Which accommodation directories you'll find most useful depends on what you're looking for, writes Jim Eagles.
So you're looking for somewhere to stay in Mangonui, Maunganui or Manganui? Which of the huge array of accommodation directories on offer should you turn to?
Depends, really, on what sort of place you're looking for.
Of half-a-dozen directories I've gone through over the past few days none was a complete guide to everything available (which is probably just as well because it would be a very thick book indeed).
Three of the books reviewed below focus on accommodation towards the luxury end of the market. They're what you should turn to if you're looking for a luxury lodge or a rather special B&B.
The other three, by contrast, offer rather more comprehensive listings of motels, camping grounds and B&Bs around the country. They are more for the ordinary Kiwi with a limited budget.
CHARMING BED AND BREAKFAST NEW ZEALAND
Travelwise Books, 625 pages, $19.95 (though you can get one for $15 postage and packing off their website).
Beautifully produced sampling of, yes, charming bed and breakfast places from Houhora to Stewart Island.
Most entries get a full page which allows room for a couple of photos and good information about the place, the hosts and the locality.
It's an indication of how many B&Bs there are these days that this is far from comprehensive - in fact of a dozen B&Bs I've stayed in lately I could only find one listed - but it does offer a high quality option in just about every part of the country.
Prices vary enormously but, as an indication, the first five listed range from a low of $100 in the off-season to a high of $350 in the high-season.
FRIAR'S GUIDE TO NEW ZEALAND ACCOMMODATION FOR THE DISCERNING TRAVELLER
Hodder Moa Beckett, 512 pages, $35
Another beautifully produced - though a bit awkward to handle because of its large format - sampling of upmarket accommodation from Mangonui to Half Moon Bay.
The authors have checked out each of the 470 lodges, cottages and B&Bs and say that for the latest volume they "declined a record number of places that are not up to the standard".
With a big page for each entry it has plenty of information, including a neat location map of each property, and while obviously far from comprehensive, does cover pretty much the whole country.
The indicative sampling of the first five produces a low of $140 and a high of $295 a room.
THE BED AND BREAKFAST BOOK
Moonshine Press, 508 pages, $19.95
The most comprehensive of the B&B books looked at, with 1400 entries, from Houhora to Oban.
It's a very compact format but contains most of the information a visitor would want and the index was the easiest to use of the lot.
This is more a book for the ordinary traveller because the B&Bs listed tend towards the more modestly priced end of the market.
That is confirmed by a check of the first five listed properties which have prices ranging from $80 to $200 for a double.
BOUTIQUE LODGINGS OF NEW ZEALAND
Boutique Lodgings of New Zealand, 240 pages, $24.95 (including postage)
Another great selection of upmarket accommodation - not just B&Bs - this time stretching from Awanui to Dunedin.
There's a page for each property listed and to my eyes the format in which the information is listed is the most helpful of all the books looked at.
There's even a little rating of each place in terms of rooms, ambience and location and none get full marks (the nearest to perfection is Old St Mary's Convent in Blenheim).
The price range of the first five listings is from $150 to $380 for a double.
JASONS MOTELS, APARTMENTS AND MOTOR LODGES
Jasons Travel Media, 978 pages, Free
Exhaustive compilation of motel-style accommodation from Hicks Bay to Manapouri (which looks to me like the westernmost town with a motel).
Again, all the necessary basic information about most places, many of which also advertise, plus useful maps, though not as fancy as the others.
Extraordinarily comprehensive and very up-to-date though a few motels have only name and location but nothing else (presumably because they didn't fill out the form).
This is a different kind of accommodation to that which is listed in the previous guides but, by way of interest, prices of the first five range from $69 to $200 a room.
JASONS HOLIDAY PARKS AND CAMPGROUNDS
Jasons Travel Media, 210 pages, Free
By the look of it a complete list of every camping ground from Cape Reinga to Invercargill broken up sensibly into geographical locations.
Useful basic information about most camps, often augmented with an advertisement, plus useful maps and helpful information such as the location of the nearest dump station or i-site.
Amazing value and very helpful but, again, the listings for some campsites offer no details.
This is even more different accommodation but, to give you an idea of the price range, the prices of the first five listings go from $10 a tent site to $110 for a unit with breakfast.
