NZ’s Best exists to celebrate the retirement villages and aged-care facilities that residents and families rate most highly—plain and simple. We’re part of the Seniors New Zealand family (formerly AgedAdvisor), which has been collecting verified reviews since 2014. Over time those reviews grew into an annual, independent awards programme designed to give older New Zealanders and their whānau a clear, current snapshot of everyday experience.
How we got here
Back in 2014, AgedAdvisor launched as the first NZ-wide review platform for retirement living and care. As more people shared their experiences, patterns emerged—some places were consistently delighting residents. We started recognising that excellence publicly. In 2025, working with the University of Canterbury School of Mathematics and Statistics | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, Associate Professor Daniel Gerhard refined our scoring into a simpler, transparent, current-year model. Around the same time, AgedAdvisor expanded under Seniors New Zealand, and NZ’s Best became the dedicated home for our awards and methodology.
What the awards celebrate
At heart, the awards recognise the lived experience of residents and families in the most recent year. We highlight outstanding individual villages and care homes, and we also acknowledge broader achievements—like Enduring Excellence for sustained high performance over multiple years, and National Group Excellence for consistently strong networks. Because size can skew results, we compare like with like, assessing facilities within small and large categories so the playing field stays fair.
Is it Independent
No one can buy a ranking, full stop. Advertising or sponsorship has no influence on outcomes. Operators have a public right of reply on the review platform because transparency helps everyone. And the calculations themselves are run independently by the University of Canterbury using the model below.
Who’s eligible
If you’re a New Zealand retirement village or aged-care facility with verified reviews on our platform, you’re in the mix—whether you’re for-profit, not-for-profit, or charitable; whether you offer independent living, serviced apartments, rest-home, hospital, dementia or other certified services. We include you in the appropriate size cohort so small sites aren’t drowned out by large ones.
How the awards are calculated (the simple version)
Our scoring is review-based and focused on this year’s experience, so families see what’s happening now. Ratings across the Likert scale are combined into a weighted average (the simplified model introduced in 2025). To keep things fair, we normalise for facility capacity so an unusually high number of reviews can’t artificially inflate a score, and we use small/large cohorts for comparisons. There’s a minimum review threshold for eligibility, along with integrity checks to reduce noise or suspicious patterns. Finally, the University of Canterbury runs the computations and produces the results we publish.
A note on history: before 2025 we “smoothed” results across three weighted averages—about two-thirds weight on the current year and one-third across the two prior years combined. The updated model is deliberately simpler and more transparent while still reflecting the full distribution of ratings.
As a consumer – how do you use NZ’s Best
Think of NZ’s Best as an evidence-based experience signal, not the whole decision. Use it alongside the essentials: read the latest HealthCERT audits, check the Retirement Villages Register and statutory supervisor details, and go through your Occupation Right Agreement (ORA) carefully—fees, repayment timeframes, and any capital-gain policies matter. Then visit, talk to residents and staff, and see how the community feels for you or your loved one.
And for operators
NZ’s Best Awards are free to enter and all trophies and certificate costs are covered by our SENIORS NEW ZEALAND (SNZ). Facilities simply confirm their details each year – and then need a minimum of 3 votes / reviews to be considered – but the more the better. Facilities that wish to use their awards and rankings in promotions for themselves just need to be on an upgraded plan with SNZ, and one of our team can help with that. But even if you’re not – and you’ve won – you’ll still have a trophy or certificate to show off in reception for staff, residents and customers to see.
Talk to us
Want the full technical note on the scoring model, have a correction, or need media assets and badge guidelines? We’re happy to help.
Email: hello@seniorsnewzeland.co.nz
Site: newzealandsbest.co.nz
NZ’s Best is published by Seniors New Zealand (formerly AgedAdvisor). Awards are calculated independently by the University of Canterbury School of Mathematics and Statistics. Last updated: 9 October 2025 (NZT).
