Wellington Accommodation by Suburb (Lambton Quay to Kelburn)

Wellington is small enough that almost anywhere central puts you within a twenty-minute walk of Te Papa, Cuba Street and the waterfront. That makes choosing Wellington accommodation less about distance and more about what you want outside your window at 11pm: a harbour view, a quiet street, or the noise of Courtenay Place on a Saturday.

This is a suburb-by-suburb run through where to stay, from the harbour hotels on the edge of the business district to boutique rooms on Cuba Street, hostels in Te Aro, bed and breakfasts on the slopes of Mount Victoria and motels out towards the airport. Every place named here sits inside Wellington City.

Which part of Wellington to stay in

On a first trip, stay in the central city: Wellington Central, around Lambton Quay and the waterfront, or Te Aro, around Cuba Street and Courtenay Place. Both are flat, walkable and close to everything. The difference is character. Wellington Central is quieter at night and closer to the railway station, Parliament and the ferry terminals. Te Aro is louder, livelier and closer to the restaurants and bars.

Mount Victoria and Oriental Bay are for anyone who wants a view and a little peace, within fifteen minutes' walk of the centre. Thorndon, at the north end, is heritage streets and a village feel. Newtown and Mount Cook are cheaper and a short bus ride out. Kilbirnie and the eastern suburbs suit early flights. Johnsonville and Newlands, up the motorway to the north, suit drivers.

The rule of thumb is simple. If you are here for two or three days without a car, pay a little more to stay central. Every bus and every taxi you do not need is money back, and Wellington's weather rewards being able to duck back to your room.

Lambton Quay and the waterfront hotels

The biggest hotels sit along the edge of the business district, between Lambton Quay and the harbour. This is the area for harbour views, business travellers and anyone catching the ferry or the train.

Lambton Quay is known locally as the Golden Mile, the city's main shopping and office street. It follows the line of the original shoreline, before land reclamation pushed the harbour back, which is why it curves the way it does. The lower station of the cable car is here, as are the big department stores, the Old Bank Arcade and a long run of cafes that fill at lunch and empty by early evening.

A block away, the DoubleTree by Hilton occupies a 1928 building on Grey Street, with heritage bones and modern rooms.

The Novotel and the Park Hotel both sit on The Terrace, one street up the hill, with rooms looking over the city towards the harbour.

The ibis on Featherston Street is the budget option in the business district, simple and central, within walking distance of Parliament and the stadium. Quest on Hunter Street is an apartment hotel with kitchenettes, the right choice for longer stays or anyone who would rather cook some meals. Travelodge on Gilmer Terrace sits in the middle of the CBD, a short walk from Lambton Quay's shops.

At the northern end, the WQ Hotel on Hawkestone Street in Thorndon is contemporary and aimed at business travellers, weekenders and families alike, a few minutes' walk from Parliament and the railway station.

Cable Street and the Te Papa end

Where the business district meets Te Aro, around Cable Street and Taranaki Street, you get the waterfront and the restaurants within five minutes of each other.

This is also the museum end of town. Te Papa, Wellington Museum, the Michael Fowler Centre and Civic Square are all within a few minutes, and the Sunday Harbourside Market sets up beside Te Papa. If your plans lean towards culture more than nightlife, this is the sweet spot.

The Ramada on Taranaki Street offers studio and one-bedroom apartments, some with washing machines, which travellers on longer trips appreciate. It is an easy walk to Cuba Street and the waterfront. The TRYP on Tory Street takes its design cues from 1930s Art Deco and sits right on the edge of the Courtenay Place and Tory Street restaurant cluster.

Cuba Street and Te Aro

Te Aro is where most visitors end up wanting to be. The restaurants, the bars, the vintage shops and the Friday night energy are all here, and the hotels have a bit more character than the business-district towers.

Cuba Street runs about 900 metres up through Te Aro from Civic Square, with a pedestrian mall between Manners and Ghuznee Streets and the Bucket Fountain in the middle of it. It has long been the centre of the city's creative and queer life, with the Rainbow Crossing at its heart and the city's Pride festival centred on it. The side streets and laneways, Left Bank, Leeds Street, Eva Street and Hannahs Laneway, are where much of the best food and drink hides.

The Intrepid on Ghuznee Street, just off Cuba, is one of the most consistently well-reviewed hotels in the city, with quirky decor and Puffin, a wine bar, on the ground floor. The Mercure Abel Tasman on Willis Street sits between Cuba Street and the business district, useful if your days are split between the two. Trinity Hotel on Willis Street has comfortable rooms and a rooftop bar with a good reputation. The Aura Hotel on Manners Street is in a heritage building among the nightlife venues, which is a plus or a minus depending on why you came.

Courtenay Place, if you want the nightlife

Courtenay Place is Wellington's entertainment strip: theatres, cinemas, bars and late-night food. Staying here means everything is on your doorstep, including the noise.

The strip has been the city's entertainment district for over a century. The Embassy Theatre, which hosted the Lord of the Rings premieres, opened in 1924. The St James Theatre dates from 1912, and the Opera House, BATS and a run of bars and late-night restaurants fill the rest. Buses along Courtenay Place connect it with the rest of the city and the eastern suburbs.

The Oaks Wellington occupies a nine-storey building on Courtenay Place dating from 1922. The Cambridge Hotel on Cambridge Terrace is a classic old corner hotel near the Basin Reserve end.

The Viv on Vivian Street is a boutique option on the edge of Te Aro.

A warning worth taking seriously: rooms facing Courtenay Place on a Friday or Saturday night will hear the street until the early hours. Ask for a room at the back, or bring earplugs and accept it as part of the deal.

Mount Victoria and Oriental Bay

For a view of the harbour and a quieter night, stay on the slopes of Mount Victoria or along Oriental Parade. You are ten to fifteen minutes on foot from Courtenay Place and Te Papa, with the beach and the Town Belt walks on your doorstep.

Mount Victoria's lower streets are lined with late nineteenth and early twentieth-century wooden villas, and the suburb has long had a strong Greek community, still visible in its churches and a couple of its shops. Oriental Bay below it has the city beach, with sand brought in from Golden Bay, the Carter Fountain in the water and a promenade lined with cafes. The tunnel under the hill connects the city to the eastern suburbs and the airport.

Two streets away, Richmond Guest House on Brougham Street is a restored nineteenth-century villa with its original ornate plaster ceilings. Rowena's Lodge across the road is set up for longer stays, with furnished rooms in a residential street.

Halswell Lodge on Kent Terrace, at the foot of Mount Victoria, has small, simple budget rooms a few minutes' walk from Courtenay Place.

Thorndon and Kelburn, quieter up the hill

Thorndon is Wellington's oldest suburb, with wooden villas, narrow streets and Parliament at its southern edge. Kelburn sits above it at the top of the cable car, next to the Botanic Garden and the university. Both are quiet at night and a short walk or cable-car ride from the centre.

Thorndon has the Parliament buildings, Old St Paul's, the National Library and the Hnry Stadium within a few minutes of each other, plus The Thistle Inn and a handful of good cafes along Tinakori Road. Kelburn has the Botanic Garden, Space Place, the Cable Car Museum and Victoria University's main campus, which gives it a student feel during term.

WQ Hotel on Hawkestone Street is the main hotel in Thorndon. Beyond that, the area is mostly private rentals and guesthouses. In the Aro Valley, just south of Kelburn, Koromiko Homestay on Koromiko Road offers bed and breakfast in a residential street, close to the Aro Valley's cafes and the Garage Project taproom.

Hostels and budget beds

Wellington has a good spread of hostels in Te Aro, most within a few blocks of Cuba Street.

Haka House on Wakefield Street is a modern hostel with a range of room types and lockable storage in every room. Laneway Backpackers and Stay at 107 both sit at 107 Manners Street, beside the Opera House, with shared kitchens and city views. Hotel Waterloo and Backpackers on Bunny Street is in an Art Deco building right beside Wellington Station, with hotel rooms and dorms. It is the most convenient budget bed for the ferry and the train. Worldwide Backpackers on The Terrace offers weekly rates, and St George on Willis Street is a boarding-style set-up for longer stays.

Motels and parking

If you are driving, a motel with parking takes a lot of stress out of Wellington, where central parking is scarce and often expensive.

Newtown sits about three kilometres south of the city centre along Riddiford Street, one of Wellington's most multicultural suburbs, with cheap restaurants from all over the world. Wellington Zoo, the country's first, opened here in 1906, and Government House sits in its grounds at the suburb's edge. The Newtown Festival takes over Riddiford Street every March.

In Mount Cook, just south of Te Aro, Marksman Motor Inn on Sussex Street has studio, one and two-bedroom units with full kitchens, and Capital View Motor Inn on Thompson Street has 21 units a short walk from the city.

