Kauri Cliffs named best resort in Australia and New Zealand

The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs is located north of the Bay of Islands. Photo / Supplied

A New Zealand luxury lodge has received a prestigious accolade from a leading US-based travel magazine.

Travel + Leisure readers voted The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs — located just north of the Bay of Islands — the best resort hotel in Australia and New Zealand for 2017.

Kauri Cliffs is the flagship property for New York-based financier and philanthropist Julian H. Robertson and his family. The Robertsons also built a sister lodge, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, as well as renovating an existing lodge in Queenstown, which opened as Matakauri Lodge in 2010.

The Robertson's other properties were also named among the best resorts in Australia and New Zealand, with The Farm named in second place and Matakauri Lodge in fifth.

Kauri Cliffs was also voted in fourth place among the 100 best hotels in world, with The Farm at number 40.

Nihi Sumba Island (formerly Nihiwatu) in Indonesia took the top spot in this category.

Since opening in 2001, Kauri Cliffs has offered a variety of experiences for guests, including a world-ranked golf course, chartered flights over the Bay of Islands to Cape Reinga or Tane Mahuta, and snapper fishing on the property's three private beaches.

"To be named the number one resort, particularly in a country like New Zealand where the 'luxury lodge' phenomenon was born and the accommodation bar is set high, says a lot about the experience at Kauri Cliffs," said Euan Taylor, Chief Operating Officer.

Guests can enjoy chartered flights to Cape Reinga and Tane Mahuta. Photo / Supplied

"We offer a very personal, warm and tailored style of hospitality where guests really do come first, and it is a heartfelt honour to the entire team to be recognised as Number One across Australia and New Zealand."

The 2017 World's Best Resort Hotels in Australia and New Zealand

1. The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, New Zealand
2. Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
3. Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island, Australia
4. The Louise, Barossa Valley, Australia
5. Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown, New Zealand

View the final rankings for each category here.