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Taupo · Hotel shortlist

High end hotels in the old town, Taupo

Marc Delacroix

Marc Delacroix France

Updated 1 September 2026 · 10 Taupo hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Taupo, out of the 10 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 5 down to 4.4.

Warm and Cozy in Taupo. Walk to Lake or Town. WiFi and Linen Included. is the one I would book myself.

Warm and Cozy in Taupo. Walk to Lake or Town. WiFi and Linen Included.

Highest rated of the five

Warm and Cozy in Taupo. Walk to Lake or Town. WiFi and Linen Included.

★★★★★5 from 303 reviews

Warm and Cozy in Taupo. Walk to Lake or Town. WiFi and Linen Included. comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 5 from 303 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under downtown and around $285 a night on the dates we checked.

10 hotels in Taupo qualified for this list and five made it. Sacred Waters is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Warm and Cozy in Taupo. Walk to Lake or Town. WiFi and Linen Included.1

    Warm and Cozy in Taupo. Walk to Lake or Town. WiFi and Linen Included.

    ★★★★★5 from 303 reviews

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    • Sacred Waters2

      Sacred Waters

      ★★★★★4.8 from 1,392 reviews

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      • The Flying Trout Boutique Lodge3

        The Flying Trout Boutique Lodge

        ★★★★★5 from 42 reviews

        • Bar
        • Parking
        • Kid friendly
        • Air conditioning
        • Accessible
        • Airport shuttle

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      • Roam Taupo Lake Front Unit 2 - Spa Pool4

        Roam Taupo Lake Front Unit 2 - Spa Pool

        ★★★★★4.8171873 from 288 reviews

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        • Lake Taupo Holiday Resort5

          Lake Taupo Holiday Resort

          ★★★★★4.4 from 1,812 reviews

          • Pool
          • Spa
          • Bar
          • Parking
          • Kitchen
          • Kid friendly

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        How this list was put together

        10 Taupo hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

        Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

        The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

        What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

        Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

        Marc Delacroix

        Marc Delacroix France

        Closes the shop two weeks each winter and goes wherever people make something fermented. Dairies in the Basque country, the Caucasus and rural Sardinia.

        Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.