was sure that my stay would be amazing.
The front of the hotel had large glass windows. It was getting dark when I arrived. The lights had already been switched on. The hotel looked very welcoming.
A few guests were standing in front of the hotel. They were wearing thick jackets and woolen caps. I was sure that the night would get even colder. I was very happy to get inside the hotel, out of the cold air.
The hotel lobby was mostly empty. There was a counter at one end and one of the hotel staff helped me check in. There wasn’t a lot of furniture or sofas in the lobby but there was a fireplace on one side.
A large pile of logs had been kept next to the fireplace. A sign beside the fireplace pointed the way to the restaurant and the lounge.
When I entered my room, I found a locker right beside the door. It would be useful for keeping my money and passport safe.
Right under the locker, a few clothes hangers were hanging on a rod. An ironing board had been stored at the back, in case I needed to iron a shirt or a dress.
A black clothes iron was on the floor, beside the ironing board.
The room was quite big and there was a large screen TV on the wall opposite the beds.
I like to open the drawers in the bedside tables and look inside. The first drawer had a copy of the Holy Bible.
But the second drawer had a pair of bedroom slippers and a hair dryer. I shut the drawers and looked around the rest of the room.
The Heritage Hotel had put a pair of shower caps and vanity sets in the bathroom. There was also a nice hand and body wash. It was made of citrus, sandalwood and kiwi fruit extract and had a pleasant smell.
Along with those bathroom products, the hotel had provided clean and fresh towels. Hand towels and bath towels were both kept folded on the bathroom counter.
A box of tissues had been placed in front of the mirror. The hotel staff had folded the top tissue into a pretty flower shape.
On the opposite side of the counter, there was an extra roll of toilet paper. The hotel staff had thought of everything that their guests would need.
The washbasin was a little small and old-fashioned. But it had two taps for warm and cold water so I could wash my hands and face.
The whole bathroom had big white tiles all around and the shower area had a hand shower. The hotel had given the guests big bottles filled with body wash, shampoo and conditioner to use.
A white shower curtain could be used to block the shower area from the rest of the bathroom. Extra bath towels were kept on a rack in the shower area. The bathroom didn’t have separate shower and bath areas. The shower was above the bathtub.
The Hermitage Hotel bathroom wasn’t very big and it seemed a little old. But I didn’t face any problems. The bathroom had a wooden door and a big mirror behind the washbasin.
I had been given a room with two double beds. The beds were big and comfortable and they had been neatly made before my arrival (just like in The George Hotel, Christchurch). There were plenty of pillows for my use.
A telephone and intercom system could be used to call any of the hotel staff. All the numbers had been neatly printed on a little note and left beside the phone. The Hermitage hotel had also provided a pen and a notepad.
A radiator was used to keep the room warm. It had been switched on and the room was quite warm. A comfortable chair and a coffee table stood in front of the radiator.
I had booked a non-smoking room. The hotel had left a note thanking guests for not smoking along with the remote for the TV.
The best thing about the room was that there was a small coffee machine that I could make use to make coffee however I liked it.
The minibar below the TV had a lot of glasses, cups, mugs and coffee and tea sachets.
There were enough cups, glasses, mugs and spoons for four people, since the room could accommodate four guests. They were neatly kept on the top shelf.
On the bottom shelf, the hotel staff had left an electric kettle and a tray of coffee filters, tea sachets, and sugar. There was even a packet of ginger cookies!
The cupboard also had a small fridge in case some things needed to be kept cool. I opened the fridge to see what was inside.
There wasn’t any water or any drinks inside the mini fridge. However, there were a few tiny cartons of whole milk. It would be great for anyone who liked milk in their tea or coffee!
A Kia Ora magazine, which was a special travel magazine from New Zealand, had been kept on the coffee table. Guests could browse through the magazine when they had some free time.
The curtains had been drawn over the windows to keep the room warm. I pulled back the curtains to look at the view.
I had booked a room with a view of Mount Cook. The mountain was right in front of the hotel. As soon as I pulled back the curtains, I could see Mount Cook before me (By the way, I also have an article about my stopover at the Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Shop at Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre.). The view just amazed me (and in case you want more amazing views like this, you can read my post about the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Tekapo and Tasman River Track).
It had grown dark but I could still see the snowcapped mountains. The front of the hotel and the road was also visible from my room. One or two stars could be seen above the snowy peaks.
You can see the beautiful view from my hotel room in the image above (just like when I stayed at Mt Cook Lodge and Motels). The sky was dark blue and the snow on Mount Cook looked very white. I couldn’t wait for morning to come so that I could admire the view in sunlight.
After I had settled in, I decided to check out the laundry room. The Hermitage Hotel allowed guests to use the laundry room and the dryers for a small fee. There were three washing machines and three dryers.
A list of instructions had been stuck on the door of the dryer. It gave easy step by step instructions about how to use the machines (just like at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel Christchurch).
Guests could use their debit or credit cards to pay for using the washing machines and dryers. The clearly written instructions were very useful. I quickly understood how to use the machines. The hotel charged $8 to wash a load and $8 to dry one load.
Two comfortable sofas had been placed in the laundry room. Guests could sit down and wait for their laundry to be completed. The hotel was not responsible for the safety of someone’s laundry so guests could not leave their clothes and go back to their rooms.
The laundry was only open between 9am and 5:30pm. Guests were asked not to start a load of laundry after 5pm because that would disturb the people in the nearby rooms.
There were even two ironing boards and irons inside the laundry room. I was able to iron and fold my clothes before taking them back to my room.
