Arrowtown Accommodation & Guide | The Elms Villa Two, Ayrburn & Golf

Arrowtown was built on gold. These days it runs on pinot, handmade pasta and tee times.

The old mining town now has Ayrburn down the road, Millbrook, home of the New Zealand Open, a short drive away, and Lake Hayes next door, where our favourite villa in the region sits.

Here’s what’s worth your time.

A little context first.

In 1862, gold was found in the Arrow River and thousands of miners arrived from around the world. The gold ran out. The town stayed.

Those miners’ cottages on Buckingham Street now hold boutiques, galleries and cafés, and Arrowtown is recognised as a Tohu Whenua site, one of the places that shaped New Zealand.

Start at the Lakes District Museum on the main street, which doubles as the information centre. Then walk down to the Chinese Settlement by the river, where the restored huts of Chinese miners tell a harder, less romantic side of the gold rush. It’s a short visit, and it will make dinner at Billy’s (more on that below) mean a lot more.

When to go

Autumn (April and May) is Arrowtown’s famous season. The town was planted with oaks, sycamores, rowans and elms, and the hills turn red and gold. The Arrowtown Autumn Festival runs in mid-April.

Winter makes Arrowtown a ski base. Coronet Peak and The Remarkables are both within about 30 minutes, and you get to come home to a fire rather than a resort car park.

Spring and summer are for the cycle trails, long lunches outside and golf. Peak golf season runs from November to April.

Where to stay: The Elms Villa Two

Our pick for Arrowtown accommodation sits a few minutes down the road on the shore of Lake Hayes, halfway between Arrowtown and Queenstown. For most people, that’s the ideal spot: a short drive to Arrowtown for dinner, fifteen minutes from central Queenstown when you need it.

The architecture is the reason to book. The Elms Villa Two was designed by Patterson Architects and styled by Virginia Fisher, the interior designer behind Eichardt’s Private Hotel.

It’s built into the hillside across three levels with three-metre stud ceilings, finished in natural timber and stone. It feels like a well-kept private home rather than a rental.

A few details we like:

The home bar folds away into the wall panelling when you’re done with it. The covered terrace has an outdoor fireplace, a dining table and a private hot tub looking across Lake Hayes to Coronet Peak and The Remarkables. The master suite has a steam shower and a freestanding bath.

It sleeps ten across four bedrooms, each with its own ensuite. Three are super king suites; the fourth is a custom bunk room with two queens and two singles.

That makes it one of the rare pieces of luxury accommodation in Queenstown that works equally well for two couples, three generations or a golf group.

Amisfield Winery and Bistro is 100 metres from the front door. Call in for an à la carte lunch or dinner, and a tasting of the estate’s pinot noir at the cellar door.

The Lake Hayes walking track starts from the grounds, and Millbrook is a short drive.

Every stay includes a welcome hamper of local cheese and charcuterie, breakfast provisions and a bottle of local wine. We can also arrange a private chef, golf bookings and ski guides.

The Elms Villa Two: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, sleeps 10. 

Ayrburn: give it a full afternoon

If you’ve been to Arrowtown before 2023, you haven’t seen Ayrburn.

Ayrburn is a farm first worked by William (Billy) and Bessie Paterson in the 1860s, restored over several years. The woolshed, dairy, stone cottages and homestead along Mill Creek are now a collection of restaurants and bars set in serious gardens. It opened in December 2023 and is now one of the region’s busiest attractions.

It’s big, so here’s where to focus.

Billy’s is the one to book. The Patersons’ restored homestead, one of the first in the district with electric lighting, is now a modern Chinese restaurant, a deliberate nod to the Chinese miners who worked the Arrow River. The rooms are full of art, and there’s a glass conservatory out the back for dining under the sky year-round. If there are four or more of you, order the banquet.

The Burr Bar is for the nightcap. It’s the small stone building where the Patersons lived (and raised eleven children) before the homestead was built. It’s named after Adrian Burr, the philanthropist who owned the farm from 2002 to 2017, and it pours cocktails late.

The Manure Room has the best name story in Central Otago: a local farmer once stockpiled manure to hide his illegal speakeasy. Now it serves tasting flights of Ayrburn’s own wines with small plates.

