Let KAYAK do the searching
Based on KAYAK hotel searches, the most popular destination is Christchurch (42% of total searches to South Island). The next most popular destinations are Queenstown (39%) and Dunedin (13%). Searches for hotels in Wanaka (6%) are also popular.
KAYAK users have found double rooms in South Island for as cheap as $27 (Nelson) in the last 3 days. The average price is $330.
In the last 72 hours, users have found South Island hotels for this weekend for as low as $38 (Queenstown) per night. Users have also found 3-star hotels from $38 (Queenstown) and 4-star+ hotels from $66 (Dunedin).