Auckland’s best neighbourhoods and boutique hotels.
Some quick preamble: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you buy after clicking a link (at no extra cost to you). This helps me stay independent and impartial — thanks for your support!
Like most New Zealand cities, Auckland doesn’t have the best urban design. It’s a sprawling city, and public transport is slow and unreliable, when it exists at all. That means staying right in the city centre is the most convenient, if not always the most scenic, option.
Standard hotel rooms are plentiful — Booking.com is the easiest place to look — and most of the biggest hotel chains are represented in the city. However, my personal tastes veer more towards smaller and more interesting properties over the big name chains. I have a particular fondness for heritage buildings, colourful decor, and bathrobes.
This is a list of places I have stayed in Auckland; I have paid for most stays myself, and I have made a note of where I was hosted.
Auckland hotels at a glance
Hotel Debrett is my top pick; right in the centre of downtown Auckland, it features unique decor in a heritage building (and you get a complimentary drink on arrival).
Ohtel is a close second, with colourful, mid-century furnishings in a Viaduct location.
Hotel Britomart is a sleek, design-forward stay, with excellent sustainability credentials.
Auckland’s central areas and neighbourhoods in brief
Queen Street is the main artery through the centre of Auckland. Just off Queen Street you’ll find the Sky Tower and at the lowest end is the ferry terminal (key for access to Auckland’s islands). It’s a busy, sometimes ugly street, but it is undeniably convenient.
Britomart is the sleekest part of central Auckland, where you’ll find excellent restaurants and the design centred Hotel Britomart. Stay here to be within easy walking distance of the ferry terminal.
The Viaduct is Auckland’s waterfront hospitality hub. It’s lined with bars and restaurants, so it tends to get rowdy on evening weekends. If you want to watch the sunset over the harbour with a drink in your hand, this is the place to go; but if you don’t like large and boisterous bars, steer clear.
Ponsonby is a neighbourhood right on the fringe of the city centre, with a long strip of boutiques from New Zealand designers, more great restaurants, and elegant wine bars. There are some lovely places to stay in Ponsonby, leaning towards villas and smaller, boutique accommodation than chain hotels. It’s a great base if you’d prefer a slice of life type experience over the dense city centre.
Karangahape Road borders the central city, adjacent to Ponsonby Road. This is where you’ll find a grungier, vintage vibe, with small chef owned and operated restaurants, gay bars, and music venues. There aren’t many places to stay along Karangahape Road, but from most places in the centre of the city you’ll be a 30 minute walk or short train ride away.
Waiheke Island is Auckland’s best day trip and the top thing to do if you’re looking for a relaxing day out before catching an international flight home (or for the day after your arrival). It’s also an excellent place to stay if you’d like to be out of the city, near wineries, pristine beaches, and a delicious laid back pace of life, but still close to the international airport.
Central Auckland
Best for easy access to public transport and the city’s best restaurants
Britomart
Most Auckland hotels are clustered in the city centre, around Queen Street and the Viaduct.
While the immediate areas around your hotel might not be the most inspiring, these areas are very convenient to transport (the ferry terminal for Waiheke is right at the bottom of Queen St.) and you will be walking distance to many restaurants.
Queen Street is the main commercial thoroughfare in Auckland, drawing a line right through the centre of the city. It presents a mish-mash of large chain stores and banks, with office workers scuttling to and from their jobs in the big towers.
At the bottom of Queen Street, closest to the water, you’ll find the glittering Commercial Bay, a mall with a giant foodcourt and upscale boutiques. Just beyond that is the main ferry terminal.
Follow the waterfront around towards the Harbour Bridge and you’ll pass through the Viaduct, Auckland’s main waterfront precinct. Bars and restaurants surround the marina.
Turn back and head in the other direction, keeping the water on your left, and you’ll hit Britomart, a small grid of upmarket boutiques and restaurants next to the central train station.
What was once a transport hub has been developed into the best central city precinct.
The stores, restaurants, and businesses in Britomart have been carefully curated; there are New Zealand designers, the exceptionally unique Hotel Britomart, and restaurants focused on exploring New Zealand cuisine.
It’s sleek, but also quickly explored. Britomart makes a better base to return to in the evening, for drinking and dining, rather than a destination during the day.
Hotel Britomart
Design-focusedHotel Britomart has a lot more personality than some of the big chain hotels in Auckland.
The hotel also has a strong commitment to sustainability. This filters through into everything, to the mini bar stocked with almost exclusively New Zealand products to the artworks throughout.
What’s nearby:
For cocktails, you can’t beat the Caretaker, a cool speakeasy style spot owned by a local husband and wife team. Go for live jazz on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights.
Ahi in Commercial Bay is a great place to try some local cuisine like wild shot deer.
Stay in Ponsonby or Grey Lynn for a taste of local life
A view of the Sky Tower from Ponsonby Road
Central Auckland
Hotel DeBrett
AUCKLAND CBD | HERITAGE BUILDING | NEW ZEALAND OWNED
A boutique gem among the many towering chain hotels of the city centre, Hotel DeBrett is part of Auckland’s history; the original Commercial Hotel opened its doors in 1841, breaking ground as the first place in Auckland you could get both a drink and a room (and the first to have a private bathroom in every bedroom).
