The best luxury and boutique hotels in Auckland
My guide to the very best hotels in Auckland central
Treat yourself to a stay at some of Auckland’s best hotels. All of these hotels are located centrally in Auckland, to make exploring the city easier.
Overview: Auckland’s best hotels
Hotel Britomart
QT Auckland
The Convent Hotel
Fitzroy curated by Fable
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Hotel Britomart
Hotel Britomart is one of Auckland’s best hotels, with a convenient location close to the waterfront. It’s sleek, beautifully designed, and one of a kind. Some of the rooms have water views across the harbour.
Why I recommend this hotel: I love the commitment to sustainability at this hotel — I have met the general manager before and he’s deeply motivated by regenerative tourism. This filters through into everything, to the mini bar stocked with almost exclusively New Zealand products to the artworks throughout.
What’s nearby: The hotel restaurant kingi has a strong focus on sustainable seafood (you can see on the menu exactly who caught the fish), while other restaurants nearby worth exploring include Cafe Hanoi, Amano, and Ortolana.
QT Auckland
I’m a fan of the QT hotels in New Zealand — I used to stay at the QT boutique hotel in Wellington a lot for work.
The QT in Auckland is even nicer, having only opened in November 2020. The rooms all have the signature colour and quirks of QT hotels.
Why I recommend this hotel: QT Auckland is centrally located and has an awesome rooftop bar — the sunset views are stunning. The hotel also has a lot more character than some of the other larger chains.
What’s nearby: This hotel is close to the Viaduct harbour area, and Auckland’s waterfront. I don’t love this area, as I find it a little soulless, but it is a convenient base for exploring Auckland. For dinner, check out Hello Beasty nearby, and during the day you can walk the Westhaven path around the waterfront until you’re underneath the Harbour Bridge.
Hotel Fitzroy curated by Fable
Hotel Fitzroy is a gorgeous small Auckland hotel located in the chic neighbourhood of Ponsonby. There are only 10 rooms, plus a cosy library.
Why I recommend this hotel: The Ponsonby area is a much quieter and calmer experience than the central city.
What’s nearby: Check out Beau Deli or Daily Bread for coffee and treats in the morning, Annabel’s Wine Bar of Beau’s for a drink in the evening, and Prego or Daphne’s for dinner.
A quick guide to visiting Auckland
How much time do you need in Auckland?
Auckland is generally best treated as a stopover on your way to better places (and I say that as someone who lives in the city). There are lots of great things to do in Auckland, if you like restaurants and shopping, but beyond that it’s mostly just a big town.
One or two days in Auckland is perfect. This gives you enough time to check out the city’s highlights and take a day trip to one of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf.
If you would like to explore more of Auckland, you might also be interested in these articles:
Thanks for reading this far — I hope my recommendations helped you select a special stay in Auckland central.
For more boutique hotel stays, check out my top picks for other New Zealand cities:
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.
