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Bed-and-breakfasts are often stylishly converted country homesteads; sometimes they're custom built. There are also luxury lodges and a wonderful range of self-catering villas and cottages (some on working farms, others with spectacular coastal locations, and a few deep in the forest-covered hinterland). National parks have mountain lodges, river lodges, basic backcountry huts, and camping spots managed by the Department of Conservation.
In tourist towns and larger cities, there's the full range of options: boutique hotels, standard hotels with basic rooms, motels with full kitchens, holiday parks with RV sites and sometimes apartment units, as well as backpacker hostels. Although hostels are generally budget options with shared facilities, an increasing number are modern and feature private en suite rooms.
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.
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 city's largest hotel occupies a 1927 heritage building (check out the cage-style elevator, one of the country's oldest). In addition to comfortable queen-bed rooms, the hotel has an on-site restaurant serving modern New Zealand cuisine, a cozy house bar, and a larger bar with big-screen television for sports viewing. It also has major conference and function facilities, so a stay may be shared with wedding guests or meeting delegates.
A place for travelers rather than party animals, Ducks and Drakes offers character, color, and modern accommodations within walking distance of shops, cafés, and Pukekura Park. Rooms come in all shapes and sizes, each scrupulously clean. Those in the main building (singles, twins, doubles, and dorms for up to six people) share bathrooms, but there are plenty to go around. Guests also share an outdoor veranda, communal kitchen, cool dining area, sun porch, two cozy, warm lounges, and full laundry facilities. Five self-contained motel units with kitchenettes open to gardens and have off-street parking.
Stylish and modern, central New Plymouth's only waterfront lodging is handily placed next to the Puke Ariki Museum. Each room has sea or city views and superking or queen beds; configurations range from studios with showers (no tubs) to elite studios with individual whirlpool baths and penthouse suites with separate bedroom, double whirlpool bath, shower, full laundry, and kitchen facilities. Salt, the hotel's popular restaurant-bar, feels minimalist—all the better to appreciate the view of Len Lye's 148-foot Wind Wand statue across the road.
High on the mountain, this hotel and restaurant has a deserved reputation for its dramatic setting and fine food. Guest rooms look out over the lower forested slopes. A café serves breakfast, lunch, and snacks while the dinner restaurant offers contemporary and classic cuisine featuring local produce. Trails from the lodge explore a mix of subalpine shrublands and dense forest.
Personable owner Terry Parkes has transformed this 19th-century heritage building into an opulent city retreat decorated with eclectic furnishings and contemporary art by leading Taranaki artists. The hotel's stylish, individually designed accommodations blend luxury amenities (double whirlpool baths or massage showers) with its heritage features. Adjacent to the hotel are four suites, three with kitchen facilities. Table at Nice, the hotel restaurant, is considered one of New Plymouth's finest.
This is a fairly standard apartment-style chain hotel, but it's the newest in town, and it's as close as you'll get to the central city. It comes with some extras like access to an off-site gym and secure car parking. The one- and two-bedroom apartments have separate living and dining areas, and even the studios have a small kitchen and laundry facilities.
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