Facilities & Services

Most of the Cardrona ski resort services and facilities are housed within a few buildings at the main base area. The base area includes equipment rental, a retail shop, child care, ski school, a courtyard and the infamous yellow archway that leads out to the ski area and lifts.

If there have been too many thrills and spills in the parks or pipes, Cardrona has a medical centre that is staffed by a doctor at all times and has a physiotherapist on standby.

Eating On Mountain The main base area has 4 cafes. The Base café is on the ground floor of the main base building serving fairly typical ski resort cafeteria type food. This café and the seating outside in the courtyard can often be packed. Adjacent to the Base Café is the Juice and Java Bar selling juices, smoothies and coffees.

Upstairs is the Mezz Café which has more restaurant-style fare, coffees and alcoholic beverages.

The Noodle Bar is located upstairs in the Under 5s Kids’ Centre with easy ski in ski out access, selling freshly made noodle dishes.

On the mountain near the Captain’s quad chairlift is Captain’s Pizzeria, another cafeteria style eatery that tends to have fewer crowds.

Facilities for Children Cardrona scores the big 5 out of 5 for family friendliness. Having on-mountain accommodation is the first major plus so you don’t have to lug the family and all the gear up the mountain each day. The main drawcards are the impressive licensed child care programs that are segregated according to age, the kids’ ski school, and the family ski areas.

Child care starts in the nursery for those aged 3 months up to 4 years old. The child care is for the full day so unlike at some NZ ski resorts, you don’t have to look after the kids during the middle of the day if you don’t want to. The cost is $79 per day (2010 rate) and spaces are limited, so be sure to book.

Kids under 5 can also attend ski kindy which combines full day child care with a ski lesson in a fenced off dedicated area.

Kids aged 5-14 can attend snowsports school in a 2 hour group lesson format or all day ski school.

Ski and Snowboard School In addition to the many programs for kids, the snowsports school offers lessons in pretty run-of-the-mill formats of group or private lessons. They also run special programs such as those for masters, women and advanced riders. Cardrona also has adaptive programs.

Equipment Rental Cardrona Alpine Resort has a large ski and snowboard hire shop that rents out a range of equipment for beginners, and park riders, as well as performance gear and clothing. The rental rates are generally a little higher at Cardrona than they are in Queenstown or Wanaka, but they offer the convenience of not having to lug your equipment up the mountain. If you’re not exactly sure if you’ll be skiing everyday at Cardrona during your holiday, they offer the option of dropping your hire equipment off in Queenstown or Wanaka at the end of your holiday.

Cardrona Facilities & Services Listings
Outdoor Sports - Wanaka
Outside Sports is Wanaka's largest ski and snowboard store with world class rentals, retail and workshop facilities.Book your ski and snowboard rental online.
Racers Edge - Wanaka
We are the largest dedicated rental operation in Wanaka & supply the best quality ski & snowboard equipment. We also have a fabulous range of clothing & accessories.

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