New Plymouth
Completely exceeding motel expectations, lovely One Burgess Hill is a complex of 15 stylish units on a green hillside, about 5km south of central New…
Must-see hotels in Taranaki & Whanganui
Taranaki & Whanganui
Set on a knoll overlooking the ocean (pricey on the pocket but with priceless views), these luxury, architecturally designed villas are superbly eccentric…
New Plymouth
This regal hotel occupies the corner of King and Queen Sts (get it?) in the cool West End Precinct (great bars and eats). Run by unerringly professional…
Whanganui
Owned by the same family for more than 50 years, this 1910 house was coincidentally built by an unrelated Brown. There are two rooms out the back with…
New Plymouth
Brimming with character, D&D occupies a labyrinthine 1920s heritage building with bright feature walls and fancy timberwork. Upstairs rooms are the pick:…
Whanganui
This snappy-looking spaceship of a motel wins plenty of fans with its architectural angles, quality carpets and linen, and natty lime/silver/black colour…
Ngāti Ruanui Stratford Mountain House
Taranaki & Whanganui
This efficiently run lodge on the Stratford side of the big hill (15km from SH3, 3km to the Manganui Ski Area) has eight motel-style chalets, a twin room…
Whanganui
Formerly run by Ann and Dion (Anndion, get it?), this innovative, black-painted hostel continues to attract travellers with its stereo systems, huge…
Palmerston North
Destiny's 13 studios and suites pop and fizz with colours and patterns, making it stand out amongst Palmy's many safe-but-boring motels. Stylish,…
New Plymouth
Sleek and snazzy, Waterfront is the place to stay if the boss is paying. Within walking distance of the major sites, the minimalist studios are pretty…
New Plymouth
A high-class hotel from top to tail – ‘nice’ is the understatement of the decade. In fact it's New Plymouth’s oldest timber building (1870, ask to see the…
New Plymouth
About 5km west of the town centre and 1km from Paritutu Rock is this charismatic, three-room B&B with friendly owners. Aside from serving one of the best…
Taranaki & Whanganui
This remote lodge lies deep in Whanganui National Park, 21km upriver from Pipiriki near the Matemateāonga Track. The only way to get here is by jetboat…
Taranaki & Whanganui
The grand old Whangamomona Hotel was built in 1912 after the original burnt down. It's a pub offering simple accommodation and big country meals (mains …
Taranaki & Whanganui
Set on grassy lawns, gorgeous old Tairoa is a photogenic 1875 Victorian manor house on the eastern outskirts of Hāwera, with three guest rooms and three…
Whanganui River Top 10 Holiday Park
Whanganui
This tidy Top 10 park squats on the Whanganui’s west bank 6km north of Dublin Bridge. Facilities (pool, games room, jumping pillow) are prodigious. Kayak…
New Plymouth
Metrotel is just a handful of years old, but there are hints of history in its original 1920s warehouse walls. Rooms are simple and slick – all glass,…
Taranaki & Whanganui
Accessible only by boat or eponymous flying fox (park on the side of Whanganui River Rd and launch yourself across the river), this eco-attuned getaway is…
Taranaki & Whanganui
With just one guest suite available, book ahead for a berth in this elegant, early-20th-century house – so much nicer than a motel. An absurdly…
New Plymouth
The 15 en-suite rooms upstairs at this former pub are stylishly fitted out with NZ art, patterned cushions and flamingo wallpaper for extra flair (one of…
Palmerston North
Clean, comfortable and with a feminine touch (pastel cushions, artwork and lush throw blankets) Hacienda's little touches make all the difference. Studio…
Taranaki & Whanganui
This early 1907 property is set on 300 sq metres of manicured trees and gardens with a lush outlook from the only room, the Garden Suite, which boasts…
Taranaki & Whanganui
Bunkhouse-style accommodation behind the North Egmont Visitor Centre in a historic 1860 corrugated-iron building, complete with gun slots in the walls …
New Plymouth
Opposite the racecourse and a short roll downhill into town, low-slung BK’s has 18 ground-floor units and oceans of parking. Rooms are comfortable and…
New Plymouth
Poised on a bluff with grassy lawns and pohutukawa trees, Belt Road has a brilliant outlook over the shimmering (and often tempestuous) Tasman Sea. The…
Palmerston North
Not a motel person? This could be what turns you. These luxury rooms with oversized double spa baths beside the beds, roomy work stations and handsome…
Whanganui
Riverside, calamine-coloured Braemar brings together an 1895 Victorian B&B guesthouse and a reliable YHA backpackers, with separate lounge areas…
Fitzroy Beach Motel Apartments
New Plymouth
This quiet motel is just 200m from Fitzroy Beach and has been thoroughly redeemed with a major overhaul and extension. Highlights include a calming colour…
Taranaki & Whanganui
All stone-clad columns, jaunty roof angles, timber louvres and muted cave-colours, Amity Court Motel ups the town’s accommodation standings. The two…
Palmerston North
It looks unapologetically like a Tudor castle from the outside, but inside it’s more like an intimate hotel. Offers 14 immaculate rooms with cork-tiled…
Taranaki & Whanganui
With 18 stylish rooms (black, white, charcoal and a dash of scarlet) across the road from King Edward Park, this place is our pick of Hāwera's motels…
Whanganui
Tamara is a photogenic, mazelike, two-storey heritage house (1904) with a wide balcony, lofty ceilings, a TV lounge, a rambling back garden and helpful…
Whanganui
On the upper reaches of Victoria Ave, this flashy, two-storey contemporary motel features roomy suites, lavish linen, leather chairs, dark timbers and…
New Plymouth
Opened in 2011, the handsome, corporate Dawson is a sharp-looking, two-storey number – all white, red and black inside – with sea and mountain views from…
Palmerston North
Inexplicably strewn with green-painted, succulent-filled boots, this endearing 100-year-old house is the best budget option in town, with room for 35 bods…
New Plymouth
Down a steep driveway a few minutes' drive south of town (en route to Mt Taranaki), the local YHA does its best to transcend its rest-home origins and…
Palmerston North
This corporate hotel is a comfortable and convenient base for exploring the city. More affordable standard rooms are in a separate building by the carpark…
Whanganui
If you can’t face another soulless motel room, rooms at this stately old-school Whanganui survivor (built 1927) have a bit more personality. The…
New Plymouth
A tidy BBH hostel in a glade with chirping birds and a bubbling stream (with monster Egmont eels!). Mixed dorms in the main lodge. The smaller pinewood…
Palmerston North
There are two @ the Hubs, one WEST (short-term accommodation) and one EAST (long-term). The latter is geared to students, but travellers can book anything…