Further out, Capital Lodge Motor Inn in Newlands has forty rooms and an on-site restaurant and bar, and Best Western Wellington in Johnsonville has spacious rooms and easy motorway access, which suits anyone arriving by car from the north.

For self-contained campervans, Evans Bay Marina on Evans Bay Parade has a designated car park for certified self-contained vehicles, with harbour views and a flat cycle into town along the bays.

Near the airport and Lyall Bay

Wellington Airport is close to the city, but a 6am flight still makes a hotel near the terminal tempting.

Who each area suits

A quick way to decide, by the kind of trip you are having.

First visit, two or three days, no car: Te Aro or Wellington Central, anywhere between Cuba Street and the waterfront. You will walk everywhere and never need a taxi.

Couples on a weekend away: a boutique hotel on or near Cuba Street, or a bed and breakfast on Mount Victoria or above Oriental Bay if you would rather wake to quiet and a view.

Families: an apartment hotel or motel with a kitchen and parking. Quest in the CBD, the Ramada on Taranaki Street, or the motels in Mount Cook and Newtown, all within reach of the zoo, Te Papa and the beaches.

Business travellers: Lambton Quay and The Terrace, close to the government buildings and the railway station.

Budget and backpackers: the Te Aro hostels around Cuba Street and Manners Street, or Hotel Waterloo by the station.

Early ferry: anywhere near Wellington Station. Early flight: Kilbirnie or the eastern suburbs.

Longer stays and working trips

Wellington gets a lot of visitors who are here for weeks rather than days: contractors, students, people visiting family in hospital, people trying the city out before moving. For them, an apartment hotel or a place with a kitchen and laundry matters more than a view.

Quest on Hunter Street and the Ramada on Taranaki Street are set up for this, with kitchenettes and, at the Ramada, washing machines in some units. The motels in Mount Cook have full kitchens. Rowena's Lodge in Mount Victoria and St George on Willis Street offer longer-term rooms, and Worldwide Backpackers on The Terrace has weekly rates.

If you are here for a hospital stay, Southgate Motor Inn is directly opposite Wellington Hospital in Newtown, and Newtown's supermarkets and cafes are on the same street.

Accessibility and getting in with bags

Central Wellington is flat along the waterfront and through most of Te Aro, and steep almost everywhere else. The big hotels on Lambton Quay, The Terrace, Cable Street and Courtenay Place have lifts and level access. Bed and breakfasts on Mount Victoria and in Thorndon are often in old villas with steps and no lift, so ask before you book if stairs are a problem.

Taxis and ride-shares are easy to find in the centre and at the airport. If you are arriving by train or ferry, Wellington Station is at the northern end of Lambton Quay, a flat walk to the hotels in the business district and about twenty minutes on foot to Cuba Street.

Timing your booking

Wellington fills up fast on certain weekends, and prices follow. Big nights at Hnry Stadium, including rugby tests, concerts and cricket, pack the central hotels. The World of WearableArt show in September and October, Visa Wellington On a Plate in August and large conferences have the same effect.

If your dates are flexible, check the stadium and events calendars before you book. Winter weekdays are the cheapest time to stay, and summer weekends the busiest. For a sense of what each season is like, Wellington's seasons vary more than the thermometer suggests.

Early ferries and early flights

If you are catching an early Interislander or Bluebridge sailing, stay near Wellington Station. Bluebridge's terminal is across the road from the station, and the Interislander runs a shuttle from there to its terminal. Hotel Waterloo, the ibis and the WQ Hotel are all a short walk. The Interislander crossing has its own check-in rules worth knowing before you book a room for the night before.

For an early flight, stay in Kilbirnie or anywhere on the eastern side of the Mount Victoria tunnel. The Brentwood is the closest hotel to the terminal among the options above.

Getting the most from where you stay

Wherever you end up, a few things help. Wellington is walkable but hilly, so check whether your hotel is up a slope before you arrive with heavy bags. Many hotels charge for parking, and street parking in the centre is limited, so ask before you drive in. Harbour-view rooms are worth the extra on a fine day and less so on a grey one, which in winter is often.

From a central base, most of the sightseeing is on foot.

Cuba Street's cafes and bars are a short walk from almost everywhere in Te Aro, the waterfront promenade runs past the doors of the Lambton Quay hotels, and dinner in Te Aro is rarely more than a few blocks from your door.

After dinner, the Courtenay Place bars are the other reason to stay in the middle of it all.