US art donor buys third lodge

Guests have been paying up to $2000 a night at Matakauri Lodge, near Queenstown. Photo / Supplied

An American billionaire is adding a third luxury lodge to his New Zealand portfolio.

The Overseas Investment Office has just released its latest series of decisions and it shows Julian Robertson has permission to buy the 3.5ha Matakauri Lodge, 10 minutes out of Queenstown.

Robertson's other luxury lodges are Northland's Kauri Cliffs, where rates go up to $8750 a night, and The Farm at Cape Kidnappers.

Robertson is a major benefactor in the United States and New Zealand. He and his wife Josie are donating 15 major works of art to the Auckland Art Gallery.

The $115 million collection, said to be the largest gift to an art museum in New Zealand or Australia, includes works by Cezanne and Picasso.

Matakauri Lodge has four suites and six separate villas, including common areas.

It has been praised as one of New Zealand's most private and serene sites and is on the Tatler Top 101 Hotels of the World list for 2008.

Guests have been paying between $1700 and about $2000 a night. Robertson has big plans for the lodge.

"The applicant intends to acquire Matakauri Lodge, temporarily shut it down and refurbish it," the office said.

Some reports have claimed Robertson paid $12 million for the property but the price was not declared on the latest decision sheet.

The deal is being done through American company Waiaua Bay Farm buying Matakauri Trust and Matakauri Lodge Trust, both New Zealand entities.

The application was approved because it fulfilled the criteria for sensitive land sales to foreigners. These were cited as the creation or retention of jobs, increased export receipts and additional investment for development purposes.

The lodge was built in 2000 and the deal gives Robertson his first South Island property.

It has already shut for refurbishment by interior designer Virginia Fisher. The property is expected to re-open early next year.

Queenstown has had its share of troubled property developments in the past year with the failure of Five Mile, Dave Henderson's ambitious project, and problems with Kawarau Falls by Auckland developer Nigel McKenna.

Work on his $1 billion hotel project is continuing while assessments are being made by receivers KordaMentha of Auckland.