The thing to decide first is not how much to spend but how far you want to walk. Most Martinborough accommodation sits within a kilometre of Memorial Square, which means you can walk to dinner, walk to the nearest cellar doors and leave the car parked all weekend. Go a little further out and you trade the walk for a vineyard view, a pool or a day spa.
These are the 18 places to stay in and around the village, sorted by how you want to stay: on the Square, in a villa or B&B a short walk out, among the vines, at a country retreat, or at the budget end. Each comes with its straight-line distance from the Square.
Where to stay in Martinborough
For a first weekend, stay within about 500 metres of the Square. You will be able to walk to every restaurant in town and to the closest cellar doors, and you will not need to drive after dinner.
The village is small. Nothing listed here is more than about 3.5 kilometres from the Square except one glamping site on a farm. A couple of hundred metres makes less difference than the kind of stay you want: a heritage hotel room, a self-contained villa with a kitchen, a B&B with a host who knows the cellar doors, a cottage in the rows, or a cabin at the holiday park.
What changes everything is the weekend. On the Martinborough Fair days, Saturday 6 February and Saturday 6 March 2027, and on Toast Martinborough weekend, Saturday 14 November 2026, nearly every bed in town is booked months ahead. Jazz in Martinborough and the classical music festival in September, and the summer school holidays, are close behind.
On the Square
Two places put you on Memorial Square itself: the Martinborough Hotel and its small sister, the Petit Hotel. You step out of the door and you are in the middle of town.
The Martinborough Hotel was built in 1882 and is the grand old building on the Square. The heritage rooms are in the original building, off the verandah, and a group of garden rooms sits around a courtyard behind. The rooms have period furniture, and a few have claw-foot baths. The hotel has a formal restaurant, a bar pouring local wine, and the Union Square bistro for a more relaxed meal. It is the most central bed in Martinborough and the one to book on a first trip if you want to be in the middle of things.
The Petit Hotel is part of the Martinborough Hotel, in a separate colonial building next door on Kitchener Street, with only four rooms. It keeps its original pressed-tin ceilings, rimu floors and wooden staircase, and it is quieter and more private while still being a minute from everything.
A few doors along Jellicoe Street are the two studio apartments at The Chambers, The Advocate and The Verdict, in a converted building that once held an accountants' and lawyers' office. Each has a kitchenette, and they suit a couple who want their own front door 200 metres from the Square.
Villas, cottages and B&Bs a short walk out
Most of Martinborough's places to stay are in a ring of villas, cottages and bed and breakfasts between 100 metres and a kilometre from the Square. These are the ones to book if you want a kitchen, a garden or a host.
Swan House on Dublin Street, 500 metres from the Square, is a bed and breakfast for up to eight guests on half an acre of garden, with a 36-metre sun deck kept for guests. The hosts lend bikes free, which makes the vineyards on Kitchener Street and Puruatanga Road an easy ride.
Prodigal Daughter on Cologne Street, also 500 metres out, has guest rooms and garden cottages and does something no one else in town does: four-course dinners for guests by appointment, alongside a continental breakfast. The hosts will also arrange wine and food tours.
The Vicarage on Jellicoe Street, 900 metres out, is a self-contained cottage in private gardens, for couples who want a house to themselves.
Ellstone on White Rock Road, 3.4 kilometres out, is a bed and breakfast with several separate rooms and shared spaces to gather in, and it is quieter still. You will want a car or bikes from here.
Staying among the vines
Three places put you in a working vineyard or next to one: Parehua on the western edge of town, Margrain Vineyard Villas, and Dara Vineyard Cottage out on Todds Road.
Parehua, on New York Street West 1.2 kilometres from the Square, is the resort in town and was formerly run as Peppers. Its cottages are set around a lake and gardens, with an outdoor pool and tennis courts, and York Bistro is its restaurant. Some cottages have private decks and hot tubs, others look out over the water. It is where to stay for a special occasion if you want space and facilities rather than a village street.
Margrain Vineyard Villas, run by the same second-generation family that makes Margrain's wine, has villas among the rows, each with its own balcony. The family established the vineyard in 1992, and its cellar door on Huangarua Road is open seven days, so a tasting is never far away.
Dara Vineyard Cottage on Todds Road, 1.7 kilometres out, is a self-contained guest house in a working vineyard with a full kitchen, two bathrooms and three queen beds for four to six guests, and breakfast supplies for the first morning. It suits two couples or a family who want to cook.
If you are choosing between these, the cellar doors around each one are set out by distance from the Square.
Country retreats and spa
Brackenridge, 2.1 kilometres out on White Rock Road, is the retreat: studios and cottages on 14 acres, with a day spa, a gym and a heated indoor saltwater pool.
For something wilder, the two luxury tents at River's Edge Glamping, Te Awa and Ruru, each sit in their own spot along a quiet, tree-lined river on a working farm on Ruakokoputuna Road, 10.3 kilometres from the Square. Te Awa has a large glass front looking over the water and an en-suite bathroom. It is the one stay here that is genuinely in the country, so plan meals and driving around it.
Motels and the holiday park
At the budget end, the Martinborough Motel, the Claremont and the TOP 10 Holiday Park are all within a kilometre of the Square.
The Martinborough Motel on Strasbourge Street, 200 metres from the Square, has four serviced units, two self-contained studios and two double rooms, for up to 11 guests. It is the cheapest way to sleep in the centre of the village.
The Claremont on Regent Street, a kilometre from the Square, has studios and apartments in a newer building with gardens and bikes to hire, and it welcomes dogs, which is rare in town.
Holiday homes and Airbnb
On top of the places above, Martinborough has a large number of private holiday homes and cottages for rent through holiday-rental sites, many of them within walking distance of the Square.
They range from one-bedroom cottages behind someone's garden to four-bedroom houses for a group, and they are often the best value for families and friends travelling together. They also book out on the same big weekends as everything else. Check how far the house is from the Square before you book: a listing that says "close to town" can mean a two-minute walk or a two-kilometre one, and after a day of tastings that difference matters.
Camping and campervans
The TOP 10 Holiday Park on Vintners Lane is the main place for tents and campervans, 800 metres from the Square, with cabins for anyone who would rather not pitch a tent.
The town's big green space on Princess Street, with the swimming pool, also has a camping ground at Considine Park. Either way you are close enough to walk to the village and to the nearest cellar doors.
Self-catering: where to buy food
If you are staying somewhere with a kitchen, everything you need is within a few minutes of the Square.
Four Square is the supermarket for the basics. The Grocer is the deli for good cheese, bread and things for a platter.
Scotty's Meats is the butcher if you are firing up a barbecue. The Martinborough Bakery on Jellicoe Street does bread and pies, and Martinborough Wine Merchants on Kitchener Street has the wine you did not buy at the cellar doors.
Staying with children or a dog
With children, the TOP 10 has a playground and cabins, Dara and the two-bedroom villas at Pinot Villas have room to spread out, and the town pool at Considine Park is close to most places. The playground on the Square is next to the Waihinga Centre.
With a dog, the Claremont is the place to start, since it welcomes pets. The TOP 10 does not allow them. Ask any holiday home directly before you book.
Getting around from where you stay
From anywhere within a kilometre of the Square, walk. Swan House and the Claremont have bikes for guests, the TOP 10 hires them, and three hire businesses in the village rent bikes, e-bikes and pedal carts for the day.
From Brackenridge, Ellstone, Dara or River's Edge you will want a car, a bike or a taxi for dinner in the village. Book a taxi ahead on a Saturday night. Claremont Cabs is the local operator, so do not leave it until the end of dinner.
Staying in winter
Martinborough winters are cold, with frequent frosts from May to August, so heating matters more than the view. Ask how a place is heated before you book.
Pinot Villas has heat pumps and heated bathroom floors. Margot's has open fires, and the Martinborough Hotel's bar and restaurant are downstairs, so a frosty evening never takes you further than the stairs. Brackenridge's indoor pool and spa are at their best on a cold day. In return for the cold, winter is when the town is quietest and easiest to book, and the clear, frosty days are often still and sunny.
Groups and weddings
For a group, book a whole house or a place with cottages side by side. Margot's, Swan House, Dara, Brackenridge and the two-bedroom villas at Pinot Villas all work for groups of different sizes.
Margot's of Martinborough on Jellicoe Street is a historic house with open fires, native timber interiors and a country garden, and you can book the whole house for a group or a single room. For a bigger party, Brackenridge's cottages and Parehua's cottages can be booked side by side.
If the group is a wedding, several wedding venues that can sleep your guests have rooms on site, and a wedding of any size fills a large share of the town's beds, so send guests the list early.
When the town is full
On Fair and Toast weekends nearly every bed books out months ahead. Greytown, 15.5 kilometres north, is the usual overflow.
Book the Fair weekends in February and March and Toast weekend in November as soon as you know you are coming. If Martinborough is full, Greytown's places to stay are close enough for a short drive or taxi in the evening. On those weekends, arrange how you will get back after dinner before you go out.
Coming without a car? Martinborough has no direct bus from Wellington, but the train to Featherston meets the 200 bus, and the journey over from Wellington is set out with the weekend and weekday connections.
The dates of both Fair days and the year's festivals are the ones to check before you book.
Which to choose
For a first weekend with no car, the Martinborough Hotel, the Petit Hotel, Pinot Villas or The Chambers put everything within a few minutes' walk. For a couple on a special occasion, Parehua, Aylstone or a vineyard villa at Margrain. For a family, the TOP 10, Dara or a two-bedroom villa at Pinot Villas. For a group, Margot's or Brackenridge. For the dog, the Claremont.
Wherever you stay, the rest of the weekend is close by. Most of what there is to do in Martinborough is within a kilometre or two of the Square, and a bike covers the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Published August 23, 2026