The building still retains an air of old world luxe, with lush red couches in the reception area, a lift decorated with disco ball-like tiles, and a gramophone on a table on the landing. The 25 rooms are also splashed with boldly coloured art deco flourishes. I stayed in a suite with an enormous black and white tiled bathroom, asymmetrical bedside tables, funky mirrors, and an orange couch with a bold red cushion.
There are some lovely touches, like the pillow menu, where you can request a specific type of pillow (I chose a lavender scented one), and a drink voucher for use at either the Corner Bar positioned on the corner of High Street, or the wood-panelled Housebar bar tucked away on the first floor. The relaxed, candlelit Housebar had a good wine list and the perfect ambiance for an early evening drink before heading out; there is an in-house restaurant, but the location of the hotel means it’s an easy walk from the full gamut of central city restaurants and bars.
The details
Ohtel Auckland
VIADUCT | NEW ZEALAND OWNED | GYM, SAUNA & POOL FACILITIES
Located just a stone’s throw from the Viaduct waterfront, Ohtel is a small, funky hotel furnished in a mid-century style, with contemporary New Zealand art adding local flair. Warm orange and yellow hues throughout give Ohtel’s 26 rooms a retro aesthetic. The record player in my suite also added to the vintage vibe – listening to vinyl in the stand alone bathtub was a treat.
Another feature of the room that I appreciated; a milk frother to go alongside the Nespresso coffee machine (and they even gave me oat milk on request).
My room also had floor to ceiling windows along an entire wall, and although there wasn’t a view of anything particular (except the pool area below), it meant a lot of natural light. Facing away from the street also meant my room was blissfully quiet.
This hotel has the same owners as Hotel Debrett, so there are some of the same touches; drinks vouchers on arrival, a pillow menu so you can customise your sleep, and even the same friendly receptionist I saw in both properties. Ohtel does have an in-house cafe, but it wasn’t anything special – with so many options nearby, I would recommend exploring further afield instead. There are some other good facilities; a gym with a sauna, a pool, and bicycles available for guest use.
The details
Fable Auckland MGallery
Located on Queen Street, smack in the centre of town, the Fable hotel is decorated in the Art Deco style currently so popular with the city’s hotels. I spent one night in this hotel and enjoyed the jewel tones, gilt flourishes, and fine bone china tea set — it felt more lavish than a standard hotel room.
The view from my room was almost non-existent, looking out into a sea of air-conditioning units behind central city sky scrapers, but the convenience of the location more than made up for that.
The details
My stay at Fable Auckland Mgallery was complimentary, as part of a media trip.
Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island makes a great day trip from Auckland, but it’s also a beautiful place to spend a night or two. If you’re only staying in Auckland to recover after a long flight, or as a brief stop before you fly out of New Zealand, an overnight stay on Waiheke can be perfect.
There aren’t any large hotels on Waiheke; accommodation on the island is mostly in the form of holiday houses with the occasional boutique luxury lodge. There are a handful of holiday home management companies on Waiheke, but they all seem to list properties on Airbnb, so that’s a good place to start looking for accommodation. These are the places I have stayed, and enjoyed.
One O One Cabins
Although only a 10 minute walk from Oneroa village (and 15 minutes walking from the ferry terminal, and a 20 minute walk from Mudbrick) these sun-dappled cabins are surrounded by native bush. The path to the cabins is steep, but it's a short sharp climb. Everything inside is modern, with pale wood and a Flox painting above the bed. Floor to ceiling windows look out to native bush, and the deck came with hammocks as well as chairs. The kitchenette was surprisingly well equipped, with complimentary chocolates.
My cabin was the highest, so entirely private. I stayed in Cabin Four, furthest from the road, and I could still hear a little road noise; Cabin One might be a little noisier but it's hardly a busy road. I had to pass by the other cabins on my way down the driveway and could see into the living areas, so they have a little less privacy.
The details
Studio rooms from $220 — book via Booking.com
Hidden Valley Waiheke
Pod style accommodation located down a very steep driveway (a sign at the top recommends 4WD vehicles only, but the owner assured me regular vehicles are fine as long as you go slowly), Hidden Valley is modern, clean, and well equipped. My studio – the Fantail Suite – had an air fryer along with the standard toaster and kettle. The view is of a green valley, and the benefit of the perilous driveway is that the property is blissfully quiet.
There was no coffee machine, or chocolates on arrival, and the folder of local recommendations was disappointingly bland, but that’s nit picking; for the most part, this was a flawless stay.
The details
Rooms from $250 for a studio — book via Booking.com
Waiheke Backpackers Hostel
Run by Auckland council, Waiheke Backpackers Hostel is basic but clean, and it’s stunningly well located on a hill above Onetangi Beach. Tables in the front garden overlook the sea, and Casita Miro is only a ten minute walk away. It’s one of the most economical options for a night on Waiheke.
The details
Dorm beds start from $40 — book via Booking.com
Thanks for reading this far! I hope this article helped you decide where you should stay in Auckland.
If you’re planning on visiting the North Island, you might find these articles helpful as well:
Author bio
I’m a freelance travel writer from New Zealand with bylines in National Geographic Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and more.
I’ve travelled up and down beautiful Aotearoa and I love sharing my recommendations for the best places to visit in New Zealand.
READ MORE:
