2 Best Hotels in Kaikoura, Upper South Island and the West Coast

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.

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.