Review of our stay at Ossies Chalets and Apartments, Ohakune, New Zealand
One of the first things I visualize when thinking of a skiing holiday trip is staying in a lovely wooden chalet overlooking the mountains. My fantasy trip also comes with soaking in a hot tub with a glass of wine or a mug of hot chocolate (or both!) after a long day of skiing 🙂
Skiing at Mt Ruapehu Turoa Alpine Meadow
In reality, a skiing holiday is not a cheap one, especially for a family, and when you are not a regular skier and have to rent pretty much everything – skis, poles, jackets, ski pants, gloves, goggles and more! As such, my fantasy chalet accommodation with all the amenities is not possible, especially when it’s part of a budget first time skiing holiday amongst several other travels plans during our one year in New Zealand.
With a little bit of research and shopping around, we were able to fulfil several of the items of our accommodation wish list and I am happy to say our first skiing holiday with Mt Ruapehu and staying at Ossies Chalets and Apartments was a huge success!
Ossies Chalet and Apartments
I already wrote about our time skiing here, along with tips and information on how to plan a family skiing holiday,  specially for first time skiers. And just for the record, I am normally not into winter sports at all, I don’t do well with the cold! But this experience proved me wrong and I now look forward to planning winter holidays in cold countries rather than chasing the sun as I normally do.
Whilst doing our research on accommodation for skiing at Mt Ruapehu, we found that Ohakune was the best option if you are skiing at Turoa skifield. It is about 20 minute drive to the ski resort and the drive itself is ever so amazing with spectacular view of Mt Ruapehu!
Drive to Mt Ruapehu
We picked Ossies Chalet and Apartments as it looked very family friendly, had good ratings and was located in Ohakune. They had several chalets catering to large parties up to 13 people. We stayed at a one bedroom split apartment  which sleeps 6 people.  Prices for all their units ranged from $90-$310 and can be found here.
Cosy and warm is the first thing that came to our minds when we entered our apartment. All wooden, spacious and rooms were heated nicely. 6 bed spaces upstairs (1 double bed and 4 single beds) , dining and kitchen plus living area downstairs. The kitchen was fully equipped with all the utensils, plates and wine glasses you might need.  There is a fridge and microwave as well plus a large closet area and decent size bathroom. There is free WiFi with very good connection as well.
kitchen and dining
Living Area
Wooden walls with the iconic skiing picture 🙂
The Reception Area
Upstairs double bed
One of the four single beds in the bedroom
Few perks of staying at Ossies – you can get your ski rental equipment here. As I mentioned in my skiing post on tips and useful bits of information for first time skiers – it’s cheaper to rent outside the ski resort. There was a large variety of options at their shop here and we got all the equipment and gears we needed.
ski gear and equipment for rental
The view from outside some of the chalets is absolutely stunning! But our one didn’t have the view so we walked outside in the front area to enjoy the views and admire the plants.
Mountain view from some of the chalet porches
Several restaurants and cafes nearby – We ate at Matterhorn Restaurant @Powderhorn, pricey, but oh so very good! Food was absolutely delicious and the cocktails and wine went down well after all the skiing 🙂 It was also very easy to get to Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre from here and we did some lovely walks around the area the day after we went skiing.
Few recommendations for improvement –
The water tap and the shower does not work very efficiently, it gets either too hot or too cold!
You are provided with towels and linen but no duvet, which can be a bother to bring. Alternatively, you can rent from there as well.
The staff are very friendly and helpful. The owner was busy with a massive ski event that he was organizing the day after we were leaving but he still managed to find time to fit us in with trying on gear after the shop had closed.
Overall a very cosy, comfortable and affordable experience staying at Ossies. I may have missed out on my hotpool looking out into the mountains experience, but I did managed to get all the rest we could have possibly wanted from a fun packed family skiing holiday !
Disclaimer We were given media discount during our 3 days stay at Ossies chalet and apartments but as always, all opinions are our own. We had a really lovely stay here and would highly recommend to others, both during skiing season and the summer as well. There is so much to explore and do in this part of the country!
Linked to Our World Tuesday, Wednesday Wanderlust, and Travel Photo Thursday
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It’s so strange to look at the photos around the chalet, with it’s green grass and flowering bushes and snow covered mountain in the distance. Beautiful view, though! And yes, those wooden walls are quintessential chalet. 🙂 Glad you had a good time!
I know what you mean! Even the drive up to the mountain, you go through these dark green forests, looks like a tropical forests with giant ferns and then suddenly you are in the mountains covered in snow!
Lovely shots!
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Looks like a great place to explore.
This is a very informative post. It sounds like you had a great time in the area and I love that you could hire ski equipment at Ossies. Did you know before arrival that Duvets were not included. I have never experienced that before anywhere in my travels!
It does say on their website that you have to hire duvets so we were prepared and took our own. But to be honest, their quilts were warm enough for us as the chalet was nicely heated and we really didn’t need extra. I can imagine if it was colder we would have needed duvets.
I am not a fan of cold weather neither. But, like you, I do enjoy certain things like hot tubs, hot chocolate and great views. I think there are tons of cool stuff to do in area like this.
Wow – the mountain is stunning! But, as others have mentioned, the transition to forest and what looks like lovely flowers is hilarious. Hi, here’s a pretty flower, and a giant, snow covered mountain! You don’t see that everywhere. 🙂 #WednesdayWanderlust
I keep looking for quaint and cozy ski chalets in Europe. It doesn’t seem like they exist. I want to go there!
That mountain view from the porch is just magical. Looks like a great trip! Thanks for joining in #wednesdaywanderlust, I’m a bit late commenting but I was travelling so I figured that was a good excuse 🙂