106 Best Hotels in New Zealand

Spacious chalets and studios, with native gardens between them, are nestled between Abel Tasman National Park and Marahau Beach. Units are finished in natural wood and have high cathedral ceilings, New Zealand wool carpets, queen- or king-size beds, and balconies. Room-service breakfasts, prepared packed lunches, and a communal kitchen are available. Staff can help make reservations for sea kayaking, water taxis, and hiking. There's a barbecue to share and an outdoor hot tub. Book well ahead for summer.

If you feel like staying in a "lighthouse" without being responsible for the ships, the two-story turret suite at The Boatshed may be the place for you, though there are other equally luxurious options, and dinner can be a well-earned add-on. Up a spiral staircase, glass doors open to a wraparound deck with views to Oneroa Bay. A long central room leads to a sail-covered deck and opens onto a cozy sunken lounge. In the Bridge Room, bi-fold windows frame a view of the bay. There's also the Owner's Cottage for a special stay. Helicopter transport to and from the Boatshed can be arranged, and it's possible to order spa, massage, and yoga sessions. A Jeep is available for a small charge, but it has unlimited miles and fuel.

You don't have to be religious to stay at this boutique hotel in a former Catholic Convent, where the creators have faith in the building and have given it a new, designer-style life. In keeping with its past, the rooms have names with a religious reference such as The Sacristy, The Convent Superior, Convent Petite, and Mother Superior. Amenities include luxurious linens and complimentary snacks, and the hotel also has Ada, an Italian restaurant. It's steps away from Grey Lynn, a trendy suburb with an easy, low-key vibe. 

Patronized by gold miners during the 1860s, Eichardt's is now an elite boutique resort hotel. Guest rooms are rich cocoa brown and cream; all have sitting areas with fireplaces, dressing rooms, luscious bathrooms, and lake or mountain views. Staff are exceptionally helpful and the penthouse package comes with a car and 24-hour butler. Eichardt's also has cottages nearby, with full kitchens, two bedrooms, and a common area.

A central Dunedin hub with roots dating back to 1862, this luxurious five-star hotel is a fresh incarnation of the classic Wains Hotel, refurbished with all the mod cons such as large TVs and premium linens. Rooms are decorated in a sophisticated, neutral-hued style with Scottish touches such as a tartan throw and interesting modern lamps. Desks and good Wi-Fi appeal to business travelers. The Press Club eatery is a take on Dunedin's gold-rush era and presents regional dishes using local produce. Breakfast can be purchased as an addition to the room rate.

Newly built on the hill behind Tekapo township, Galaxy's architectural design celebrates Tekapo's beauty from sunrise to moonrise. During the day, panoramic windows in each room frame the stunning lake and mountain vistas. At night, the single bedroom suites have expansive skylights above the bed, offering unparalleled stargazing of the International Dark Sky Reserve. The warm and modern interior is a welcome respite from windy and exposed environment of the Mackenzie Basin.

Luxurious tree houses are the star accommodations here, but there’s also a main lodge with a restaurant and hotel-style rooms, plus the salubrious Olive House, a freestanding and self-contained three-bedroom suite featuring spacious dining, lounge, and bedroom areas and 360-degree views. The tree houses, made of rough-sawn timber, copper, glass, and steel, stand on stilts above native trees. Inside are freestanding baths and elegant handmade furniture. Each unit has a wide-reaching view over olive groves (the lodge makes its own olive oil) to the sea and Kaikōura mountains. A spa offers massage and beauty treatments. Rates include full breakfast and gourmet dinner.

Famed for its stupendous mountain vistas from most rooms (there are floor-to-ceiling windows), the Hermitage is also home to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre, a tribute to one of the most famous New Zealanders. There's a planetarium, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Museum and theatre—perfect for when the clouds roll over. As the only hotel in the area, tours groups stay en masse over summer, so it pays to book well in advance.

Standing on the end of Princes Wharf, the Hilton resembles the cruise ships that dock alongside it, with white walls and neutral furnishings in chic rooms that allow your eyes to drift to the great views. The hotel's restaurant is good, while the cocktail bar is the best place to relax after a day of sightseeing. The Viaduct Basin with its raft of restaurants is five minutes away on foot.

