There are about 500 stars in the Matariki cluster, though you can only see six or seven without a telescope. Similarly, our snapshot of Aotearoa's finest five-star sleeping and dining experiences (spoiler: at least one is six-star) can only shine a light on a small selection of what's on offer. Make a visit this Matariki, or plan ahead for an all-star experience in future.
Northern lights
In Te Tai Tokerau you can't get much more exclusive than The Landing residences in a 400ha carbon zero estate on the Purerua Peninsula near Kerikeri, with rich cultural history and award-winning wines from its vineyards.
Sage@Paroa Bay is a gastronomic gem about 20 minutes from Russell, featuring foraged foods, local kaimoana and produce.
Urban luxe
Tāmaki Makaurau hotels range from luxurious to inner-city boutiques, restaurants from world-class to life-changing, and that's before we head to Waiheke. We could mention the new Movenpick, Sudima, Britomart, Park Hyatt, The Convent, Fable and Fitzroy or take you for a bite at Homeland, Ada, Esther, Onslow, Onemata or Cazador. Our best tip: head to nzherald.co.nz/topic/tnz-auckland to find something to suit you.
Wow in the Waikato
Down State Highway 25 to Tara-o-te-ika-a-Māui where two-suite Tropica Lodge is hidden high on a hill overlooking Mercury Bay, views over forest to the sea. Your only neighbours are ruru and tūī.
Heads: dramatic clifftops and tumbling Tasman seas. Tails: tamed countryside and elegant, manicured gardens. For a Waikato weekend, the first, Castaways above Karioitahi Beach; the second, Henley near Cambridge. For dinner, head into The Tron and Palate's modern New Zealand cuisine, rated two hats in the 2021 Good Food Awards.
A taste of Italy
Ataahua Lodge is as luxurious as it gets. You might think you're on the Amalfi Coast but you're in Ōmokoroa, where this six-bedroom, five-bathroom luxury lodge has world-class art, antiques, Venetian furniture, gourmet kitchen and personal chef… If $20,000 a night is a little rich for your Visa, the Clarence Hotel – built as Tauranga's Post Office in 1906 - has been refurbished into a 10-room hotel, fine-dining restaurant, funky bar and bistro.
Pullman Rotorua is the Geyser City's first five-star hotel while the Regent Room offers award-winning contemporary dishes, cocktails and an excellent wine list.
Leave Taupō's bustle behind and drive 20km west to Kinloch Manor and Villas for serenity, terraces framing sweeping vistas, and exceptional and adventurous "estate-to-plate" dining based on produce from the region, notably the owner's 2000ha property.
Top that? Helicopter, horse trek or ATV to Blue Duck Station on the Whanganui riverbank on the National Park boundary for a remote, refined, conservation-focused, fine-dining experience. With views of Ruapehu, Ngāuruhoe and Taranaki Maunga, enjoy Jack Cashmore's 12-course tasting menu, farmed and foraged from the station, then stay in a luxury eco-cabin.
Beauty in the bays
On the East Coast, The Blackhouse is a one-of-a-kind lodge promising seclusion, and wrap-around ocean and rural views close to Tairāwhiti. It accommodates 10 guests, who can use the industrial-style kitchen or let the owners organise a chef (hint: Ben Bayly loves the place.)
Craggy Range and The Farm at Cape Kidnappers are world-famous and not only in Te Matau a Māui. In Central Hawke's Bay, Chris Stockdale and Jeanette Woerner bring their modern, fresh and seasonal take on food to luxe 10-bedroom Wallingford. The region's finest-dining venues include Jeremy Rameka's unforgettable Pacifica and James Honore's Dining Room at The Farm, but it's hard to find a so-so meal in HB.
Old-world opulence
Taranaki has blossomed into a premier getaway. Stay in opulent, heritage-meets-contemporary Nice Hotel or Euro-inspired, cutting-edge King & Queen Hotel Suites; eat at Salt on the Waterfront or the Nice's in-house Table restaurant.
Whanganui does quirk just about better than anywhere else. Bunk in Tiny House Iona, a self-contained luxury escape made from the hull of a 1920s boat moored on the riverbank, five minutes' walk from the historic Old Town's restaurants and bars.
Just north of Palmy is Hiwinui Country Estate. It has a day job as a working dairy farm that's been in the family for almost as long as the province has been around; it's also a 5-star lodge, its lounge dominated by a massive double-sided fireplace, dining and living areas with views over the lush farm property and pond, and a day spa.
The ultimate off-grid Matariki experience could be Whitimanuka Retreat outside Wairarapa's wine village. Set above 18ha of native bush on a seventh-generation farm, it's a private escape for two – but if you want company, they'll arrange a night sky tour. Dining? It's just down the road to Martinborough.
Capital class
Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the capital, presents the same dilemma as Auckland: too many choices. Some newish hotels: Sofitel, all seductive French botanicals; QT Wellington, as artsy and boho as the city likes to think it is; Ohtel, because it's in Oriental Bay and very much what a boutique hotel should be. Eat at Atlas, where James Pask continues the NZ-ingredients, global-inspirations theme of his earlier Whitebait; Rita, in colourful Aro Valley, where the ever-changing menu is thoughtful, local and delicious; Hillside Kitchen, the city's leading veg-eatery.
