10 Best Hotels in Upper South Island and the West Coast, New Zealand

Just outside town, this nicely laid-out site has cabins, studios, and full motel units, plus powered campervan sites and campsites to suit a range of budgets. A wide variety of guest facilities in the crammed but nicely landscaped shared areas include hot tubs, a heated pool (summer only), a trampoline, indoor/outdoor dining, a barbecue, and a clean, modern kitchen. The view of the Seaward Kaikōura Mountains is breathtaking. There are two holiday parks on Beach Road—this one is on the inland side of the road. Because it slopes away from the main road, traffic noise is minimized. Bookings are essential in summer.

A short drive north of Franz Josef village, these stylish, well-equipped one- and two-bedroom villas are in a quiet rural location away from the tourist bustle and helicopters. Each has a spacious lounge, dining area, and kitchen, and opens to private decks with mountain views. Kids can run off energy on the trampoline, or the little farm with its sheep. Gas barbecues are available for guests. 

A charming seaside hotel conveniently located on Kaikōura's Esplanade, at the south end of town, this quaint venue has sea and mountain views galore. Quirky décor decorates the waterfront rooms on the first floor of the historic building. Everything else is on ground level, including the courtyard rooms, which open into a gardened area. A basic continental breakfast is served daily from 8 am, and the bar offers a platter menu every afternoon until close, where an extensive champagne, wine, craft beer and martini list is also on offer.

Halfway up the Tākaka Hill from Motueka, these homey cottages with timber interiors and verandas have all you need for a comfortable stay in the country. The decor has a rustic appeal while the modern kitchens with dishwashers take the hard work out of your day. Your stay can be fully self-catered, or with breakfast or dinner provided. It's within easy reach of Golden Bay, Motueka, and the Abel Tasman area, and the owner might take you out on the 4,000 acre historic farm, depending on what's happening—ask when you arrive. One of their farm-sights is  Parliamentary Pond, once a quarry where all the marble rock for New Zealand's parliament was sourced from. 

This premium Kiwi holiday park just steps from the center of town has top facilities and hosts. There's the typical range of accommodations, from tent sites and powered campervan sites to cabins with shared bathrooms and fully equipped apartments with en suite bathrooms, kitchens, and dining areas. Booking ahead is recommended in the busy summer season.

Well-appointed cabins and motel units, with various bedding configurations and some with full kitchens, are set on 5 beachfront acres with plenty of trees for shelter. You can get closer to nature on a tent site, or park your campervan on a powered site. The park's shared facilities (kitchens, bathrooms, laundry) are modern, spacious, well laid-out, and lacking for nothing in appliances. Feel free to enjoy the balmy evenings and cook on the barbecue outside. The well-stocked Pohara Store nearby means you will make fewer trips to town for supplies. 

Just a two-minute walk from Pohara Beach, this inn has striking adobe and tile construction, wide verandas, a turf roof, and a touch of Mediterranean decor. There's a small (and popular) restaurant, focusing on local-grown organic foods; you can take breakfast and dinner here, but be sure to book ahead. The big communal bathroom is adorned with subtropical plants, and the garden abounds with grape and kiwifruit vines and big leafy shade trees. The rooms are truly comfy, light and airy, though all but one (which is self-contained) share the large bathroom complex.

These stylish oceanfront wooden cabins, chalets, and motels are as close to the beach as you'll get. Chalets have full kitchens, and some are equipped with whirlpool baths. Cabins at the back of the camp have relaxing views to a grassy enclosure where alpaca, goats, sheep, and pigs graze. There are also campsites and powered campervan sites here, a well-equipped shared kitchen, and a barbecue area. There's even a glowworm dell just out the back; take a look when it gets dark. A continental breakfast is available on request.

This rural retreat has four self-contained cottages dotted around an expansive rambling garden and surrounded by vineyards. The boutique cottages are in fact former farm buildings, ungraded and furnished in comfortable rural-style with private outdoor spaces, barbecues, and verdant views. Breakfast is delivered to your accommodation. This is also a great place for kids, with a swimming pool and a cool kids' play hut. 

A waterfront view is hard to ignore—even more so on the rugged Kaikōura coast—and this rather fancy apartment-style lodge is just across the road from the beach and a few minutes' walk from the town center. The suites have double spa baths, as do a few of the other rooms; three units are two stories, well-suited for families or larger parties. The apartments have good-size kitchen areas and everything for a longer stay, some with laundry.