"Mt. Cook - A Must See?" Mount Cook by Canadian_Traveler

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by Mt. Cook. When we began planning our trip to the South Island I figured Mt. Cook was a definite stop along our driving route. As our plans developed (and I read more about all the great places to visit on the South Island), I started considering omitting Mt. Cook from the loose itinerary. Some responses on message boards said it was a must-see. On one fo the Moorea tours we spoke to a couple that had just returned from NZ and they too agreed that Mt. Cook was a must-see. So this solidified things and we spent the 2nd last night of our honeymon in Mt. Cook.
We were quite surprised to find that pretty much all of the hotels, chalets, motels in Mt. Cook were actually owned by the same company and that our options were pretty limited (besides the hostel).
We decided to splurge and stay at the Hermitage. It was the most expensive hotel we stayed in in NZ and oddly enough, was also our least favourite. We both agreed that we wished we had skipped Mt. Cook after all. While we had a good time, it just wasn't what we had expected. It was far too 'stiff' for our taste and just didn't have the friendly atmosphere that New Zealand is so famous for.

• Pros:beautiful scenery, nice hikes
• Cons:stiff, all the hotels are owned by the same company, very slow paced (boring)
• In a nutshell:On another trip to New Zealand, I would skip Mt. Cook