Design at Huka Lodge
Architects & Designers
In March 2025, the century-young Huka Lodge reopened after a $25 million, year-long redesign. The world-renowned luxury lodge on the banks of the emerald-green Waikato River had been purchased by the Baillie Lodges group’s capital partners in 2021, who identified the need to extend the property’s main lodge lounging spaces to accommodate up to 50 discerning guests, while adding new wellness grounds including two spa treatment rooms, a sauna, gym, surprise contrast shower and steaming hot plunge pool.
Huka Lodge is held close to the heart of many returning guests as well as local Kiwi residents, who were interested to see Huka Lodge’s rich heritage and remarkable history preserved.
Plans for the reimagined lodge needed to strike a delicate balance between appealing to the needs of a future generation of high-end, world-travelled guests and maintaining the look, feel and spirit of the hundred-year-old lodge. Several of the original furnishings have been reupholstered and restored.
Baillie Lodges founder James Baillie led the redesign, appointing Auckland-based architect Christian Anderson for the design who had been recommended by Virginia Fisher. Christian had previously worked under former Huka Lodge owner Alex van Heeren on the build of the Alan Pye Cottage, one of the two ultra-premium owner's style residences at Huka Lodge. The owner’s residence style cottage is named for Alan Pye who established the original fishers’ camp in 1924, offering guests direct access to the river’s prized trout and setting in place a reputation for world-class flyfishing in the Taupō region.
Today, Christian Anderson Architects brings more than twenty years’ experience in high-end residential projects including Millbrook Home, Rural House and most recently Huka Lodge. Christian Anderson operates from a Ponsonby, Central Auckland studio.
Designer Virginia Fisher was first commissioned by Alex van Heeren in 1984 to lead the interior design for the luxury lodge. It was the first big break for Virginia and paved the way for several high-end design projects over the ensuing years. With its commitment to honouring the homely, welcoming feel of the lodge in her centenary renovation, Baillie Lodges was pleased to reengage Virginia to lead the interiors some forty years on.
Virginia’s signature tartans have featured heavily in past fit outs, along with rich, regal colours that offer a sense of occasion. Antique furniture pieces and art works have been personally sourced to create a sense of home, and to complement the flowing river and superb gardens just outside.
In this iteration, guests will be pleased to see a contemporary, more subtle tartan in place, lightheartedly referred to as ‘Burberry tartan’ by James Baillie.
Virginia has set a 1920s and 30s theme to the interiors, in keeping with the period that Alan Pye first opened Huka Lodge to guests.
Landscape designer Suzanne Turley takes a complementary approach to the architecture and interiors in the property’s 17-acre parklike grounds, where she was first appointed by Alex van Heeren to work on garden plans in 2000. Suzanne has worked hand-in-glove with Virginia Fisher on Huka Lodge and several other projects. Happily for Suzanne, the signature tall green hedges were already in place at Huka Lodge when she arrived, and set in place a design theme for the gardens that included creating private rooms within the gardens for guests to reflect and connect with the spirit of the place.
Suzanne created gardens that would continually flower across the seasons, creating new experiences of the garden depending on the season. Manicured gardens sit alongside native bush areas, tree-ferned grottos, water features and green-lawned spaces for gentle pastimes like tennis, croquet and pétanque. For the centenary renovation, Suzanne’s attention turned to the new wellness grounds.
Building Features
Entrance
Guests arriving at Huka Lodge from March 2025 onwards will feel a sense of a special occasion from the moment they reach the hedge-lined drive into the port cochère, past a newly added pond and gardens. On entering, guests will catch a first glimpse of the emerald-blue Waikato River as it flows towards Huka Falls via the floor-to-ceiling windows in the new River Room. It’s a signature Baillie Lodges design theme, where clever architecture welcomes the outside in, connecting guests with beautiful natural surrounds and making for a breathtaking moment of arrival.
The River Room
New to Huka Lodge in 2025 is the River Room, a hub for lounging, reading and enjoying a drink. The River Room opens to the enchanting views of the Waikato River and its chequered lawn banks and is surrounded by the restful, English country house style gardens. Generous, ceiling-high windows and wide French doors welcome in views, while luxurious lounges and cosy corners offer guests occasion to spend more time in the lodge, meeting fellow guests and watching the river roll by. Original lounge chairs have been reupholstered for a contemporary new look, copper and brass pendant lights recommissioned from ships hang from high ceilings while an antique pummel sourced by Virginia Fisher plays centre stage below. A spectacular aged brass fireplace features a leather club fender, perfect for perching on in the warmth.
