Which New Zealand lodges and hotels have earned Michelin Keys

Twenty-eight New Zealand properties hold Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection, announced on 18 September 2026. Ten carry two Keys, "an exceptional stay", and eighteen carry one, "a very special stay". That is nine more than a year ago, and two lodges have moved up. The full New Zealand selection is below. For what the Keys are and how they are judged, see our companion guide, The Michelin Key: what it means for New Zealand's luxury lodges.

What changed in 2026

• 28 properties in total, up from 19 in 2025.
• Two Keys: 10, up from seven.
• One Key: 18, up from twelve.
• Promoted to two Keys: Rosewood Matakauri, Queenstown, and Delamore Lodge, Waiheke Island.
• New to the selection: Wallingford Homestead at two Keys, and eight at one Key: Annandale, Craggy Range, Hapuku Lodge, Hulbert House, Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, ROKI Collection Queenstown, The Clements Hotel and The Manse.
• No property lost its Key.

Two Michelin Keys: "An Exceptional Stay"

Properties judged destinations in their own right: distinct character, considered architecture, and service of rare consistency, each in a setting only New Zealand could supply.

• Blanket Bay, Glenorchy. Timber and schist at the head of Lake Wakatipu, where the mountains close around the lake.
• Delamore Lodge, Waiheke Island. Above the cliffs, looking back across the Hauraki Gulf toward the city. Promoted in 2026.
• Huka Lodge, Taupō. The lodge that began New Zealand's luxury-lodge tradition, set where the Waikato River narrows above Huka Falls.
• Otahuna Lodge, Tai Tapu. A restored homestead of 1895 near Christchurch whose potager garden supplies its kitchen.
• Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay. A clifftop lodge on a working sheep and cattle farm, high above the Pacific.
• Rosewood Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay. Ocean views to the Cavalli Islands, with a championship golf course running along the coast.
• Rosewood Matakauri, Queenstown. Facing the Remarkables across Lake Wakatipu, a short drive from town and a world away from it. Promoted in 2026.
• The Lindis, Ahuriri Valley. A low-slung timber form that follows the line of the valley floor, built for solitude in the Southern Alps.
• Wallingford Homestead, Central Hawke's Bay. A homestead on land first farmed in 1853, rebuilt after an 1895 fire and once called the largest single-storey house in the Southern Hemisphere. New in 2026.
• Wharekauhau Country Estate, Palliser Bay. An Edwardian country house on a working sheep station above the Wairarapa coast.

One Michelin Key: "A Very Special Stay"

North Island

• Craggy Range Luxury Vineyard Retreat, Havelock North. Cottages among the vines of the Giants Estate, looking toward Te Mata Peak and the Tukituki River. New in 2026.
• Eagles Nest, Russell. Private villas along a ridgeline above the Bay of Islands.
• Hotel Fitzroy curated by Fable, Ponsonby. A villa hotel of ten rooms in one of Auckland's most interesting inner suburbs.
• Park Hyatt Auckland, Wynyard Quarter. On the waterfront, with some of the largest rooms in the city and the harbour at the window.
• Solitaire Lodge, Lake Tarawera. A lakeside lodge in Rotorua's geothermal and cultural heartland.
• The Clements Hotel, Cambridge. A hotel first opened in 1866 and rebuilt in 1912, with a speakeasy in the original basement. New in 2026.
• The Hotel Britomart, Auckland. New Zealand's first 5 Green Star hotel, built in brick in the harbour-end laneways of the city.
• The Manse, Maraekakaho. Built in 1910 for the sheep station's minister, now two suites looking over the Ngaruroro River to the ranges. New in 2026.

South Island

• Annandale, Banks Peninsula. A sheep and cattle farm at Pigeon Bay with 10 kilometres (6 miles) of coastline, its guests spread between a restored homestead and secluded villas. New in 2026.
• Azur Lodge, Queenstown. Nine freestanding villas with floor-to-ceiling views of the lake.
• Bay of Many Coves, Marlborough Sounds. Reached only by boat or helicopter, which is the point of it.
• Eichardt's Private Hotel, Queenstown. A gold-rush era building on the town's original lakefront.
• Gibbston Valley Lodge and Spa, Gibbston. A lodge set entirely within its own winegrowing valley.
• Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses, Kaikōura. Tree houses among mānuka and kānuka on a working deer farm, between the Seaward Kaikōura Range and the sea. New in 2026.
• Hulbert House, Queenstown. A restored Victorian villa of 1887 on the hill above town, eight rooms looking over Lake Wakatipu. New in 2026.
• Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, Lake Pūkaki. Farmhouse-style villas in forest between Lake Pūkaki and the Ben Ōhau Range, with Aoraki Mount Cook up the lake and its own observatory for the night sky. New in 2026.
• ROKI Collection Queenstown. Fifteen suites on the lakeshore, a short walk from the town centre, from junior suites to a seven-bedroom residence. New in 2026.
• Stoneridge Estate, Lake Hayes. Stone buildings among vines at the quiet end of the Wakatipu Basin.

Several of these properties anchor The Masterpiece, our definitive New Zealand journey.

The Keys are also not the whole story. New Zealand's depth in lodges and boutique stays runs well beyond one guide's selection, and many of the country's most remarkable properties sit outside it. If you are weighing where to stay on your own journey, talk to us for recommendations matched to your route and season.

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Distinctions from the 2026 Michelin Key selection, announced 18 September 2026. The Guide's inspectors write about every property in their own feature on New Zealand's Key hotels; the selection updates annually.