LUXURY In Residence

With the arrival of luxurious new Residences, New Zealand’s The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs continues to captivate guests from both home and abroad.

While Huka Lodge can claim to be New Zealand’s first luxury lodge, evolving from humble origins as a spot for world-class flyfishing, it was The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, located in Northland, that really helped put the country’s contemporary lodge scene on the global travel map. Combining a stunning David Harman-designed golf course with opulent accommodations and unapologetically OldWorld service, today The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs is one of the world’s most sought-after destinations. And it’s only getting better.

Created — along with sibling properties The Farm at Cape Kidnappers and Queenstown’s Matakauri — by hedge fund mogul, the late Julian Robertson and his late wife Josie, and now managed by their son Jay, The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs features a colonial-styled main building set at the crest of a hill overlooking the stunning fairways and boasting 180-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, Cape Brett and the Cavalli Islands. It’s here, on the broad terrace or sequestered in the luxurious lounges, that guests convene for evening cocktails before slipping into the adjacent dining room to sample the exquisite farmto-table cuisine of executive chef Paul Froggatt, which taps into the property’s extensive network of local boutique producers and farms while also sourcing ingredients from its own working farm.

Steps away, and nestled in rich native bush, are 22 sumptuouslyappointed suites and the luxurious 4,200 sqft two-bedroom Owner’s Cottage, all of which count private terraces, cathedral-esque bathrooms, roaring fireplaces and complimentary minibars among its amenities.

The most recent addition at Kauri Cliffs also takes its inspiration from its founding family. Designed to accommodate the Robertson family when they visit, and modelled after the coveted Owner’s Cottage, The Residences at Kauri Cliffs are three truly luxurious residential-styled enclaves designed for families and friends seeking privacy and the opportunity to commune with nature.

Each of these magnificent four-bedroom residences exudes its own individual style, with warm décors by acclaimed New Zealand designer Virginia Fisher – the undisputed queen of lodge interiors — that perfectly blend with the surrounding green hills and blue sea of Northland. The spacious lounge and living areas are designed for guests to gather and relax, as is the familysized kitchen, which comes complete with a casual dining island and a butler’s pantry for exclusive chef service. Each residence also features an expansive veranda that flows to a 25-foot saltwater pool and surrounding deck.

Each Residence guest room boasts a spacious bed and wardrobe, a private bathroom and direct access to the veranda, much like you’d find in a private home while Master Suites offer more of those bucolic estate vistas. Included in stays is a full daily breakfast, lunch, pre-dinner drinks, canapes, dinner and a generously stocked mini bar with New Zealand wine, beer and select spirits.

In addition to tennis courts and a newly opened pickleball court, the mesmerising par 72 championship golf course has been lovingly renovated, with the replacement of all greens during an exhaustive 18 month process, thus ensuring its position as one of the world’s most acclaimed courses and one that will seduce and challenge even regular visitors.

Lodge guests can also work up a storm in the modern fitness centre, take a dip in the outdoor infinity swimming pool or soak in the indoor pool, sample indigenous wellness treatments in a spa nestled within an ancient Totara forest; or enjoy a picnic at private Pink Beach, a postcard perfect slice of coastline they’ll have all to themselves.

robertsonlodges.com –

NICK WALTON