New Zealand lodging suggestions for North Island

I stayed at the Adina CityLife Auckland Hotel in February 2025. The room was a 1 br apartment. Great location and walkable in relation to the main sights & museums in downtown Auckland and the cruise berths. Plenty of restaurants nearby. My room was on an upper floor and had a separate bedroom and living room. Full kitchen plus washer and dryer. Great views from the large windows. The style was modern. I would recommend a stay here.

In Auckland I stayed at the voco Auckland City Centre (https://www.ihg.com/voco/hotels/us/en/auckland/aklcn/hoteldetail). Beautiful, contemporary hotel in a great location, literally right around the corner from the hotel lakertone40 recommended.

I didn't stay in Wellington or Paiha, so I can't give you recommendations there. But it might be helpful if you indicate the type of accommodation you like. Both the voco and the Adina are upscale, business-class hotels. If you prefer something a little more boutique-ish, smaller, cozier, they might not be a good fit for you.

QT Auckland - I stayed here as part of a tour. I really liked the location close to Viaduct Harbour. The hotel was very trendy and had a great breakfast. It was a bit more expensive than I care to spend.

Ramada by Wyndham Wellington Taranaki Street - I stayed here for 5 nights. I had one bedroom apartment with a washer & dryer and small kitchenette. This is not a full service hotel; there is no one at the front desk after hours and no breakfast. It is about 2 blocks from Cuba Street, a popular street with lots of shops and cafes. I got coffee each morning from the Customs Coffee Shop, about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. This hotel might not be everyone’s choice but it met my needs.

I'm not sure if you're interested in an apartment rental, but we stayed here in Auckland and absolutely loved it:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/nz/penthouse-apartment-with-stunning-harbour-views.html

The location couldn't be beat--right on the harbour with easy access to the ferry terminal and many restaurants. We loved the hot tub on the deck, the large bed, and the space.

Rather than Paihia, which is quite developed by NZ standards I would stay across the bay in Russell, which is lovely. We stayed at Arcadia Lodge, which was one of our favourite places to stay in NZ and we have been there for 16 weeks in total over three trips, so have stayed at a lot of places.

We have never spent much time in Auckland - for me it's a great place to live but does not offer a lot for the tourist. But when we did we stayed at the DeBrett Hotel.

Sadly the place we have stayed twice at in Wellington is no longer open.

Thank you all for these suggestions. I neglected to add we are a family of four which includes my two college kids. Would love places that maybe have family type suites. Dumb question but is air conditioning common in New Zealand? Most of our travel outside the US has been in Europe and well we don't often find AC there as we all know. We are not interested in camping or hostel stays.

Arcadia Lodge has a two bedroom cottage that might be good for you - NZ$425 a night, which I think is about US$250.

I honestly can't remember whether we saw AC in many places. I imagine that it's not standard across most of NZ, but it could well be needed in Northland.