Huka Lodge

The Waikato River runs fast and green past the lawns of Huka Lodge, a few hundred metres upstream of the point where it narrows and drops over Huka Falls. The lodge sits on 17 acres of park and native bush on the edge of Taupō, in the centre of New Zealand's North Island, and it has been taking guests, at first in tents, since 1924.

History

Alan Pye, an Irishman who had come to New Zealand to fish, set up camp on this bend of the river in 1924 to be close to the trout. Anglers followed, the tents gave way to cabins, and Huka Lodge acquired a reputation among sporting visitors from Britain and America between the wars. The property passed through other hands after Pye and had slipped by the early 1980s. Alex van Heeren, a Dutch-born businessman, bought it in 1984 and rebuilt it as a country house hotel, adding the lodge suites along the river and the formal gardens. Under van Heeren it was repeatedly named among the world's leading small hotels and received royalty, heads of state and film stars; Queen Elizabeth II stayed during a visit to New Zealand. In 2018 van Heeren sold Huka Lodge to Baillie Lodges, the Australian group backed by KSL Capital Partners, which also owns Longitude 131° and Southern Ocean Lodge. The lodge then closed for the most extensive rebuild since the 1980s and reopened in 2025.

Architecture and design

The main lodge is a low timber and stone building whose great room, with its deep sofas and open fire, looks out over the lawn to the river. The guest suites are arranged in pavilions along the bank, each with French doors onto a private terrace facing the water and screened from one another by mature trees. The recent works kept the footprint but rebuilt the interiors, keeping the house's country character in New Zealand timber, wool and stone, with the river as the view from every suite.

Rooms and suites

Huka Lodge has 20 Junior Lodge Suites in the riverside pavilions, each with a king bed, dressing room and terrace, plus two larger stand-alone residences. The Owner's Cottage has four bedrooms, its own pool and a staffed kitchen. The Alan Pye Cottage, named for the founder, has two bedrooms, a private pool and a courtyard. Both cottages can be taken whole by families or small groups who want the privacy of a house with the lodge's staff.

Dining

Dinner is a daily-changing five-course menu, and the lodge's custom is to offer a different setting each night: the main dining room, the wine cellar, the library, a riverside pavilion, the garden or, for two, a table on the jetty. Breakfast and lunch are served on the terrace in fine weather. The cellar holds a long New Zealand list. Fishing guides still take guests onto the river and Lake Taupō for rainbow and brown trout, and the kitchen will cook the catch.

Wellness

There is a heated outdoor pool, a hot tub, a tennis court and a spa with treatment rooms; in-suite treatments are offered.

Weddings and events

Huka Lodge is a frequent choice for small weddings, held on the lawn above the river or in the gardens, with the reception in the dining room or a marquee; exclusive use of the whole lodge is sold for larger parties. It also takes executive retreats and board meetings for groups who book the property privately, with the library and private dining rooms used for sessions. Capacities are tied to the number of suites rather than to a ballroom.

Location

The lodge is on Huka Falls Road, five minutes by car from the centre of Taupō and the lakefront. Taupō Airport, with flights from Auckland and Wellington, is about 15 minutes away; Rotorua is an hour north and Auckland about three and a half hours by road. Huka Falls, the Craters of the Moon geothermal field, Tongariro National Park and the Wairakei golf course are all nearby. For a luxury hotel in Taupō the setting is quiet given its closeness to town: the bush along the river closes the lodge off entirely.