The Hermitage Hotel facts for kids
| The Hermitage Hotel | |
Quick facts for kids  Hotel complex, with the restaurants in the foreground and the main hotel building behind |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°43′58″S 170°5′36″E / 43.73278°S 170.09333°E |
| Address | |
| Opening date | 1884 |
| Developer | Frank Huddleston |
| No. of rooms | 164 |
| of which suites | 20 chalets, plus a lodge & motel complex |
| No. of floors | 10 |
The Hermitage Hotel is a famous place to stay in Mount Cook Village, New Zealand. It's located right inside the amazing Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park. This hotel is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of a town called Twizel. The building you see today was built in 1958. It's the biggest building in Mount Cook Village.
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Exploring The Hermitage Hotel
The Hermitage Hotel and some nearby lodges make up most of Mount Cook Village. The hotel is the largest building around. This spot was picked in 1913 because it has amazing, clear views. You can see the giant Aoraki / Mount Cook and Mount Sefton mountains from here.
Awesome Mountain Views
Most rooms in the main hotel building face north. This means they have fantastic views of Aoraki / Mount Cook. The two restaurants also have huge windows. From these windows, you can enjoy the same incredible mountain scenery. The peak of Aoraki / Mount Cook is only about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away. It's further up the beautiful Hooker Valley.
Below Mount Sefton, you can clearly see the Huddleston Glacier. This glacier is named after Frank Huddleston. He was the person who first developed the hotel. Frank was a surveyor and painter from Timaru. In the 1880s, he became a ranger for the Mount Cook area.
Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre
The Hermitage Hotel is also home to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. This center teaches you all about the region and its history. It has a cinema that shows cool documentary films. There's also a museum in the main lobby. Plus, it even has a planetarium where you can learn about the stars!
Activities and Shopping
Many tours start and end at The Hermitage Hotel. You can join guided walks on nearby tracks. There are also bus tours and boat tours on the Tasman Glacier Lake. These tours leave from and return to the hotel's lobby and car park.
The only retail shop in the village is inside the main hotel building. It's like a very small convenience store. You can buy some basic groceries there. The closest big supermarket is 65 kilometers (40 miles) away in Twizel.
Hotel History
The current Hermitage Hotel is actually the third one built in this area. All three buildings have been called "The Hermitage."
The First Hotel (1884)
The very first Hermitage Hotel was built in 1884. It was a house made of cob, which is a natural building material. Frank Huddleston built it a little further up the valley, closer to the Mueller Glacier.
Back then, the land was not yet a National Park. The hotel's ownership changed hands several times. Eventually, the New Zealand Government owned it in 1896. Getting to the hotel from Twizel was an adventure! People first traveled by horse-drawn coaches. Later, the Mount Cook Motor Company provided transport.
The Second Hotel (1914)
A bigger hotel, also named The Hermitage, was built and opened in 1914. This one was at the current location. It was built because more people wanted to visit. In the 1920s, it became popular for some of New Zealand's first package tours. The hotel did very well and was made bigger twice. Sadly, it completely burned down on September 15, 1957.
The Current Hotel (1958)
The government quickly designed and built a new hotel. It opened just 8 months later, in May 1958. This third hotel building has been made bigger and updated many times. It is now the Hermitage Hotel you see today.
In May 2020, it was announced that The Hermitage would close for a while. However, the full hotel reopened in July 2020. By September, about 70 staff members were back at work. Around 130 rooms were open for guests.
The hotel, along with a nearby lodge and motels, is part of Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Village. It is owned by a company called Trojan Holdings.
