28 NZ luxury hotels awarded 2026 Michelin keys, including 9 newcomers

Chris Stockdale and Jeanette Woerner have taken their Hawke’s Bay foodie-hotel Wallingford Homestead into the status of world elite. Photo / Supplied

Another 18 hotels either became new one-key hotels or retained their one-key status from last year.

New Zealand’s 10 highly rated hotels compare strongly against Australia, which had nine hotels score a two-key status and three achieve three keys.

Globally, 155 hotels achieved three-key status – including a new addition in Rwanda that sets guests up to trek to see gorillas.

Another 657 were rated two-key and 2020 as one-key hotels.

New Zealand’s best hotels sit in stunning locations across the country.

New entrant Wallingford Homestead sits in rolling farmlands with a focus on rustic furnishings and bringing local ingredients to guests’ plates, according to the Michelin Guide.

The Michelin team said Rosewood Matakauri had interiors to rival the fanciest hotels.

Promoted two-key Rosewood Matakauri sits by Lake Wakatipu.

It features “interiors that rival, in their sheer luxuriousness, the finest city hotels and the most exclusive resorts” and a Swiss chef among the best in the hemisphere, Michelin says.

Delamore Lodge is on an island with a “surprisingly successful blend of Mediterranean architecture and Maori décor”.

Returning two-key restaurant The Lindis sits in a stunning South Island valley where guests can watch stars arc over the Southern Alps – “reminiscent of the best Patagonian hotels”.

It is the second year New Zealand hotels have been listed in the Michelin keys global review, which is a new set of ratings from the Michelin team famous for the restaurants guide.

To be included on the list, hotels must have the highest standards of architecture, design, service, character, value, and contribution to the local community, and are awarded based on post-stay ratings from verified Michelin Guide guests.

Delamore Lodge in Waiheke Island had the most ‘Instagrammed’ pool in New Zealand according to one study. Photo / Auckland Unlimited

Two-key hotels

NEW

RETAINED

One-key hotels

NEW

The Manse, Hawke’s BayHulbert House Luxury Boutique Lodge, QueenstownMt Cook Lakeside Retreat, Lake PukakiCraggy Range Luxury Vineyard Retreat, Havelock NorthAnnandale Coastal Farm Escape and Luxury Villa Collection, AkaroaHapuku Lodge & Tree Houses, KaikouraThe Clements Hotel, CambridgeRoki Collection, QueenstownRosewood Cape Kidnappers brings you the best of Hawke’s Bay’s countryside charm. Photo / Rosewood Hotels & Resorts

RETAINED

Auckland’s Hotel Fitzroy Curated by Fable Park Hyatt, AucklandThe Hotel Britomart, AucklandQueenstown’s Azur Lodge Eichardt’s Private Hotel Gibbston Valley Lodge and Spa Stoneridge Lodge Russell’s Eagle Nest Bay of Many Coves in MarlboroughSolitaire Lodge, RotoruaWharekauhau Country Estate in Wairarapa.