Rosewood Kauri Cliffs

Rosewood Kauri Cliffs sits high on the cliffs near Matauri Bay, at the top of the North Island of New Zealand, on a 6,000-acre coastal estate of rolling farmland and native forest. From the lodge the view runs out over the Pacific to Cape Brett and the Cavalli Islands, and below the cliffs lie three private beaches, one of them a rare beach of pink shell. The estate was a cattle farm when the American financier Julian Robertson came across it, and he went on to build the golf course. The lodge, designed by Virginia Fisher, is all soft fabrics, warm carpets and pale wood. The 22 suites are in cottages set apart from the main building in native bush, facing across the course to the sea, each with a private balcony, an open fireplace and a generous bathroom. A two-bedroom Owner's Cottage and three four-bedroom villas suit families. The par-72 course by David Harman has 15 holes in sight of the ocean. A spa hidden in the forest, bush walks, mountain biking, fishing, heritage tours and ATV rides fill the rest of the time, and the kitchen cooks Northland lamb, native herbs and seafood.