6 best luxury lodges in New Zealand

Gourmet meals, tick. Luxury accommodation, tick. Beautiful natural surroundings, big tick. Luxury lodges in New Zealand are unlike any in the world, often located in picture-perfect surroundings.

Picture yourself at one of these luxury lodges in New Zealand.

Blanket Bay

You can arrive by car or helicopter at this mountain-style lodge 45 minutes from Queenstown were your outlook is framed by the Lake Wakatipu frontage and glacier-topped Southern Alps. The main lodge is designed to make the most of the view from floor-to-ceiling windows in the lounge that extends into the pitched roof, a perfect spot to cosy up with a book and glass of local red in front of the fire. 

Blanket Bay offers next level luxe.

There are eight rooms in the main lodge plus four chalets and a four-bedroom villa elsewhere on the estate. But one of the biggest drawcards is the menu, which changes daily. What doesn’t change is chef Dan Reynolds’ ethos to highlight local New Zealand produce, like organic chicken from Hawke’s Bay or kingfish from Queenstown.

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Huka Lodge

You can close your eyes on the banks of the Waikato River near Taupo and imagine the white canvas fishing tents that stood there 100 years ago. The serene natural beauty of the North Island spot hasn’t changed much, but the accommodation sure has. Today, 20 guest suites with canopied beds, deep baths and doors opening onto the river, plus two owner’s residences are the result of a recent year-long restoration.

The newly refurbished Huka Lodge.

If you can drag yourself away from this sanctuary, the main lodge is your base for meals, pre-dinner drinks and planning your day’s activities. Though, with a yoga and meditation lawn, a gym and a spa, there may be little reason to leave the estate.

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Wharekauhau

Wharekauhau may look like a luxury farmstay, but it’s also a working enterprise, in fact it’s the second oldest Romney sheep stud in the country. The main homestead is the beating heart of the estate - cradled between the Remutaka Mountains and Palliser Bay - offering a lounge decked out in plush velvet sofas around an open fire (perfect for pre-dinner drinks), a private dining room, games room for kids and a country-style breakfast room drenched with sun in the mornings. Accommodation is located away from the main homestead in 16 luxe cottage suites and a villa.

Wharekauhau Lodge is a working sheep stud.

You can spend days exploring the 1200ha estate 90 minutes from Wellington, from ATV quad bike tours to clay target shooting, or visit the nearby town of Martinborough for gin tasting and shopping.

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Solitaire Lodge

Could life get any better at Solitaire?

There are nine luxury suites at Solitaire Lodge and all have one thing in common – uninterrupted views over Lake Tarawera and the bushland beyond, making you feel like you’re miles from anywhere. Actually, you are only about 20 minutes from Rotorua on the North Island, making this your perfect base for activities like visiting thermal springs, bush walking, rainbow trout fishing, helitours, or even a Hobbiton movie set tour.

Or, stay close to base and satisfy your hunger with breakfast, lunch and dinner from a menu that changes daily in the main lodge, as well as pre-dinner drinks and canapes all included in the tariff.

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Otahuna Lodge

Grand scale at Otahuna Lodge.Picture: Stephen Goodenough/Otahua Lodge.

Stepping through the door of this Queen Anne mansion 30 minutes from Christchurch is like visiting a friend, a rich friend with a meticulously restored historic home. That’s because the owners have deliberately created a home-away-from-home feel, where you can eat your meals at your choice of locations throughout the house, pop into the kitchen for a coffee any time and wander the extensive grounds at will.

Built in 1895, Otahuna’s extensive grounds are just as special. Brought back from a derelict condition during the home’s restoration in 2006, the grounds include a Dutch garden, hedge-trimmed paths, orchard, 130-variety fruit and vegetable garden, bee hives, mushroom hut, flower beds and more.

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Lindis Lodge

Lindis Lodge is literally embedded in its landscape.

It’s one of New Zealand’s most unique accommodation options - the three glass pods with their mirror-like panels reflecting the rugged fields of the Ahuriri Valley in the South Island’s Canterbury region. Enjoy the remote landscape through floor-to-ceiling windows from your king-sized bed, or from the alfresco hot tub on your private terrace. Five suites complete the accommodation offerings at this off-grid destination which perfectly melds the indoors with the outdoors.

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Originally published as 6 best luxury lodges in New Zealand