Lester12

I have a lot of hotels / bed and breakfasts to book for 43 day trip to New Zealand and Australia. Any recommendations on the best site to use for booking?

Melnq8

There is no one best site that I'm aware of, but www.wotif.com is a good resource as is stayz as is www.bnb.com.

Keep in mind that NZ and Australia has some lovely accommodation that has nothing to do with hotels - lots of privately owned cottages and motels, and loads of unique accommodation options. 'Hotel' is the last thing I think when I visit NZ or travel within Australia, seriously.

If you provide some specifics regarding the towns you plan to visit, you'll probably get a load of recommendations.

longhorn55

I agree with Melnq8 that hotels are the last type of accommodations I think of in regards to New Zealand. We've not stayed anywhere that you would call a 'hotel' as there are much better choices.

I recommend looking at reviews for various places on Trip Advisor. Just go to the 'New Zealand' forum, choose the town you plan to overnight in, and at the top of the page, you'll find a tab for "Hotels". Under that tab will be choices for hotels, B&Bs, and specialty accommodations such as lodges, holiday parks, backpackers, etc. Read the reviews and find someplace that suits your style and budget.

PaoloValizia75

Hi Lester,
I have to travel a lot for my business, mostly in Europe,
but often in the Australia. I used to use sites like Travelocity,
but I quickly found the better way to find deals is to go to
the second level-those sites like http://reservelowcost.com
Who compare the hundreds of different booking sites in one
single search. So you not only see trivago or expedia
deals but ALL of them in one place. I must've save over
3,000 euros since I started using them. I agree, just
using one of the top booking sites is not the best idea
I hope it helps

michelhuebeli

Whatever you use, book soon, your time is running out fast. Just googling the town and the word motel or hotel gets you there, the standards in New Zealand are way higher than in the US. A modest motel in an out-of-the-way village can surprise you - we were amazed at the care and pride owners take, and just about all rooms come with cooking facilities and fridge, and at check-in you're asked which kind of milk you prefer and a small carton gets placed in your fridge... That's just the base line, so don't fret, just book and be happy and move on to the next one.

tt7

As already suggested by Melnq8, wotif is a good site to check, as it will give you a good idea of what's available at what price point. In both Sydney and Melbourne, it's probably worth looking at short-term apartment rentals (which can be as short as one night). They'll turn up in a search on wotif, and can provide greater space and an element of self-catering (if that is appealing) at prices comparable to the hotels. Alternatively, we had friends who stayed in Melbourne at the Novotel on Collins - they had no complaints and it's in a great location, right in the middle of town.

dutyfree

My daughter and I went to both islands in January and February (around 21 nights) and used Booking.com for all of our reservations. We made some before we left from home and some the night before we drove to that city. We got great places that seemed to always include a kitchenette and nice accomodations.I always enjoy seeing the reviews,real time prices on booking.com.