Top of the isle
Marlborough Hotel and Vineyard lies inside 6.5ha of secluded parkland and vineyards and within toddling distance of several more estates, providing 10 contemporary rooms, a pre-dinner drink in its Chapel bar or beside its outdoor fireplace, before local cuisine in its onsite restaurant, Harvest.
Over the hill in Nelson, Peak View Retreat is a private mountaintop retreat in 60ha of native bush overlooking Delaware Bay; you can helicopter or drive in, relax on the deck, soak in the wood-fired hot tub and head out to restaurants like Forsters at Moutere Hills Vineyard, an idyllic setting to appreciate Alastair Forster's sophisticated dishes, or the highly-rated newcomer Le Plonc, with its "neo-French fare". Shouldn't that be nouvelle?
WInners on the West
Rimu Lodge overlooks the Hokitika River with the Southern Alps' jagged tips in the distance, the only 5-star lodge in Te Tai Poutini. When you're not enjoying the silence – someone tell those birds to shut up, please – retreat to one of the four suites' private decks to spot Matariki rising. There's well-regarded dining at Jacob's Grill (Ocean View Retreat, Punakaiki), in a special location in Paparoa National Park, just metres from the pounding Tasman Sea, 4-star rooms with ocean or rainforest views. Stations Inn (Hokitika) also has an excellent menu – catering for vegetarians and vegans – and 4-star rooms.
Elegance in the East
We've mentioned Hapuku Lodge, the 5-star eco-retreat near Kaikoura, and its tree-house apartments, deer farm, olive grove and vineyard earlier in this series. Restaurants in the extended 'hood include Number 31 on Hanmer Springs' main drag; losing oneself and one's companions in a drowsy afternoon at exceptional Black Estate; and the lo-o-o-o-ng lunch at Greystone Winery.
Let's skirt Christchurch city and, like Hamilton, appreciate a tale of two landscapes. Otahuna Lodge offers seven exceptional suites in "New Zealand's most important historic residence", built in 1895, surrounded by 30 acres of gardens and boasting 15 working fireplaces, carved inglenooks and stained-glass windows on Banks Peninsula, 30 minutes' drive from the airport.
Off the tourist trail lies Annandale, an 1843 sheep and cattle farm with 10km of spectacular coastline housing four villas, gardens and fernery, infinity pool, spa and tennis court. Gourmet experiences may include farm-to-table cooking lessons or helicoptering to vineyard tastings and luncheon. In the city, check out highly regarded Inati, Mapu and The Mayfair (opening in June).
Majesty in the mountains
If you're heading for the Mackenzie's Dark Sky experiences, check out Lakestone Lodge on Lake Pūkaki, an off-grid eco-lodge designed to maximise panoramas over the lake to the Alps; a three-course dinner at the restaurant is a must for at least one night of your stay.
Ōtepoti is another city blessed with exceptional new or reworked hotels – Fable and EBB are two of the best – and a vibrant dining scene of classics (Bracken, Bacchus, Two Chefs) or knock-your-socks-off contemporary menus (tītī and this writer's favourite, Moiety).
Unbridled lust.
We promised 6-star and here is The Carlin, a one-of-a-kind hotel and labour of love by property developer, composer and hospitality veteran Kevin Carlin in Tāhuna. Carlin came to Queenstown 30 years ago and helped create some of Te Waipounamou's noteworthy projects but this is his dream, a hotel with eight luxurious suites including the seven-bedroom Skydome, the Southern Hemisphere's largest penthouse.
Each suite has a private spa overlooking the town; there's a fine-dining restaurant, Oro. And if you're flying in from Australia or Aotearoa, hitch a ride on the 12-seater private jet. As one does.
Coming back to Earth, the very fine dining-room at The Rees is hosting a Matariki dinner on June 24 with chef Corey Hume's nine-course menu, Esk Valley wines matched to the cluster's stars and curated Māori artworks. If you can't get a ticket at such short notice, make sure you still book in a visit - the dining is just as fine, whatever time of year you visit.
If you want over-the-top, Central Otago is Ground Zero. Like Minaret Station, in a remote glacier valley outside Wānaka, surrounded by peaks, accessible only by helicopter, more world-class cuisine; Mt Michael in its vineyard with views over Lake Dunstan and the ranges; other options are available. Dining, natch: Bannockburn Hotel has won the province's best regional restaurant; Cloudy Bay Shed near Cromwell is a place to while away a few hours and deep-dive into pinot noirs.
Southern sophistication
Want your getaway to really head south? Cascade Creek Retreat is peaceful, unhosted, eco-friendly, off-grid accommodation on a Murihuku farm - no other people for kilometres, no cellphone, internet or TV coverage, solar- and hydro-powered.
In the Big Smoke, Invercargill's The Lodges at Transport World provides a stylish sanctuary. Some of Southland's best dining can be found at 148 on Elles – fresh, hearty meals with locally sourced produce; Tony Chilton's The Rocks Cafe; and Louie's, for bold game, fresh-caught blue cod and seasonal delicacies.
For more travel inspiration, go to newzealand.com/nz.
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