Set on 17 blissful acres, this riverfront lodge is one of the country's finest and has seen its fair share of prominent guests over the years, many are repeat customers. Large, lavish suites have a rustic-chic decor and open to a view across lawns to the river. Two separate, multisuite cottages are the height of luxury. Predinner drinks, a five-course dinner, and a hearty country breakfast are included in the rate. The lodge can arrange almost anything under the sun and, despite the level of sophistication, welcomes families traveling with children; the team will organize age-appropriate activities and even line up babysitters if parents want to spend some time alone. Although it is expensive, Huka Lodge offers a range of packages—so it's worth checking well ahead to see what's available. You might get four nights for the price of three.

Offering luxury loft-style rooms, the Intrepid brings home comforts to your inner-city stay, and you'll be greeted in the morning with complimentary fresh coffee and tea, and maybe a sweet snack or two. Service is excellent and friendly. In keeping with the modern art deco aesthetics, below the hotel is the quiet, speakeasy-styled Puffin wine bar. The hotel's front door sits in the entertainment hub of Ghuznee Street and Cuba Street.

Just 1 km (½ mile) out of the Milford settlement, on the banks of the Cleddau River, this lodge provides riverside chalets with either one super-king or twin bed, kitchenette, and spectacular mountain and river views. The on-site Pio Pio restaurant and bar serves high-quality meals all day. Campervan parking is also available.

With the hotel's stately heritage facade hiding a colorful, whimsical interior, you'd think you've stumbled onto a set of a Wes Anderson film. Aesthetically striking at every turn, Naumi's reception and downstairs Lola Rouge bar area provide a comfy and delightful lounge in which to work and socialize. The well-designed rooms thoughtfully navigate the smaller dimensions typical of a heritage building. Naumi wholly embodies the cool vibe and friendliness of the capital's iconic Cuba Street.

This five-star, luxurious waterside hotel is in the heart of Wynyard Quarter with its many eateries and the city's home of theater, the Auckland Theatre Company, and it's also just outside the fray so it can be a little less noisy. The gorgeous minimalist, modern guest rooms, many with balconies, look over water toward the harbor, and the hotel's amenities include a 25-meter (82-foot) pool and an up-to-the minute fitness center. There are also four restaurants, from a café to fine dining. If you enjoy walking, the hotel is close to a great coastline walk that can take you to the underside of the Auckland Harbor Bridge.

This genuinely fun and quirky hotel with countless small touches ensures a memorable stay. There's a DIY-martini kit in each room, and many of the in-room art pieces and amenities, such as the Bose speakers and coffee machines, can be bought and taken home with you. The bar is better than most standalone venues in town and the Bazaar restaurant delivers a street market feel for breakfast and dinner.

With bold art on display everywhere you look, this hotel near the harbor is for the hip and trendy. Harbor-view rooms come with huge balconies, while in-room decor and bathrooms are just as design-friendly as the rest of the place. There are coffee machines in every room, and apartments are nicely fitted out for longer stays, including washers and dryers. The in-house restaurant Hippopotamus and Hot Sauce bar offer great cocktails and culinary delights. This is the closest hotel to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

This waterfront hotel presents guests with both luxury and a friendly environment, as well as views of the ever-changing Viaduct Basin from some rooms. Guest rooms are expertly appointed, with spacious bathrooms, and some rooms have balconies. The Harbour View corner rooms with their floor-to-ceiling windows are in particularly high demand. Lava Dining serves a great breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while the casual 21 Viaduct Cafe offers waterside dining. If you don't want to dine in the hotel, you're just a short stroll from the Viaduct Basin or the Wynyard Quarter park and restaurant area.

Nestled in native bush on a private peninsula, the luxurious Solitaire Lodge commands extensive views over Lake Tarawera and the legendary mountain. Check out the volcanoes from the library-bar, or settle down in a shaded garden nook and sip a drink. If you're feeling active, the surroundings are perfect for hiking, boating, and fishing; use of lodge dinghies, kayaks, and fishing gear is included in the full-board rate. The rate also includes predinner drinks and canapés followed by a five-course evening meal, a full breakfast, a light lunch, and an extensive in-room minibar stocked with alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, snacks, and fruit.

It's quite a drive to get here, but there are not many places where you can stay in simple, understated luxury and hear kiwi calls at night. The lodge units are beautifully designed with recycled woods and insulated with recycled wool. All are fully self-contained, with floor-to-ceiling windows for the forest views. There's plenty to do here, including walking up the forest stream to a natural swimming hole, and watching the birdlife from your veranda. The café/restaurant serves wholesome local food and is open most days and summer evenings, but it's best to check ahead.

