A stay with Baillie Lodges is to experience the luxury of travel. Each Baillie property is located in an extraordinary natural destination, with a personal experience of its culture and history, its art and natural heritage and local food and wine sourced from regional producers. Together, the luxury lodges are timeless in design, with myriad thoughtful details combining to create a genuinely warm welcome, a generosity of spirit. Guest itineraries are designed to offer the most from each stay, creating a personal, lasting connection with the destination.
The lodge restaurant is a hub for guests throughout each day. As day dawns with the mists drawing across the river, guests enjoy a country style breakfast before heading out for the day’s adventures. In the evening, candles are lit as the sky softens and drinks are served. Guests gather to share stories of the day and enjoy superb cuisine complemented by exceptional wines.
The expansive north facing terrace stylishly transitions between the indoors and out. A feature outdoor fireplace and contemporary glass roofed pergolas create a sumptuous outdoor lounging space for guests and a seamless connection with the chequered green lawns which run to the banks of the Waikato River.
Designed to make the most of the lodge’s riverside setting, the River Room features a double-sided fireplace, creating a warm space for guests to lounge and meet for convivial drinks and conversations on the hearth of the riverfront. The feel-at-home bar is stocked with all the premium essentials, perfect for a range of cocktails and mixed drinks.
Huka Lodge offers guests the opportunity to dine in myriad private spaces, each ideal for a special occasion or simply to share an unforgettable meal with a loved one. Locations include the Library, the Loft, the Piper Room and the open-air River Deck, while outside there’s the Green Room, the Orchard and the subterranean Wine Cellar. Please refer to the FAQ page for more information.
The wine cellar at Huka Lodge is a cool, cavernous underground labyrinth lined with some of the world’s most revered vintages as well as a curation of local New Zealand wines. The cellar is also an intimate venue for special occasions, where two and up to ten guests can enjoy private candlelit dining.
Inspired by the traditional Kiwi bach or holiday shack, a gathering of rustically cool and contemporary huts houses a gymnasium along with a sauna, contrast ice shower and a steaming hot pool tucked into an intimate forest locale. It’s also home to the Huka Spa, a tranquil sanctuary offering luxurious treatments featuring the New Zealand-made verité skincare range.
In 1924 Irishman Alan Pye founded Huka Lodge as a fishermen’s camp with a gathering of white canvas tents lining the banks of the trout-rich Waikato River. Alex van Heeren began his custodianship of the property in 1984, before passing the baton to Baillie Lodges in 2019. A century later, Huka Lodge is one of the world’s most celebrated luxury lodges, welcoming distinguished guests and a reputation for providing outstanding hospitality in an idyllic setting.
In the Baillie Lodges sisterhood, Huka Lodge complements the Australia-based Southern Ocean Lodge, Capella Lodge, Longitude 131° Silky Oaks Lodge and The Louise. Overseas, Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge in Canada and Tierra Atacama and Tierra Patagonia in Chile are recent additions to the growing portfolio.
In 1984, Alex van Heeren purchased Huka Lodge and engaged New Zealand-based designer Virginia Fisher to create the opulent interior style for the property’s main lodge and guest suites and to complement its extraordinary natural location. Outside, Suzanne Turley was engaged as the property’s landscape designer, creating gardens to complement both the lodge’s design and the natural environment.
The Huka Lodge guest list is a veritable who’s who of the past century’s best–known celebrities and world-recognised figures, while it‘s steadfastly on the must-do list for many future guests. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II famously visited Huka Lodge with its grounds and surrounds reminiscent of Scotland four times over the course of her reign – often in the company of her late husband the Duke of Edinburgh – where the pair had a preferred, special seat for dining.
Huka Lodge is committed to a dedicated path of initiatives and procedures to ensure the very best practice for the environment, the local community and the planet.
In 2019, Huka Lodge embarked on a project to secure fresh Waikato water for the future and ensure sustainability of its use. The lodge invested in a monitoring system and purification process combining UV, activated carbon and osmosis – which ensured the restaurant’s own water was the spring water quality – and installed a state-of-the-art, wastewater plant. Its high-quality output is used to irrigate the gardens.
Huka Lodge takes a wholistic approach to managing its impact on the natural environment. A campaign to reduce the use of single-use plastics complements the use of organic and free-range produce in the kitchen, while producers who embrace sustainable practices are actively sought as partners. Chemical-free pest control is used throughout the garden, which is also planned to provide food and shelter for bees, birds and animals.
Energy conservation, recycling and commitment to new technologies are all essential to the sustainability philosophy at Huka Lodge. Recyclable materials are sorted, while batteries, printer cartridges and coffee pods are all recycled. Solar power planning is underway and electric vehicle charging stations are in place. Expired light bulbs are replaced with LED bulbs and timers work to reduce energy use.
A commitment to engaging with and supporting the local community is essential to Huka Lodge. The lodge recruits its loyal team from within the local community and supports local businesses wherever possible for the provision of food, wine and services. Huka Lodge contributes to fundraising efforts for local schools and charities, and for more than thirty years has held a highly anticipated Christmas party for the community’s elderly residents.
Attracting hospitality professionals from New Zealand and around the globe, the Huka Lodge team is renowned for its reverential, world-class service. Ever respectful of the property’s ‘mana’ (meaning authority and prestige in Māori), the team strives to deliver an unforgettable experience that reflects a distinctly Kiwi sense of place.
Born and raised in New Zealand, Kerry Molloy has led the prestigious property since 2014, following a career in high-end hospitality and management of some of the country’s most esteemed luxury lodges. Starting as a porter, he spent 14 years in London’s hotel industry, with a stop in Sydney at the Intercontinental before returning home to New Zealand to work across the Robertson Lodges. Now at Huka Lodge, Kerry says it feels like being on a movie set: action behind the scenes, blissful tranquility out the front.
Clare Walker is Assistant Lodge Manager at Huka Lodge. With her warm smile, unflappable calm and eye for detail, Clare brings a wealth of knowledge to the team thanks to her long tenure at the riverside retreat. She provides invaluable support to Kerry in creating unforgettable guest experiences in Taupō, in the heart of New Zealand’s north island.
At Huka Lodge they are used to hosting people who are used to the best, and so the best is just what they deliver, in the most friendly and luxurious manner.Edwina McCann Vogue Australia
Tucked among jurassic tree ferns on the banks of the Waikato River, Huka Lodge on New Zealand’s North Island is the ideal food-lover’s getaway, produce-driven entertaining menus are inspired by the natural bounty.Valli Little Delicious Magazine
Seamless, understated service and an absolute attention to detail. You immediately understand why Huka Lodge has garnered so many worldwide accolades and the love of so many high profile guests.Cathy Wagstaff Signature Luxury Travel
The ultimate New Zealand getaway. Somewhere that you might be willing to plan and plot for. Stashing away those undisclosed bits of your salary that the other half may not know about and working towards a break away from it all, at a venue that is consistently rated one of the world's best.Kelli Brett Cuisine
Guest suites and private residences at Huka Lodge offer a style of regal luxury fit for a King, with opulent appointments, rich furnishings, deep baths and premium linens while generous verandas open on to rolling green lawns.
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Dining at Huka Lodge is an occasion, beginning with premium, country style breakfast and progressing to light lunch, evening drinks and finishing with a decadent five course dinner complete with world class wines.
Whet your appetite
Step into the Huka Spa Wellness Grounds to discover a deep sense of mahurutanga (serenity). Tranquil spaces and luxurious, restorative treatments for body, mind and soul invite guests to embark on a personal hikoi (journey).
Heaven awaitsFor more information about the
other properties in the Baillie Lodges
portfolio please download our brochure.