"You cannot get closer to Mt Cook than staying on property in their national park. The rooms are like mini apartments with a full kitchen, dining and spacious sleeping area. There is a walk out terrace in the back. The price for this ensuite was less than the Hermitage but I believe a better value for the quality. We spent 2 nights here to actually wind down (1 night is too short) and take advantage of the trails. There are so many. As we knew we were getting rainy weather going in, we picked up some groceries n Twizel to make soup and salad on the first night. We did a walkthrough of the museum and planetarium show which is a short drive (4 minutes). For our last night, we dined at the Alpine buffet restaurant in the Hermitage which had an amazing assortment and local seafood (cured Aoraki salmon, prawns, mussels). We thoroughly enjoyed and took advantage of all that this area offered. Beautiful natural setting. You will not be disappointed staying here. The word motel is deceiving as it's more like mini-suites."