Our Community

The Hermitage Hotel is fully committed to sustaining and enhancing the geographical character of Aoraki Mount Cook - its unique environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. Check out some of the ways we are helping to make a real difference in the Mount Cook Community:

Mount Cook School:
We have a strong association with the Aoraki Mount Cook school where students are children of our employees. Our General Manager of Tourism, Denis Callessen has been a marriage & civil union celebrant for more than 30 years. He donates all of his wedding fees to the school who form part of the greater hotel and village family.

The school and the hotel have a close association as much of their curriculum is Place-Based. The school makes the most of the expertise in their community such as our hotel chefs who work with the children for cooking lessons and support the senior children in their business enterprise to produce school lunches for the school.
From age 12 upwards, the pupils have the opportunity to work at the Hermitage during the holidays in such fields as serving in the cafe and helping in the restaurant. This valuable work experience stands them in good stead later on.

Maintenance at the Hotel helps out with odd jobs at the school. Our staff often assist at working bees. Reservation staff help with bookings for advisors and other visiting personnel and donation boxes situated in the hotel support the school's local fundraising efforts.

The staff at the Sir Edmund Hillary are another useful resource when they focus aspects of their curriculum around local history and special people in our area.

Himalayan Trust:
The Hermitage Hotel & the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre are extremely proud to support the Himalayan Trust by gifting a portion of the price of each ticket sold. With this donation and other cross cultural links, we aim to support not only the continuation of the Trust's work but also ongoing cultural bonds between our regions.

Aoraki Mount Cook Museum Trust:
The hotel has played a key role assisting the Aoraki Mount Cook Museum Trust in the establishment of a museum within The Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. Our staff and resources will continue to assist in the archiving and management of museum content well in to the future. We also gift hotel artifacts to the trust for archival purposes and display in the museum if appropriate.