This lodge offers the ultimate in a getaway with its location in a private forest of 2,500 acres with 35 miles of hiking trails a short drive from Rotorua. It was built using native timber from the property, which is also to home to deer, goats, turkeys, and water buffalo. There is also trout fishing and game hunting on the property but if you prefer less activity there is a spa and wild food on offer. The suites are beautifully appointed and all meals are included. If you want to wander farther helicopter transport or guides can be organized.

Modern and clean, this delightful holiday park in the heart of Waitomo Village offers tents, powered campervan sites, cabins, and a self-contained motel. Some cabins have breakfast-making facilities, but there's also a well-equipped communal kitchen here, as well as a guest lounge with TV (free movies available) and a guest laundry. Other park amenities include a gas barbecue, swimming pool, hot tub, children's playground, and Wi-Fi available throughout the property. 

This former railway administration building was chopped into several pieces and relocated before being transformed into a small country hotel with seven well-appointed boutique suites in the main building and six other rooms in a garden courtyard. The suites are individually decorated with their own twist on old-country-meets-modern style. Nestled behind, six garden rooms are beside the neighboring park.

Located alongside Lake Moeraki and surrounded by World Heritage Park, this lodge is a stunning place to relax and learn about New Zealand nature. A network of forest tracks radiate out from the lodge, which also has 20 single and double kayaks to explore the lake. The lodge features stylish accommodations and superb food, Skilled eco-guides can take you on half-day excursions where you will spot Fiordland crested penguins (September to early December), seals, and Hectors Dolphins. Also available are guided kayak safaris down the Moeraki River to the Tasman seacoast. 

One of the classiest of several fully inclusive luxury fly-fishing lodges in this region has six beautifully appointed cottages overlooking the Owen River Valley. Adjacent to Kahurangi National Park, lodge gives you access to 25 fishing rivers within a 90-minute drive, plus many more by helicopter. Back at the lodge you can relax in the cozy lounge, or wander the landscaped grounds, including the massive vegetable garden that supplies much of what arrives on your table for dinner.

Here, a short walk across soft grass from your luxurious, fully self-contained villa or studio unit gets you to your own quiet beach. Sunsets are sometimes enhanced by blue penguins arriving home from a day out fishing. During the day you can swim, kayak, or paddleboard (complimentary boards and kayaks are available). At night the doors and windows can be left open so the sound of the sea lulls you to sleep. Rates include a breakfast hamper crammed with fresh, local produce, and full housekeeping service, or you can opt for the "independent rate."

This might be a European alpine-inspired lodge, but the view out the window is all Kiwi—wetlands, forest, and mountains. Accommodations run from hotel rooms and two-bedroom, self-contained apartments to backpacker dorms that include some private rooms. A few two-bedroom apartments are good for families. It's set in the center of the little village a short bushwalk away from Lake Rotoiti. The lodge bar and bistro restaurant offer a good range of Kiwi fare. There is no breakfast included in the rate, but there is a nice menu to purchase meals from.

A friendly, family-run business offers appealing cabins, motel units, and campervan and tent sites nestled off the main road at Amodeo Bay. The beach is just over the road, and it's a fisherman's paradise. There’s a guest barbecue area, plus a swimming pool, trampoline, children's play area, game room, and boat and fish-cleaning facilities. If you don't have your own boat you can take a four-hour fishing trip charter (NZ$180 per person, minimum three people). Bush walks, a creek, and a lagoon for safe swimming are all right here. The motel is 7 km (4½ miles) south of Colville.

A blend of upscale "flashpacker" lodge rooms and stylish self-contained suites and apartments give visitors to the Anndion Lodge lots of flexibility. There’s a shared lodge kitchen and outside you'll find a covered barbecue area, saltwater pool, hot tub, and infra-red sauna. Inside, there's a cozy TV lounge with an extensive DVD library and pool table.

The largest hotel in town, an eight-minute drive from the town center, is a rambling complex with different types of spacious, modern rooms, most with small balconies. Some rooms in a motel-style building have kitchenettes. An on-site restaurant serves traditional and contemporary New Zealand fare, adding to the allure of this hospitable place, which will be a welcome sight if you've just battled some of the rugged gravel side roads of the Catlins.