Accommodation in NZ
June 28, 2008
Backpackers
Backpackers’ lodges and youth hostels add character and flavour to your New Zealand travelling experience. A comfortable bed is just the beginning.
If you’re travelling with a pack on your back, there are hundreds of places to rest your head and share stories with like-minded people.
New Zealand’s backpacker lodges and youth hostels have a reputation for being clean and comfortable. Very good value too!
Some lodges are individually owned and operated, others are part of a backpackers’ network. Room types vary from lodge to lodge. Some only offer dormitory rooms (single sex on request), others provide a choice of dormitory, double, twin and single rooms.
In most cases, bathroom and kitchen facilities are shared. Communal dining and living areas are great for meeting people and finding out about where to go next.
If you’re not travelling with a sleeping bag, you can hire bed linen. Laundry facilities are available so you can catch up on washing.
Exclusive
Do you feel like succumbing to serious indulgence? These are the properties in New Zealand which offer the most luxurious of times in the most beautiful surroundings.
See some of the most spectacular scenery New Zealand has to offer through your window. Have your every need taken care of in the most individual kind of service.
Dine on the finest gourmet cuisine and enjoy the rarest, highest standard of facilities.
This Exclusive category brings together the very finest, most intimate, exclusive and highly unusual establishments New Zealand has to offer.
As escapes from the norm for the discerning these stunning properties together offer the pleasures of Balinese spa treatments, private golf, fishing, boating, clay pigeon shooting, wilderness adventures, individual eco-tours … almost whatever your heart desires. In a class of their own, these establishments are extremely accommodating and utterly luxurious.
Guest and hosted
Personalise your experience by choosing an interactive style of accommodation. Discover the world from farmstays to luxury lodges – the choice is yours.
It’s a customary challenge to New Zealanders to offer visitors the very best experience and welcome through the concept of manaakitanga.
This is especially obvious when you are the guest of locals at their farm, country inn, lodge or home. Your hosts local knowledge will add a whole other dimension to your holiday.
Often they’ll take you with them on adventures, or simply recommend good picnic spots or local entertainment.
You can expect a comfortable, attractive bedroom and your bathroom may be ensuite, private or shared. Lounge and dining areas are usually shared with other guests. In most cases breakfast is included with lunches and dinners optional extras.This is un-packaged, sociable-style accommodation that brings you into the fold of New Zealand’s people and culture.
Bed & Breakfast
Bed & Breakfast accommodation is a wonderfully eclectic mix of all types of hosts and houses, and this is part of its attraction.
By opening their homes and their hearts to travellers who need a comfortable bed a night or two, B&B hosts are like instant friends you meet along the way. You have your own room in the host’s house and you’re served breakfast in the morning.
Boutique Accommodation
A treat for the night or for your entire holiday, boutique accommodation represents a high standard of amenities and comfort combined with individuality and flair.
‘Boutique’ establishments are almost always historic or heritage buildings or landmarks with great character and probably also a story behind them. The food is wonderful and breakfast is often included in the tariff.
The locations are as diverse as the style of boutique property and yet always small, intimate and quintessentially New Zealand.
Farmstays
Wake to the smell of a hearty farmstead breakfast. Maybe help on the farm if you feel like it; feeding the calves, mending a fence, rounding up the sheep. This kind of accommodation lets you feel like part of the farming family.
Homestays
Become one of the family in a New Zealand home. Homestay accommodation is always comfortable and your hosts friendly and happy to introduce you to friends and other locals.
You share all domestic facilities with the family, including the bathroom/s, and you eat meals together too, often including dinner. Homestay hosts are naturally genial characters and your stay with them will be enjoyably social.
Lodges
Always set in beautiful surroundings, lodges are small, intimate, welcoming establishments with between 4 and 20 rooms offering bed, breakfast and dinner.
Holiday homes
Rent a New Zealand holiday home in an idyllic hideaway spot. Several agencies in NZ can assist with bookings. The tradition of a second home by the sea, river, forest or lake is strong in New Zealand. In the North Island the local word for holiday home is ?bach? (pronounced ?batch?); in the South Island they say ?crib?.
Renting a privately-owned holiday home is a great way to be self-sufficient and get into the Kiwi way of life. No two homes are the same, so you?re getting accommodation with character as well as comfort. And compared to a hotel or motel, you?ll probably have a lot more living space to enjoy.
