About BestWellington

BestWellington is an independent guide to the best of Wellington — places to eat, things to do, and the local businesses worth knowing about. Rankings are editorial and cannot be bought. Some pages carry clearly labelled sponsored placements, which sit outside the editorial Top 10 - see our Advertise page for how that works.

It is one of four city sites in the NZ City Guides network. The same rankings method, the same people, four cities:

• BestAuckland — the best of Auckland
• BestRotorua — the best of Rotorua
• BestQueenstown — the best of Queenstown

Who publishes it

BestWellington is published by Amit Sharma, an Auckland real-estate agent and marketer. His own site — amit.marketing — is where his property and marketing work lives. This is the only link to it on this site; the guides themselves stay independent of it.

Amit is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and compiles the guides with support from the wider NZ City Guides editorial workflow. Being based outside Wellington does not mean the lists are built from generic national directories. Each page is researched specifically for Wellington, using the business’s own published information, its location and service area, independent public feedback, and the practical details a local or visitor needs before making a choice. Where a listing includes an address, opening hours, price indication or booking tip, that information is checked against a first-party source wherever one is available.

How places are chosen

A place earns consideration because it is relevant to the category and Wellington, not because it has paid for exposure. The first pass looks at whether the business is currently trading, whether it genuinely serves the stated suburb or wider city, and whether there is enough reliable public information to describe it fairly. The editorial comparison then considers local reputation, consistency of recent customer feedback, range or specialisation, accessibility, value, and what makes the place useful or distinctive. The balance changes with the subject: location and late hours matter more for convenience stores, while qualifications, scope of service and clear contact information matter more for professional services.

These are curated recommendations, not a mathematical league table. Public review scores can help identify patterns, but they are not copied into a formula and they do not decide the order alone. A large venue with thousands of ratings is not automatically more useful than a smaller specialist. The aim is to give readers a varied shortlist with enough detail to make their own decision. When the evidence is uncertain, the guide avoids making a claim rather than filling the gap with an assumption.

How often lists are checked

Lists are reviewed on a rolling basis rather than all being given a cosmetic new date at once. A visible “Last updated” line shows when a page’s content was most recently reviewed or materially changed. During a review, the editor checks that each place still trades, confirms its official website and location, removes closed businesses, and updates details that could affect a visit. Fast-changing categories may be revisited more often, while stable service categories are checked when new evidence or a reader correction arrives.

A review date is not a promise that every menu item, price or opening hour will remain unchanged after publication. Wellington businesses can change details without notice, and public holidays, private events and seasonal schedules can create exceptions. Readers should confirm time-sensitive information directly with the business before travelling or booking. The guide links to official sites where possible to make that final check straightforward.

Corrections and listings

Something out of date, closed, moved, or materially changed? Email the details through the Contact page. Include the business name, the page where it appears, what has changed and, if available, a link to the business’s own announcement. A clear correction can be checked and applied without waiting for the page’s next scheduled review. Businesses may also request removal. Corrections are treated as editorial work and do not require payment.

Businesses wanting to be considered can use the advertise page, which is also where sponsorship enquiries go. Paid placements are visually labelled, their links are identified as sponsored, and they sit outside the numbered editorial rankings. Sponsorship never changes a business’s position, guarantees inclusion, or prevents a correction. That separation is central to keeping the lists useful and trustworthy.