It was one of two supreme winners in this year's Keep Dunedin Beautiful (KDB) awards, which targeted accommodation providers.
Presentations of supreme awards for the holiday park and Hereweka Garden Retreat were made yesterday by KDB co-ordinator Darlene Thomson and representative Paul Pope, of the Otago Peninsula Community Board.
Mrs Thomson said the gardens at Hereweka were incredible and the facility also impressed in respect of its structural surfaces, recycling facilities and litter-free grounds.
''The cottage garden made up of native plants and colourful flowers helped give this retreat a real wow factor,'' judge Janine Hunt-Ross, of the Dunedin City Council, said.
Dunedin Holiday Park was similarly tidy, and comprised hundreds of painted murals of wildlife, attractions, people and places of the wider area, KDB chairwoman Jan Tucker said.
''Every Dunedin resident should see this magnificent camp ground, resplendent in hundreds of murals depicting Otago attractions.
"I can't believe that I have lived in Dunedin this long and never knew what a fabulous place we had on our doorstep,'' she said.
Park owners Rex and Gaynor Moss bought the 3ha property about 14 years ago and have since worked hard to transform it.
''We've spent millions on it. The money that's come in, we're reinvested in it,'' Mr Moss said.
Murals were painted by artists Rodney Rive, of Twizel, and Wayne Jenkins, of Dunedin.
Natives, including rata and pohutukawa, were also planted to suit the coastal climate, he said.
The park was managed by Mr and Mrs Moss' daughter Kirsty and her husband Daniel Grubb and had achieved high Qualmark status.
Also recognised in the annual awards with certificates of excellence were the Milton House Bed and Breakfast, Silver Peaks Lodge and Leith Valley Touring Park.
