Stay at New Zealand's Top Luxury Retreat
Voted #1 Hotel in New Zealand by Condé Nast Traveller UK Readers’ Choice Awards 2025, and holding a perfect 10/10 on Booking.com, TripAdvisor’s Best of the Best (Top 1% of hotels internationally) and Qualmark 5-Star and gold rated, Pīhopa Retreat is New Zealand’s most acclaimed small luxury hotel.
Tucked away in a tranquil pocket just minutes from Nelson’s city centre, Pīhopa Retreat feels a world apart — yet places guests perfectly for exploring three of New Zealand’s most spectacular National Parks. World-class food, wine, and coastal scenery are all within easy reach.
Luxury Accomodation in Nelson
Six luxury suites set in a park-like setting provide a very comfortable home away from home. Large spacious villas, each with a bedroom and lounge area to relax in. Venture outside to soak up the atmosphere on the balcony where you are often joined by cheeky fantails, whilst watching weka and quails running across the lawn.
A Historic Setting Like No Other
Our luxury accommodation in Nelson sits on the site of part of the original Nelson Diocese estate, consisting of 158 acres purchased in 1862. The original Bishops Residence was built in 1868 and the Bishopdale Chapel, which is still a working chapel today, was built in 1877.
Guests enjoy a chef-prepared breakfast served in the historic chapel each morning.
Photograph: Ana Galloway
Pīhopa Retreat
Our luxury accommodation is set in 5.5 acres of beautifully park-like gardens and neighbours a 2.4ha reserve. Wander through the orchard picking fruit, enjoy our garden games or sit on your balcony looking over the city, garden and our heritage woodland that is over 100 years old.
Take a dip in the pool, have a spa or grab a glass of wine to sit by our two fire pits with a grazing platter. Make the Pīhopa experience part of your holiday story.
Intimate Luxury, Unrivalled Personalisation
Hosted by Sarah Mellor and her team, every detail of a guest’s stay is considered and deeply personalised — in a way that only a six-suite retreat can achieve. Restaurant reservations are arranged in advance with complimentary taxis, and evenings begin with drinks and canapés served poolside as the sun goes down.
A curated wine cellar, freshly baked afternoon treats, and a sumptuous chef-prepared breakfast served in a historic 19th-century chapel complete the picture. It is this calibre of unhurried, genuine hospitality that has made Pīhopa one of the most celebrated luxury retreats in the country.
A Quiet Corner of an Extraordinary Region
Pīhopa Retreat sits at the threshold of three of New Zealand’s most spectacular National Parks — Abel Tasman, Kahurangi, and Nelson Lakes — placing guests at the heart of some of the most breathtaking and accessible wilderness on earth.
Golden beaches, ancient beech forests, and mountain trails are within easy reach, as is the region’s celebrated food, wine, and arts scene.
Luxury with a light footprint
Pīhopa Retreat is carbon positive certified, holds both Qualmark 5-Star and Gold Tier Sustainable Tourism accreditation, is a signatory of New Zealand’s Tiaki Promise — a commitment to care for the land, sea, and community — and a Kaitiaki member of the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary.
Everything the retreat does is guided by the desire to have as low an impact as possible on its extraordinary surroundings. For guests who care as much about how they travel as where they go, Pīhopa offers luxury with a light footprint.