Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa’s French inspired hospitality is legendary and its latest addition –  Le Salon Rouge – is reminiscent of a prohibition era speakeasy.

The intimate cocktail bar and lounge has a mix of fine food and wine and cocktail experiences from early afternoon until late evening.

“Our decadent French style afternoon tea Le Goûter, served from 2.30pm until 5.00pm offers a beautiful selection of petite, artful savouries and sweets crafted by sous chef Imogen Liao and presented in a delicate French box,” says GM Jeremy Samuels. “It’s perfect for relaxing with friends and family while enjoying premium Dilmah teas, an afternoon G&T or a glass of Verve Clicquot champagne.”

An Après Chic happy hour runs from 5.00pm until 7.00pm followed by the luxury hotel’s Déjeuner menu from 7.00pm until late.

“The evening dining menu showcases Central Otago produce executive chef Lindsay Bennet is extremely passionate about,” says Jeremy. “It’s a ‘choose your own adventure’ dining style featuring smaller lighter options, shared plates and heartier dishes offering flexibility for guests.

Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa has spent the past 12 months implementing a dedicated sustainability programme to create better outcomes for guests and support regional initiatives for a regenerative, carbon zero future.

“Our sustainability story aligns with the Love Queenstown campaign to protect the environment for future generations,” says GM Jeremy Samuels. “I am all about creating the perfect balance between luxury and sustainability and bringing our guests along on that journey.”

Sustainability practices have been embedded across the luxury hotel’s entire operation.

“We have introduced a zero-plastic policy for amenities in guest rooms and worked alongside our luxury supplier Balmain in Paris to design bespoke aluminium racks for their hair and body products. Any replacement bottles are sent to Beyond Skin Deep – a recycling company which breaks them down for fence posts and also repurposes cakes of soap for charities such as Red Cross.”

“Single use amenities like toothbrushes and combs are now bamboo and in the Bistro plastic blister butter and jam packs have been replaced with porcelain dispensers.”

Jeremy says removing plastic water bottles has drastically reduced the hotel’s environmental footprint.

“Installing a Brita water filtration system has eliminated 77,000 plastic bottles a year from our operation without compromising water quality and the Brita water station in the hotel foyer encourages guests to refill their own bottles. Re-usable BPA-free bottles are sold at the front desk and every litre of water dispensed counts as one less plastic bottle discarded.”