Huka Lodge

Huka Lodge began in the 1920s as a camp for gentleman anglers drawn to the Waikato River's trout, and a century later it remains the archetype of the New Zealand luxury lodge—the template dozens of successors have followed. The setting does the persuading: seventeen acres of parkland gardens along a stretch of extraordinarily blue river, minutes upstream from the thundering Huka Falls, on the outskirts of Taupō.

The guest list across the decades has included reigning monarchs and heads of state, and the lodge wears this history lightly—tartan, timber and open fires in the main lodge, with suites strung along the riverbank behind screens of greenery, each opening onto the water. Two larger cottages provide compound-style privacy for families or groups.

The rituals are the point here: pre-dinner drinks by the fire, degustation dinners built on New Zealand produce and served at any of some twenty private dining spots across the grounds—wine cellar, jetty, garden alcoves—then trout fishing, river walks or helicopter excursions across the volcanic plateau by day. It is quiet, old-fashioned in the best sense and completely assured. Few places distil New Zealand hospitality so well.