Outdoor Terrace
Guests may step from the River Room onto the expanded outdoor terrace via large French doors, where a double-sided open fire warms lounging areas and tables for al fresco dining and drinks. Comfortable outdoor lounges and armchairs have been custom designed by Virginia Fisher for Huka Lodge and made by local furniture-maker Devon The terrace brings guests closer to the river and gardens, while state-of-the art glass pergolas make outdoor lounging a pleasure in all seasons.
Dining Room
Set with gloriously high ceilings, the light-filled dining room is framed by floor-to-ceiling windows and warmed by an open fire. Trios of pendant lights hang from the ceilings while rich red rugs line the wooden floors. Red and beige cushions line leather banquettes and gilt-framed paintings line the walls, painted in the unique Huka emerald-blue, reflecting the river outside. Dining chairs are dressed in signature Huka covers with a red seam detail. The original dining tables have been refinished for ongoing use.
To the side of the Dining and River Rooms is the aged brass bar designed by Virginia Fisher, cleverly set behind doors, with marble counter tops and glass mirrored shelving and equipped with all the essentials for a help-yourself cocktail or sunset drink.
Piper Room & The Loft
Upstairs private lounging areas include The Loft and the Piper Room - named in honour of the piper who would call people to dinner – are ideal for casual board and card games, intimate dinners, special celebrations or an exclusive meeting. With private verandas with views over the river and gardens and stylish club-style furniture, the Piper Room and The Loft are styled with country antiques and artworks personally sourced by Virginia Fisher.
Wellness Grounds
A significant part of the centenary renovation is the new wellness grounds, set amongst a peaceful, secret garden created by landscape architect Suzanne Turley and accessed via a pathway of paradise stepping stones sourced from the North Island. The wellness grounds feature a series of huts taking design inspiration from the traditional Kiwi ‘bach’ or holiday house, that together house a gym along with two spa treatment rooms, a sauna, surprise cold duo bucket shower and a steaming plunge pool. Gardens surrounding the wellness grounds are key to the guest experience of the space, and Suzanne has created a space that is lush and tranquil and inspires peace, using native tree ferns and white-flowered amelanchier trees for soft, dappled light.
Guest Suites
All guest suites have had a refresh of interiors in the centenary renovation, where Baillie Beds were introduced set with premium linens and custom bed throw and crowned with a bed canopy with Ian Lawler custom wrought iron frame. Wide doors open to a verandah and step-down access to the lawned riverbanks. Each guest suite has views of the Waikato River as it flows towards the Huka Falls.
Gardens
The gardens at Huka Lodge in the style of a traditional cool climate New Zealand country garden span some 17-acres, where Suzanne Turley has created a wonderland of private ‘garden rooms’, lawned spaces, an orchard, manicured gardens in the style of a home and more native, tree-ferned bush spaces with the fast-flowing Waikato River as the connecting energy, a spiritual life force.
Guests at Huka Lodge will notice established redwoods, traditionally chequered lawns and high hedges that frame lawn games courts and guide walkways. Clever, considered planting of bulbs and perennials and seasonally flowering plants ensure a continuous, changing flowering and that the experience of the garden is different, and rewarding across the seasons. Guests will see flowering rhododendrons and azaleas, gardenias, hydrangeas and hellebores depending on the time of year.
The overarching feeling is one of peace and tranquillity, with spaces for guests to enjoy a private moment of contemplation, a romantic drink with a loved one or the fun of traditional lawn games.
Furniture & Features
The Baillie Bed
The luxuriously comfortable Baillie Bed is made in New Zealand to Baillie-supplied specifics by family-owned bed maker AH Beard. Guests at Huka Lodge will sleep soundly on king or king single beds, depending on preference. Mattresses are made from a wool blend fabric, designed to keep sleepers cool in summer and warm in winter. Gel-infused latex provides support and relief from pressure, while a Reflex Advance Support System responds to guests’ individual size and shape to provide the level of support the body needs. The Baillie Beds are in place across each of the Baillie Lodges properties in Australia and New Zealand.
Several furniture pieces in the main lodge and guest suites have been restored, refinished or reupholstered to reappear in the new-look lodge. There’s a sense of the new additions sitting comfortably alongside the original pieces given a new contemporary take.
The Green Leather Lounges
The original green leather lounges that have been a guest favourite and centrepiece for years at Huka Lodge have been restored and installed in the River Room.
