Welcome to Sherwood Queenstown.
This place has been part of my whānau now for what seems like forever. I was one of the first through its doors to try out their menu when they reopened in 2014. I spent my wedding night there, I had a party when I was pregnant. I have had countless wines, gigs, community events and workshops there.
I am now bringing the focus back on them to explore all the experiences, secret corners, bits you didn’t know about because they deserve to be celebrated. And you deserve to know about them.
Eats and drinks at Sherwood
As soon as Sherwood opened its doors, their food and drink offerings were always extremely transparent. Where was the food coming from and where would it go once we had ravaged it?
Who made it? Why did they choose it? Waste was a huge conversation they wanted to have with the community. In the past 18 month alone they have diverted 40,000 kg’s of waste out of landfill. 100% of kitchen waste is composted, 60% of wine is bottled in house and they operate under zero waste principles fully in the bar with the restaurant hoping to be 100% in the near future.
99% of the food they serve is sourced from NZ (75% from the South Island/ Te Wai Pounamu)
Over 100 ingredients will be grown and harvested in the garden and be used on the menu. Beehives will be on site by December. They converse daily with local suppliers about the what, ifs and buts and let you know why what’s on your plate, is there.
Empty wine bottles and flagons are placed in the rooms as part of the ‘room refillery’. This means that guests can bring the empties to the restaurant to be filled with local, natural wine and craft beer. This service is also available to locals and travellers alike.
Stay at Sherwood
Resting your head at the end of a huge day at Sherwood (eating, music, working, yoga, blissfully wandering the trails) couldn’t be easier as their rooms cater for all.
Family wanting a break from the city? Solo travellers? Couples on a romantic weekend away? Locals wanting some time to themselves? Each room has been shaped around what people actually need when staying in a hotel. How much time they spend in there (are you a whip in and out girl or a languish all afternoon kinda person). What does someone really need whilst they’re in the room (fridge, double bed, kitchenette, view) and price point that fits you.
They have studios and apartments, bunk rooms. Fully stocked kitchens to tiny fridges filled with the important bits and pieces. Local delicacies, refillable flaggons for craft beer and wine from the bar, snacks and treats galore. Teas and good coffee are plentiful.
The rooms themselves have all you need (and most definitely none of what you don’t). Carbon negative cork adorns the walls, commissioned artwork from local artists hangs in each room. Natural self made products in bathrooms filled with local scents.
Fancy treating your body well whilst you’re visiting? Yoga, massage and meditation are part of the timetable here and they have a wealth of knowledge and also events that compliment this; from bread making classes to waste minimisation awareness. Staff are 70% female paving the way for more conversations about diversity and inclusion.
“ If Mick Jagger were to shack up in the South Island of NZ, it would be at Sherwood. A wild blend of rock n roll, wilderness retreat and eco-designed accommodation”
Rhiannon Taylor – In Bed with Me.
If working whilst here is your thing, their own fast wifi is in all rooms and all over site. So you might want to slow it all down but your work doesn’t have to. There are spaces to have meetings, work quietly, or get creative in the workshop. Need something setting up? Just ask about their venue spaces. You’ll often see tipis set up outside the workshop space for weddings, birthdays and corporate events.
Sustainability at Sherwood
Proud to be one of the only hotels in the Southern Hemisphere that is powered by the sun Sherwood guests can marvel at the huge array of beautiful solar panels that adorn the exterior. 248 in fact and can produce over 69,000 kw/h of the good stuff within the year.
Food that is not grown onsite in the epic garden (have you meandered it’s trails yet?) is locally produced and brought from suppliers who are part of the ecosystem and whanau.
The rooms have been refurbished (after taking in the previous owners 80’s retro fitted rooms) with carpet tiles made from fishing nets, furniture from recycled materials, kitchen and bathroom floor coverings from recycled car tyres and curtains from upcycled army blankets.
Rooms are simple, natural and moody. A fresh flower here, a piece of granite there. Always laid with purpose, peace and with you in mind.
Everything is thoughtfully presented thinking about how this will impact us in years to come, do we need this or that, do we want this to be part of the eco system of Sherwood now and forever. Their respect for nature is simple but key to everything that happens here.
Be part of the community at Sherwood
Manaakitanga is the Māori word for hospitality and through it wellbeing and mana is enhanced. All you do is about kindness for oneself and the land we inhabit. This is a deeply valued principal at Sherwood and embedded everywhere you look. From the garden, to the rooms, to the community offerings and events.
Their large ski and bike workshop space is often filled with the sound of music and movement as local and international bands play here. Their workshop list is extensive and they revisit what it is people want and request often. Ears are always open.
The workshop is also home to benches and tools to get that bike downhill ready, that board smooth and sharp ready for the snow. Drying rooms for boots and a sauna for post ski muscles to relax and heat up in.
Events are a regular thing at Sherwood and you can hear more about them here. From Whisky tasting, bread making to jewellery design and ceramics. Local and international musicians have all played at Sherwood and there’s songwriters evenings too.
Alongside getting stretchy in the yoga studio there is massage available onsite and wellness festivals have all been held for the community.
Sherwood gets into your bones. It seeps into your being and there’s good reason.
It is simple and beautiful.
Thoughtful and well placed.
Everything has a purpose. A reason for being.
Sherwood Queenstown has been etching itself in the memory of locals, visitors to the region and those who came here and now revisit for good reason, years ago.
The reason people visit is because everyone nudged them and said “have you been to the damn Sherwood yet?”. It’s that good.
It works its hardest, it tries its damndest to make your stay the most relaxing, peaceful, delicious. That you never have to leave its walls during your time in Queenstown.
Everything you could ever need. And more.
Go visit. I promise you you won’t be disappointed
Sherwood Queenstown
554 Frankton Road
Queenstown
I worked with Sherwood Queenstown to deliver this blog post to you, my loyal readers. But if I didn’t think you’d like them I wouldn’t write about them
Ahhhh so beautiful Jane! Brings back memories 🧡
AHH it’s so good eh!!