Huka Lodge, New Zealand, Hotel Review

The hedge-lined driveway at Huka Lodge meanders by way of what, at first, seems like impeccable English parklands, with checkered lawns, flowerbeds, and a decorative pond full with resident geese. However as we spherical a bend to the primary lodge, I catch my first sight of the Waikato River, a quicksilver streak of glacial green-blue dashing alongside the sting of the 17-acre property, and the scene is out of the blue remodeled into one thing wild and untamed—and unmistakably New Zealand.

It was this mesmerizing river, the nation’s longest, that first lured thrill-seekers to this spot over a century in the past. In 1924, Irishman Alan Pye opened a canvas-tented fisherman’s camp the place eager anglers may match their abilities in opposition to the Waikato’s spirited rainbow trout. The camp’s fame quickly unfold, attracting A-list anglers, together with British royalty, the aviator Charles Lindbergh, and novelist James Michener.

These days, the setting has misplaced none of its attract—nor its movie star clientele—however Huka is a extra elaborate affair of 20 riverside suites and two cottages anchored by a two-story lodge above the emerald torrent. Contemporary from a 10-month, $14-million renovation underneath new house owners Baillie Lodges, Huka now gives much more vantage factors from which to admire the Waikato River. In addition to an expanded restaurant and further decking, there’s a hanging new River Room with partitions of white-paned home windows that put company nearer to the motion than ever.

New Zealand’s so-called ‘lodge queen’ Virginia Fisher, who designed the interiors when Huka grew to become a bricks-and-mortar lodge in 1984, oversaw its newest makeover and has stayed true to what she calls its “retro, camping-by-the-river” really feel whereas modernizing it for the subsequent century.

The trademark tartan has gone, however there are echoes of it in discreetly grid-patterned rugs, trendy plaids, and checked blankets. Unique furnishings have been reupholstered, and tables resurfaced, and Fisher has added emphatic bursts of shade—a jewel-green velvet couch within the cocktail lounge and raspberry-hued linen drapes within the eating room. She additionally enhanced the lodge’s artwork assortment, largely gilt-framed oils of landscapes and animals, with specifically commissioned works showcasing New Zealand’s indigenous Māori tradition.

Her fashion is sort of luxurious but additionally eclectic. In every single place I look, one thing catches my eye—the filigreed eel traps on the lodge’s exterior, an vintage leather-based pommel repurposed as a espresso desk, corridor chairs with backs twisted into Celtic crosses, and, the gang favourite, an outdated Spanish cupboard she reconfigured because the cocktail bar. Its 4 paneled doorways open virtually ceremonially every night for drinks.

Mornings at Huka are magical as mists elevate from the river and cloak the gardens of tree ferns, flax, totara, and rimu pines. It’s a scene I loved from my canopied mattress or sitting on the deck with an espresso and a shortbread from the minibar. Ideally, I’d spend my days admiring this river from each angle—breakfasting on the restaurant’s terrace, strolling all the way down to the close by falls the place slim gorges flip the Waikato into raging cascades and mountain climbing alongside the alternative financial institution to wash in riverside scorching springs. However there are numerous fashionable distractions on the new Huka—from spa therapies and a forest-view sauna to a tennis courtroom and exercises within the smooth health club. And there’s neighboring Lake Taupō, a geothermal hotspot fashionable for watersports and out of doors actions in one in every of New Zealand’s most hanging pure landscapes.

No matter how company spend their days, come night, everybody gathers for cocktails and canapes, ideally within the River Room, the place I like to sit down on the leather-based fender by the fireside and watch the river float by within the fading gentle.

Right here’s what it is like to remain on the new Huka Lodge.

The Rooms

The variety of lodging stays the identical after the renovation, however every has acquired such a complete facelift that, regardless of some being over 40 years outdated, it’s not possible to detect any indicators of age. The 20 suites fan out from a fern-lined walkway and are organized in twos and threes alongside the river, some with shared foyers and others with non-public entrances. The duplex Alan Pye cottage has two king bedrooms, an infinity pool, and a scorching tub opening onto riverside lawns, whereas the four-bedroom Van Heeren cottage contains a solar deck, plunge pool, and spa set on a bluff above the Waikato.

The 645-square-foot lodge suites are richly textured in linen, wool, and leather-based to create cozy retreats in New Zealand’s cool local weather, with partitions of glass that may open to the river and gardens in hotter climate. Furnished timber decks step all the way down to clipped lawns and solar loungers.

New suite options embody customized AH Beard king beds curtained in wonderful linen, chaise longues, and private bars stocked with New Zealand wines and beers, native craft sodas, and regional merchandise, together with chocolate and triple-cream Brie. My favourite deal with is Huka kitchen’s fats, buttery shortbread discs studded with sugar crystals.

The loos, positioned simply past the walk-in dressing rooms, are a spotlight. Timber-floored and skylit, the centerpiece is a chrome-railed tub set beside mullioned home windows searching to fern gardens, a beautiful spot for a lavender and bergamot-scented soak.

Meals and Drink

Lodge eating leans closely on New Zealand’s pristine produce and the straightforward sophistication of Pacific delicacies, whether or not it’s the breakfast honeycomb reduce straight from the property’s hives or Mount Prepare dinner alpine salmon from the nation’s purest streams.

At breakfast, the buffet is organized on and across the kitchen move with baked bread and pastries, together with flaky croissants and pains au chocolat, recent fruits, cereals, charcuterie, and cheeses. Begin right here, then order off the menu, that includes classics comparable to eggs benedict and pancakes with lodge marmalade.

