From a 27 m² Terrace Room on the quiet side to the 128 m² Torlesse Apartment with the whole of the ninth floor to itself. Every one of them has a wool throw and a window that opens.
North for the river and the willows. West for Hagley Park and, on about forty mornings a year, the Alps behind it. East, into the courtyard, for quiet — and it really is quiet, because nothing faces it but us.
Level one holds the Cape Room and level two the Snowline Spa, which means the first bedroom floor is three and the top one is nine. Nothing is above the ninth except the plant room, so the Torlesse Apartments have no footsteps overhead — a small thing that turns out to matter more than the view does.
All one hundred and fourteen rooms have double glazing, blackout blinds behind the curtains, and a window that actually opens on a restrictor, which in a base-isolated building was more difficult than it sounds. Every room has a wool throw woven in Ashburton, an hour and a half south, and every bathroom has underfloor heating, because Christchurch in July gets down to about minus two and tiled floors are unforgiving.
What you will not find: a minibar with a sensor that charges you for touching it, a resort fee, a charge for the wi-fi, or a card on the bed asking you to reuse your towels while we save fifteen dollars. Towels are changed when you leave them on the floor and left alone when you do not.
Four rooms — two Terrace and two Avon — are fully accessible, with roll-in showers, lowered fittings and visual alarms. They are on floors three and four, nearest the lift. Tell us when you book and we will hold one; tell us late and we will do our best, which in a full house is sometimes not enough.
Thirty-eight rooms on floors three to six, facing the internal courtyard. The quiet side, and the reason people on the 6.20am flight out book them. Queen bed, walk-in shower, and a desk with a proper chair and two power points at desk height rather than behind the bed.
Two of the thirty-eight are fully accessible. Six connect through to an Alpine Suite, which is how families end up with both.
Thirty-four rooms along the Cambridge Terrace elevation, looking down into the willows and, in the season, onto the punts. King bed, bath and separate shower, and a window seat deep enough to sit in properly rather than perch on — which is what these are actually booked for.
The tram passes below every eleven minutes until six in the evening. You can hear it faintly with the window open, and most people decide they like it.
Twenty-one corner rooms on floors six to eight, with Hagley Park filling the west window and, on a clear winter morning, the front ranges behind it. Slightly larger than an Avon Room and considerably better lit, with two aspects instead of one.
These are the rooms to ask for between May and August. The light comes in at about four in the afternoon and does something to the far wall that we have never managed to photograph properly.
Thirteen suites in which the sitting room is separated from the bed by a solid wall and a door — not a screen, not a half-height partition, not an arrangement of furniture. If someone in your party wants to read at one in the morning, this is the category that makes that possible.
Sofa bed for a third guest, a dining table for four, and a second television that we would encourage you not to switch on. Six connect through to a Terrace Room.
Six corner suites on seven and eight with two aspects each: the river to the north, the park to the west. A dressing room you can close, a freestanding bath set into the window bay, and a table for four if you would rather eat upstairs — which in a Christchurch July is a defensible position and one we take no offence at.
Turndown at seven, a decanter of Waipara riesling on arrival, and the morning paper outside the door unless you ask us not to bother.
Two of them, and between them they are the whole of the ninth floor. Reached by a keyed lift, with two bedrooms, a kitchen that genuinely works rather than one that suggests the idea of working, a twelve-metre terrace along the west side, and the view of the front ranges that gave this hotel its name.
Nothing above but the plant room, which is on rubber and which you will not hear. Minimum two nights, and three over Cup Week and New Year.
Wi-fi. The gym and the lap pool. The bicycles, of which there are eight. The daily newspaper. Tea and coffee, and the kettle it is made in. Late check-out to 1pm when the house is not full, which it usually is not on a Sunday.
Cup and Show Week in early November, New Year, the last week of the school holidays, and any weekend with a concert at the stadium. Three-night minimums apply over New Year and Cup Week.
Rates are quoted per room per night in New Zealand dollars and include GST at 15%. They are room-only unless the confirmation says otherwise; breakfast in the Norwester Room is NZ$36 a head and can be added at any point, including at breakfast.
A flexible booking cancels free until 2pm the day before arrival. A saver rate is prepaid and non-refundable, and we will say so twice before you agree to it. We take a deposit of one night on stays of four nights or more, and nothing at all on shorter ones.
Enquiries sent through this website are answered by a person at reception, not by a system. We will reply with availability and a rate, usually within a couple of hours, and we will tell you if a cheaper category would suit you better — which happens more often than you would expect, particularly with the Alpine Suites.
The gaming lounge at Wintercape is reserved for adults aged 20 and over, in line with New Zealand law. Please confirm your age before continuing.
Gaming at Wintercape is available on the premises only. There is no remote or interactive service of any kind. Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655 — free, 24 hours.
Access to this website is restricted to visitors aged 20 and over.
If you need to speak to someone about gambling, the Gambling Helpline is free on 0800 654 655, 24 hours a day. Need to Talk? — call or text 1737.