Holiday homes range from simple cottages by the sea to luxurious lodges in the mountains. Some were probably built by their owners; others are architect-designed palaces.
From a vineyard cottage in Central Otago to a beachfront villa in the far north, our holiday home listings include some of New Zealand?s most idyllic locations. Browse carefully to get the location and level of comfort you want.
Holiday parks
Pitching a tent, parking a motorhome, or for a range of cost effective share or individual accommodation options, often located in New Zealand’s most popular holiday spots.
Holiday parks are equipped to please a wide range of people for a minimal cost. Within an attractive landscaped setting (often beside a beach or lake) they provide sites for tents, caravans and campervans.
Many parks also have simple cabins, self-contained motel units and backpackers’ lodges.
The casual living style helps to create a friendly atmosphere.
If you’re setting up camp or parking a motorhome, you can choose a powered or non-powered site. Easy access to a shared kitchen and bathroom facilities is always part of the deal. Often you’ll also have the use of a dining area and a comfortable TV lounge. Motel units and backpackers’ lodges generally have self-contained kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Families are attracted to holiday parks that have play areas, heated swimming pools, trampolines and barbecues. Bicycles, canoes and boats can sometimes be hired.
Department of Conservation camp sites
The Department of Conservation (DoC) provides campsites in many locations throughout New Zealand. The campsites are usually quite basic, offering ‘back to nature’ style accommodation and facilities. A full list of camp sites can be found on the DoC website.
Freedom camping
Each district in New Zealand has different rules around where freedom camping (and parking of campervans) is permitted and where it is not. We suggest that you contact the nearest i-SITE Visitor Centre to find out about camping in a particular location. The impact of freedom camping on the environment, as well as safety concerns, mean that Tourism New Zealand does not recommend freedom camping in New Zealand. Please see our comprehensive Holiday Parks listings for ideas on where to camp. On board toilets can only be legally emptied from motorhomes into Dump Stations, which are normally found in holiday parks.
Hotels
From international chains to local originality, in New Zealand it?s easy to find the style of hotel that makes you feel at home. Hotels in New Zealand come in all shapes, sizes and personalities.
You can expect to find top international hotel chains, such as Sheraton, Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, Rydges and InterContinental.
You’ll also discover smaller hotels that are memorable for their individuality and in convenient locations on all the main travelling routes.
Large international chains are mostly found in the major cities – Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. They’re also located in key holiday destinations, such as Rotorua and Queenstown.
Character and boutique hotels, which range from heritage buildings to purpose built facilities in stunning regional locations, vary in price according to their level of luxury. Hosts are welcoming and provide insight into the local culture and attractions.
Medium-price chains provide a consistent level of quality and a high standard of facilities, including swimming pools and spas. Look for names like, Mainstay, Kingsgate, Flag Inns, Golden Chain and Pacifica.
Self contained and serviced
If you want to do your own thing and have the option of looking after your own cooking and laundry needs, then check out New Zealand’s motels, serviced apartments and serviced holiday cottages.
If you like independence and privacy, consider self-contained or serviced accommodation. Staying in motels, motor inns or serviced apartments gives you a complete sense of freedom since what you do is up to you.
If you’re taking a touring attitude to your holiday, motels are the key to having easy, restful sleeps along your journey. And should you decide to stay in one place for a week or so, serviced apartments offer convenient stop-over rest spots where you can do your own cooking and laundry.
Motels
Motels, motor inns and motor lodges congregate on main driving routes so they’re generally easy to find with usually a choice of studio, one or two bedroom units. Tea, coffee and sometimes cooking facilities are provided and most units have a television. Larger motels are more similar to hotels often with swimming pool, spa, sauna, in-house video, laundry, and restaurant.
Serviced Apartments
Serviced apartments are a great option when you’re staying in a major city or resort town. You can cook your own meals, do your own laundry and enjoy the feeling of having your own space while on holiday. Many are similar in price to a high quality hotel suite with daily or regular servicing.
More information about New Zealand accommodation providers can be found here at the Tourism New Zealand website
Copyright: 1999-2008 Tourism New Zealand, the official website of the New Zealand Tourism Board.
Photographer: Julian Apse (www.julianapse.co.nz)
Photographer: Graham Charles (imagematters@clear.net.nz)
Photographer: Tim Whittaker (www.tim.co.nz)
Photographer: Kieran Scott (www.canvass.co.nz)
Photographer: Chris McLennan (www.cmphoto.co.nz)
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