Mangawhai is a great place to get away to for the weekend and also fantastic for fishing.

Queenstown is well served by flights from Australia and all around New Zealand although you can't beat driving in, the landscape will blow your mind.

QT is expanding into New Zealand, bringing its quirky, hip accommodation first to Wellington, then Queenstown.

The Waitui Beach Club is a recent adults-only addition to the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa.

This is very much a family-focused resort, slap-bang in the middle of a family-focused destination.

In the village of Vaimaanga on the southern part of Rarotonga, halfway around the island from the main town of Avarua.

In the heart of Beppu next to the waterfront. It was close to the train station and had a mountain view out of nearly every window.

Miriyana Alexander checks out a luxury lodge that's luring celebs to New Zealand.

You're right in the heart of the CBD. Opposite is the iconic Queen Victoria Building - boutique shopping, Romanesque arches.

Everyone at QT is so calm and friendly; it's like walking into a mate's uber-chic beach house.

My window looked out over the Aotea Centre - which could use a waterblast - and the city council's Civic building.

Airbnb will soon give landlords a better way to find out how the strangers showing up at their properties are behaving.

The interior design is a questionable combination of pea soup green and floral. And don't expect to be able to lounge around in a robe, because there aren't any.

This Hilton was built in the 80s to service the crowds visiting Universal Studios and sits within Universal City.

One of my best mates is a total pro when it comes to finding memorable, well-priced accommodation anywhere in the world, from New York to Invercargill.

Food options are limited on the island, so it's best to come prepared. The nearby Great Keppel Island Hideaway has a bar and bistro, but it's fairly basic.

Vanira is exactly how you imagine the jungley tropical seaside should be, and the two hectares of grounds really would take a lot of beating.

Learmonth Airport is a two-hour flight from Perth and from there Exmouth Bus Charters operates a shuttle bus service to and from the town - a distance of 36km.

The Eagles Nest spills across 75 acres of a peninsula looking down on the Bay of Islands along the way to Tapeka Pt.

The site of the main structure was first established in the 1850s when Dunkeld was emerging as an important hub for the wool trade.

Kuta Beach would be the main nearby attraction, but there are famous nightlife spots, such as Cocoon, Potato Head and Ku De Ta, a short cab ride away.

The airport is literally over the road, where you'll also find the amazing Qantas Founders Museum, so you'd be mad not to walk.

If you're looking for a restful night's sleep, these haunted hotels probably aren't for you.

Shelly and Mark Witchalls have dragged this once-derelict house back to the 1930s and paired 1930s aesthetics with 21st century conveniences.

Just one block back from Historic 25th St and close to restaurants, shops, bars, coffee, museums and transport hubs.

Hands down the nicest motel unit I've stayed in - comfy and stylish. They even offer pick-your-own herbs.

If you do happen to find yourself in Hamilton, and unwilling to stay in one of the array of mock Tudor motels the city has to offer, this is a good place.

Friendly, of course - we are in Fiji after all. Staff took our details and then accompanied us to our rooms, refusing to let us carry our own bags.

Shandelle Battersby checks into the CityLife Hotel, Central Auckland.

Hotels writer Shandelle Battersby looks at what the industry is doing to keep things fresh.