The Woolshed is the bistro. Sit on the deck above Mill Creek in summer, or inside by the fire in winter.

The Dairy is for the children, officially. The black forest gelato is for everyone.

The Bakehouse and RM Prime Produce are the practical stop. Breakfast at one, then fill the villa fridge from the butcher and deli at the other.

Our tip: the Queenstown Trail runs right past Ayrburn. From Lake Hayes, cycle there for lunch and let someone else drive you home after dinner.

Eating and drinking in Arrowtown

Ayrburn gets the headlines, but the village itself has kept pace.

Swiftsure by Man O’ War comes from the Waiheke winery. It sits above Buckingham Green with a terrace built for long lunches.

Aosta is Ben Bayly’s Northern Italian on Buckingham Street, named for the Alpine valley in Italy that shares Arrowtown’s 45th parallel. It holds two Cuisine hats and a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and serves a relaxed Italian lunch by day and a more refined menu at night.

The Fork and Tap is the locals’ pub, in a 150-year-old building with 19 craft beers on tap and a menu built around wild game. The new outdoor fireplace was made from stones found under the building.

Postmasters Kitchen + Bar is a gastropub on the corner of the main street, in the old post office.

Provisions of Arrowtown is the breakfast spot, in a miner’s cottage.

Rifters Tasting Room is where Arrowtown Distillery pours its spirits.

Dorothy Browns is a boutique cinema with a bar and an open fire. On a cold night, it’s the best seat in town.

Shopping

Buckingham Street is compact, and much better than it needs to be.

Muse carries local and international designers, with stylists on hand if you want them. Angel Divine is the high-end designer option. Outside Sports stocks New Zealand labels like Icebreaker and Mons Royale, which is useful if you’ve underpacked for the weather. In between, there are galleries, artists’ studios, antiques and an old-fashioned sweet shop with everything in glass jars.

Golf: two courses now, a third on the way

Arrowtown has more good golf within ten minutes than most countries have in total. Each course offers something distinct.

Arrowtown Golf Club is the local’s course and the more characterful of the two. It’s a par 70 of around 5,400 metres, routed through schist outcrops and past the ruins of pioneers’ stone cottages, with its two nines split by Centennial Avenue. It looks short on the card and doesn’t play that way. It’s open to visitors year-round, with clubs and carts for hire. Our pick for a first-morning round.

Millbrook Resort has two 18-hole courses. The Remarkables course was designed by Sir Bob Charles and John Darby. The Coronet course, by Greg Turner and Scott Macpherson, is more rugged, with big elevation changes and holes routed through wetlands, and it’s the one most visiting golfers talk about afterwards. Millbrook is home to the New Zealand Open, which returns in February 2027.

Hogans Gully is the one to watch. A new 18-hole course is taking shape on almost 160 hectares off Hogans Gully Road, designed by Gil Hanse’s firm (responsible for the Rio Olympic course) with Greg Turner. It’s Hanse’s first New Zealand project, and it’s due to open in 2028.

Walks and rides

The Arrow River trails start at the edge of town and suit an easy hour. For something bigger, the track up the river gorge to Macetown, an abandoned gold-mining settlement, involves many river crossings. Go on foot if you’re keen, or by 4WD tour if you’d rather keep your boots dry.

The Queenstown Trail links Arrowtown with Lake Hayes, Gibbston’s wineries and Queenstown. E-bikes are available to hire in town and make the longer legs very manageable.

What to pack

Layers. Central Otago can move through several seasons in one afternoon, even in summer. Merino is the local uniform, and you can buy it on Buckingham Street if you forget. Shoes you don’t mind getting wet, for the river trails or a go at gold panning.

Something smarter for dinner at Billy’s. Swimwear, because the hot tub at The Elms is the best place to watch the weather come over The Remarkables.

Getting there

Arrowtown is a 20-minute drive from central Queenstown, and The Elms is 15 minutes from town. Coronet Peak is within 30 minutes. Local buses run from Queenstown to Arrowtown, but for a villa stay you’ll want your own car or a driver, which we can arrange.

Plan it with us

Arrowtown works best when the details are handled before you arrive: the table at Billy’s, the tee time at Millbrook, the chef who’s already been to RM Prime Produce. That’s what we do.

Enquire about Elms Villa Two.