NZ lodges featured among world's best
19 Jan 2009
Two famed New Zealand lodges - Glenorchy’s Blanket Bay and Taupo’s Huka Lodge - have been named among the best luxury hotels on Earth.
The two resorts appear on the latest Forbes Traveler list of the top 400 accommodation properties worldwide.
The 2008 Forbes Traveler '400 Review' was assembled by a panel of travel writers who have independently experienced the properties.
The list doesn’t rank properties but provides a wide range of "the absolute best places".
Staggering scenery
The Blanket Bay reviewer was effusive about the lodge’s location on the edge of Lake Wakatipu, near Queenstown, in the South Island.
"...the surrounding scenery (the location for the Lord of the Rings saga) is so staggering in its jagged-mountain and glassy-lake drama that you're grateful for the tall windows to take it all in."
Low key but friendly, attentive staff and the scale of the rooms also rated a positive mention: "... the term ‘wide open spaces’ could also apply to the interiors...."
Blanket Bay’s cuisine was another highlight.
"The food is prepared by an all-star line-up of award-winning local chefs, and fits in with the general mise-en-scène: sophisticated but casual, refined without calling too much attention to itself."
Flawlessly run getaway
Huka Lodge on the banks of the Waikato River above the powerful Huka Falls - the original of New Zealand’s famous luxury lodges - was praised for its elegant rustic cottage style and relaxing atmosphere.
"Huka Lodge isn't big on razzle-dazzle. In essence it's a retreat for the likes of Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates (both have been guests) who want a simple, flawlessly run getaway and intelligent conversation over the communal dinners, which take place in the main lodge."
"Catch a trout on the fly, bag a prize buck or take a helicopter trip to a live volcano called White Island, then lounge by the year-round outdoor fire, sharing fishing tales with greater and greater exaggeration."
Huka Lodge also scored well on cuisine: " ... sophisticated without being too tricky."
Forbes Traveler 400
The Forbes Traveler '400 Review' includes legendary properties such as The Oriental in Bangkok, the Halekulani in Hawaii, the Four Seasons in New York, and the Hotel Ritz in Paris.
A list of nearly 800 of the world’s top-ranked hotels was compiled from a variety of respected sources, and then rated by a panel. Reviews were written by professional travel writers who visited the properties incognito.
More information:
New tier of lodges down-under
Video news release:
The New Zealand Luxury Experience
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