Anyone know of nice villa/resort (nice accomodations, close to wineries, good restaurants nearby) in the Marlborough region? We're landing in Nelson after a lengthy trip from the US and want to relax for 2-3 days in the region. So, sleep, eat, do lots of wine tasting/touring, eat and maybe kayak. We'll then head to Abel Tasman for more activities. Surprised to only see one marlborough posting with no lodging help. But in general, love the board. Thanks.

We stayed at a great cottage between Motueka and Tasman (about 30 minutes from Nelson) called The Old Schoolhouse. It's a former 1930's schoolhouse that was moved from its original location onto the property of Pam Robert and Dave Birt. It's fully self-contained and overlooks a vineyard not far from Kina Beach.
www.cottagestays.co.nz (click "regions", then click Motueka under the South Island column, then click "the old schoolhouse".

The owners of The Old Schoolhouse also own a second cottage in Nelson. You can probably view it by looking at the same site.

We've also stayed at a great B&B in Riwaka, minutes from Motueka. It's called The Blue Moon. This is a private guest room attached to the home of owners Jane and Anna. It's a special place. www.thebluemoon.co.nz

I can highly recommend both of these places. I wouldn't hesitate to return to either.

You might also want to look at the following sites:

www.bnb.co.nz
www.placestostay.co.nz
www.holidayhouses.co.nz

Marlborough implies Blenheim, the center of the wine country. However, Nelson is much more interesting so I would stay there (they are one and a half hours apart). Try Jasons.co.nz for hotels. I used it many times and found this site to be the most helpful.

Golfer55 is right. Marlborough is technically Blenheim, Picton and the Marlborough Sounds.

We've stayed in Blenheim a few times, but personally, we like the area around Nelson more. Blenheim is really flat and IMO not as scenic as the wine region surrounding Nelson.

The Motueka/Upper Moutere/Tasman area is quite scenic and offers many wineries, orchards and arts/crafts studios etc. There are two very good restaurants in Mapua that I'm aware of - Flax and the Smokehouse, which are a short distance from Motueka along Ruby Bay.

There are many privately owed cottages along this stretch offering some unique lodging and friendly Kiwi hospitality.

There are also many places to stay in the Marlborough Sounds.

If you're looking to stay in Blenheim, you might want to check out the following places (I have no first hand experience with these, but I have them in mind for future trips).

Old Saint Mary's Convent - www.lodgings.co.nz/saintmarys.html

Stonehaven Vineyard -
www.lodgings.co.nz/stonehaven/html.

Good luck!

Our local newspaper features a travel section written by Lonely Planet. By coincidence, the article last Saturday was about accommodation in the Marlborough region. Some of their recommendations were Furneaux Lodge (www.furneaux.co.nz), Punga Cove Resort (www.pungacove.co.nz), Portage Hotel Resort (www.portage.co.nz, Tawa Cove (www.tawacove.co.nz).

Having stayed at Punga Cove Resort this past September, I would NOT stay there again. The setting is beautiful, but the place is under new management and we did not have a good experience there. Perhaps it will improve as the new owners get established and more organized.

The Portage looked quite nice and would be my personal choice if I were to return to the area. We had an excellent meal in their restaurant.

We also stopped at Furneaux Lodge one day while walking a portion of Queen Charlotte track. It was a bit rustic, and I certainly wouldn't call it a "resort", but who knows, it might be a very good place.

check out The Paradiso in Nelson (do a google search). It is renowned as one of the finest budget places to stay in NZ. You do not need to spend a fortune to obtain top quality accom in New Zealand. We hope to be there next week, waiting for confirmations of booking.

Here we are in Wellington after 8 days of near perfect holiday. I feel compelled to comment on Melnq8's comment on Portage resort. We stayed one night and it was enough! Food great but room 19 was VERY basic for NZ $185. Hole in floor of bathroom (dangerous), one chair for 2 of us (??) beds uncomfortable. The plusses were the sunset (fabulous) the wait staff (great) food and wine were both excellent. The place needs a serious makeover and in spite of its natural beauty, was a serious disappointment for experienced travellers like my husband and me. Greedy sods again! One big warning-do not rely on the ferries (Lynx or Interislander) running on time- nesrly two hours late today and a missed international flight! Bummer!!

Lyndie -

Thanks for the info on the Portage. We've not stayed there, but it looked like an improvement over Punga Cove. I guess not!

Hope the rest of your trip went well.

Hi Melnq8. We had a great trip and Portage was a small hiccups! Check out the Bay of Many Coves Resort. We cruised by it on a Cougar line Marlborough boat and it looked fabulous. The lovely boat hostess said it was the finest place to stay on the sound. We're going late Sept so really looking forward to a bit of luxury for 5 nts. I found the info you've posted to be most helpful and we loved the smokehouse too!! thanks & best rgds.

Lyndie -

I just looked up the Bay of Many Coves - it looks divine - thanks for the tip!

You're going back so soon? I'm soooo jealous!

I'm glad you liked the Smokehouse.
Pretty good eats.

Lyndie (or anyone else?): Any good leads on where to stay or eat in Wellington? If I read your post correctly, you've just come from there also.
Thanks.

Hi LouUS-Logan Brown in Cuba St (five star dining-fabulous duck)special menu for early diners NZ 29.95 for 3 courses. Great service & very special wine list. Cafe Istanbul (BYO 2.50)Cuba St. was great food and top service. We stayed at Chancellor Hotel (3 star)room 318 was smallish but perfect for us with comfy twin beds and new bathrooms. We paid 80 AUD on ratestogo.com.au. It is a really nice hotel catering to the low to mid range market. We loved the location-walked 2-3 mins to two of the best restaurants in Wellington, mentioned above. Breakfast at Fidel's cafe over the road was tops!! Have a great time. Wellington is a pretty city and the cable car trip to the top of the mountain from the middle of the city is memorable.

try www.mudbricklodge.co.nz it's in between nelson and blenheim the hosts are down to earth kiwis who'll show the region at it's best. The accommdation is really nice with good linen etc and set on a cute little farm with animals to pet etc.