The restaurant is an elegantly relaxed, split-level area with a riverside terrace. There are fireplaces in and out and heated gazebos that permit for riverfront eating in any climate.

Lunch gives upscale consolation meals comparable to pappardelle with prawns, Lake Ohau sirloin, and chocolate fondant, whereas dinner contains four-course menus adjusted to style and dietary necessities. Highlights from my eating included an heirloom tomato tart with native Cranky Goat cheese and sturgeon caviar from Rotorua, and Mount Prepare dinner salmon with yuzu and nori tapioca. Wines have been nicely chosen for every course, however for one thing particular, there’s a cellar checklist of 4,500 bottles showcasing 90 % New Zealand wines plus benchmark vintages from Australia and France.

Visitors staying three nights or extra are handled to dinner in one of many lodge’s specialty eating areas, which embody an al fresco ‘inexperienced room’ walled by hedges and warmed by heaters and blankets; the sunken wine cellar; and The Library, the place the late British Queen Elizabeth II dined throughout her 4 visits right here.

Actions and Experiences

On-site lodge actions are concentrated in an extravagantly hedged enclosure containing a tennis courtroom, croquet garden, and petanque pitch. There may be additionally a compact pool, two scorching tubs in a terraced backyard setting, and a yoga garden for private apply or non-public lessons with an teacher (by appointment).

It’s a brief stroll to Huka Falls, a two-tiered cascade the place I watch intrepid kayakers plunge over the drops and survive. Workers may organize jet-boating journeys to the bottom of the falls.

Visitors can borrow a mountain bike or e-bike and deal with greater than 60 miles of trails alongside the Waikato River. The lodge provides rods for catch-and-release fly fishing, however should you’re severe about snaring a rainbow trout, then e-book an tour to Lake Taupō. Huka companions with native tour firm Chris Jolly Open air for fishing, mountain climbing, and biking adventures centered totally on the lake. I spent a half-day with them on a refurbished Seventies timber boat, cruising the lake, visiting modern Māori rock carvings, and eating on barbequed steaks and salads. One among our group caught a trout sufficiently big to convey again to the lodge, the place it was served finely filleted on blinis with sundowner cocktails.

Excessive-flyers can constitution a helicopter to discover the volcanic landscapes of Tongariro Nationwide Park and Rotorua, in addition to the prized vines of Craggy Vary in Hawke’s Bay for a non-public tour of the property and cellars, wine tastings, a gastronomic lunch, and your choose of six premium bottles to be packaged up and delivered residence.

The Spa

The 2025 renovation has added a two-room spa housed in cottages impressed by typical New Zealand ‘bach’ vacation houses. Accessed through a woodland path, the spa additionally gives twin ice-bucket baths, a soaking scorching tub set amongst ferns, and a sauna with calming rainforest views.

The spa therapy menu incorporates Indigenous parts comparable to manuka honey, energizing greenstone (a kind of jade), and thermal muds drawn from the encompassing volcanic panorama. Small-batch Verité Spa skincare merchandise are made regionally from natural plant extracts comparable to blue tansy and kiwifruit seed.

Remedies vary from hour-long Kanohi Radiance facials that mix thermal-mud face masks and collagen-boosting face serums to the two-hour signature Aroha Goddess ritual of fragrant therapeutic massage, again exfoliation, and anti-aging facial with rosehip and sandalwood. There are greater than a dozen indulgence choices to select from, most incorporating some parts of Māori beliefs or rituals; therapists suggest selecting one which “resonates along with your temper or desired focus.”

The newly put in health club subsequent door is a glass-walled pavilion geared up with medication balls, ropes, and a punching bag by the cult German health model Artzt, overlooking a tranquil backyard.

Household-friendly Choices

The lodge is open to kids 10 and above however doesn’t provide any particular actions or menus for youthful company. They’re handled as small adults and anticipated to behave as such.

Accessibility and Sustainability

There may be one tailored suite (quantity 4) for company with restricted mobility. The principle lodge constructing is partially wheelchair accessible apart from the decrease eating room and upstairs lounges.

Huka is on the nationwide grid which generates greater than 80 per cent renewable power largely from hydroelectric energy, together with the Waikato River. Transfers and native transport is by Mercedes Benz electrical vans, and water is drawn straight from the river and purified for lodge use.

Location

Huka Lodge is on the sting of Taupō, a geothermal area within the heart of the North Island identified for its therapeutic scorching springs and an unlimited lake the scale of Singapore fashionable for watersports, crusing, trout fishing, and forest hikes. There are additionally main golf programs close by and the Tongariro Nationwide Park for epic walks and winter snowboarding and snowboarding on Mount Ruapehu.

Taupō is a three-hour drive from New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. The lodge can organize transfers, or company can select to hire a automobile and drive themselves. Main companies, together with Avis, Finances, and Hertz, function from Taupō airport.

As soon as away from Auckland, the roads are uncongested and simple to navigate for these snug driving on the “reverse” aspect of the street. Alternatively, company can e-book a 30-minute scheduled flight with Air New Zealand or constitution a 70-minute helicopter hop. There may be parking for 5 helicopters on Huka’s 18-acre greenfield web site subsequent door.

How you can Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

Huka Lodge and Baillie Lodges don’t at present take part in any loyalty program. Lodge charges embody a hearty nation breakfast, pre-dinner drinks and canapés, and a four-course dinner with paired wines.

Nightly charges at Huka Lodge begin from round $1,700 per suite, with a minimal two-night keep.

Each T+L resort evaluation is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed on the property, and every resort chosen aligns with our core values.