Blanket Bay

100   Recommended
August 5, 2015 by EXPERT

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Blanket Bay Luxury Lodge
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Blanket Bay, oh Blanket Bay. I am pretty sure this was the stop in the trip I decided I really didn't want to go home. And I have two pretty cute babies I love dearly. My stay at this lodge was pretty magical.

Blanket Bay is just outside of Glenorchy, a 40 minute drive from Queenstown on the north end of Lake Wakatipu and is part of a 60,000 acre estate. The stunning beauty of the South Island surrounds the property with the Humboldt Range directly across the water and wide open spaces for guests to explore. The air is so fresh, pure, and clear any worries you might have once had quickly go away.

Just past the main gate of the property.



A view from the air. Four of the suites are villa style and can be seen "behind" the lodge.



The lodge features a den where pre-dinner drinks are served, exercise facility game rooms (billiards, shuffle board, and more) a spa featuring jacuzzi, steam rooms, a beauty therapy suite, and heated outdoor pool.

I want to take a bit of time to talk about their spa and massage services. I have had quite a few massages from many different places - hotels spa, regular spas, etc and the masseuse at Blanket Bay is without a doubt the best I have ever had. Four in my group all had a massage and we all agreed - she is magic at what she does. One person quizzed her on it and she said she tries to really understand what the person on the table needs, then combines the different massage techniques. Amazing. I would stay at the property just to have a massage from her again.

Like the other lodges, the rate includes breakfast, pre-dinner drinks, and a multi-course dinner. As a whole, this lodge was my favorite for food and beverage. The wine, breakfast dish (a prosciutto, cheese, bread slice of heaven), and dinner were all outstanding. Other places I like dinner, but breakfast was unmemorable etc. Not at Blanket. Fantastic all around.

Stepping through the front doors of the lodge, this is the first view. The den is the lower level beneath the chandelier.



Blanket Bay has seven suites and 5 rooms. I really did not do justice of the property with photo taking of the rooms. We had a really great stay and I forgot to do some of my job on the trip.More on that in a bit though. I stayed in one of the suites, which was a villa detached from the main lodge.

(Note - I had messed up the bed before taking the picture. It will not look messy when you arrive.)





Views from my patio. We battled weather a bit while staying.



A tiny view of the bathroom. The shower and tub are both stand alone.



Now for the story behind my poor photo and note taking: one of the activities guests can have arranged is a heli tour of the Milford Sound. With ample space at the estate, the heli's can land right out front by the water. We had been waiting for the weather to clear and we got the call as we pulled up in just under 2 hours we would be clear to go. I had a massage scheduled and went straight down stairs to an hour of bliss. After my massage was done, I was told to go change (we were going to do a landing) and come back for cocktails. Another 30 minutes later, I was up in the air for probably my favorite travel experience ever. Helicopter is a spectacular way to see the Milford Sound and I cannot recommend it enough. They usually will do a glacier landing, but it had snowed enough the week were were there we instead had to land a bit lower. The pilots then pulled out a piece of astro turf, golf balls and clubs so we could all take a swing. Such an amazing experience and day!

Waiting for the heli's to arrive.





We used Over The Top for our tour. Great company.



Away we go!



Where we landed for a fun stop.



Blanket Bay is fantastic. They are just what you would expect of an award winning luxury lodge. Everything was perfect and I can't wait to visit again.

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