Wrought
Iron Features
Local wrought iron specialist Ian Lawler, whose striking wrought iron chandeliers are seen in the Alex Pye and Alex van Heeran Cottages, has been commissioned once again, this time to provide fireplace guards and tending tools, the overhead bed canopy frames and fittings for the restored marble topped credenzas in the guest suites.
Rugs
Virginia Fisher has designed the striking rugs throughout the lodge, showcasing rich red tones. These have been created exclusively for Huka Lodge by Source Mondiale
Eel Traps
Set high on the exterior walls at the entrance and above the external fireplace on the terrace are two distinctive, restored eel traps, sourced by Virginia Fisher, once used by locals to trap eels and fish in the river.
Art & Artists
Virginia Fisher has repurposed all the artworks bought by Alex van Heeren, whilst sourcing and commissioning new artworks for the expanded guest space.
The River Room is home to a striking artwork called Te Hau Takiri Wharepapa of a Māori chieftain by New Zealand artist Philip Holmes, sourced by Virginia Fisher.
Auckland-born Philip Holmes grew up in Hawera and Taupō during the 1950s. Having studied Māori art and history, Holmes's early portraits often featured historical Māori figures with contemporary subjects appearing in more recent years. His work is a combination of traditional European technique embracing New World subject matter. Working in both conté and oil, Holmes has long been acknowledged as one of New Zealand's finest portrait painters.
The bar’s fold-back doors feature a series of eight whimsical artworks with pen-sketch on leaf by New Zealand artist Prue MacDougall
In the hallway, guests will see a pencil sketch of Māori artefacts connected with a red line, representing bloodlines and connections. Virginia Fisher commissioned the work from artist Penny Howard, Penny is of Māori (Te Mahurehure, Ngāpuhi) Irish and Scottish descent.
Guests will notice Alex van Heeran’s artworks around the main lodge and guest suites, including gilt-framed artworks of farming scenes in the Dining Room, the trout-themed artworks in guest suites and Dining Room, two portraits of Māori leaders in the hallway and another upstairs.
Ceramics & Miscellaneous
The design team has collaborated with several local ceramicists for restaurant service. Peter Baigent of Waiheke Ceramics has created the custom side plates for dining, the platters to present welcome canapés, ramekins for the breakfast sideboard and several pieces for the Huka Spa.
Local North Island ceramicist Rachel Carter has designed the Dining Room flatware including the entrée and main course dining plates and bowls.
The Alchemists Table on the North Island has supplied hand crafted bowls, ramekins and pourers, while Author Ceramics has designed the amuse-bouche plate and Thea ceramics has created the two-piece bowl and fitted lid, a key player in the theatre of Huka Lodge dining.
The amuse-bouche bowls which reflect the whitewash from the Huka Falls have been created exclusively for the lodge by local company Lava Glass, owned by husband-andwife team Lynden Over, master glass artist, and artist Christine Robb who also have a gallery open to visitors at Taupō. The pieces are designed to reflect the Taupō landscape, and three of the duo’s vases may be purchased in the lodge boutique.
Baillie Lodges favourite Fink has created custom wine buckets for Huka Lodge in ‘latte’ colour for the Dining Room, while the water pourers which are seen across the lodge portfolio are also a fixture here. The waiters’ trays and dishes for petits fours are also supplied by Fink
Guests will notice a custom bed throw with Huka Lodge motif in the guest suites which have been specially created in a collaboration between Australia-based Warwick Fabrics and New Zealand’s Master Weavers
Luxurious bemboka towels feature in Huka Lodge ensuite bathrooms, a favourite across the Baillie Lodges collection.
New Zealand-based scent company Ashley & Co has created the Huka Lodge signature scent and body products as well as scented individually hand-poured gift candles using 100% natural wax and an unbleached cotton wick, carefully crafted to perfection.
Corban & Blair has been engaged in an exclusive collaboration with Huka Lodge to supply custom brass key fobs, luggage tags, leather coaster and desk mats.
Miller Metal Imaging – used throughout the Baillie Lodges properties - has been engaged to supply signage around the property, set atop contemporary red cedar stands, a nod to the towering red cedar trees that appear throughout the gardens.
Huka Lodge uniforms have been designed especially for the team by premium New Zealand brand Rodd & Gunn. Guests will appreciate the Huka emerald-blue working trousers and crisp white shirts, and the brand has extended to womenswear as a one-off for the lodge. The brand’s renowned hardy boots complete the picture.
