press kit
A long-term love affair with New Zealand that began as a sabbatical year in the late 1970s, was cemented some two decades later with the purchase of a 2,000-hectare working cattle farm overlooking Matauri Bay in Northland, New Zealand. Here, New Yorkers Julian and Josie Robertson planted the seed from which a trio of world-renowned luxury lodges and an impressive foray into tourism and hospitality blossomed.
Seeing a similarity between this stunning piece of ocean front property and US golf Mecca Pebble Beach, the Robertsons, both avid golfers, wasted no time in building a David Harman-designed 18-hole golf course, where nine of the eighteen holes hug the Pacific Ocean. Conceived to attract golfers from around the world, the course called out for attractive lodging for discerning travellers.
Josie Robertson’s passion and talent for interiors and art proved a trump card in designing the ensuing lodge. While enlisting the local expertise of Auckland-based architect Lawrence Sumich who worked in tandem with US based architects Wade Setliff and Kerry Avery and lauded lodge interior designer Virginia Fisher, Josie’s exquisite taste and experience designing homes alongside some of the world’s top talents proved invaluable. A true collaboration and a labour of love, Rosewood Kauri Cliffs opened in 2001.
The architecture for the main lodge, with its generous columned veranda, exterior wood shutters, wide plank timber floors, and steeply pitched roof, suggests a cross between a Caribbean plantation house and a grand American colonial home. It is an arresting sight for guests as they crest the end of the winding driveway upon arrival or view the lodge while coming up the 18th fairway from the golf course.
Upon entering the tall timber and glass-paned French doors into a wide entrance hall, with its wide plank pickled totara wood floors, alternated with narrow deckled-edged strips, the breathtaking views beyond to the Bay of Islands are immediately apparent and arresting. In a country famed for its spectacular views, Kauri Cliffs has some of the best.
Soaring high ceilings with large scale timber chandeliers form the central hallway and lead to gracious living and dining rooms, where pale wooden floors, soft-hued rugs, impressively scaled fireplaces with carved pine mantels, some rough-hewn from kauri-wood railroad sleepers. Add to this a careful curation of local art and the result is a warm and inviting sense of tasteful living.
Other eclectic finds include a Chinese zither table, a Balinese rain drum, and a 19th century French spire clockface, all blending seamlessly into the overall design scheme. The dominant blues and blondes of the interior colour scheme are anchored by the warm oak patinas of English, Spanish, and Italian antiques.
The living spaces are both elegantly stylish, and extremely comfortable. This well-conceived interior reflects a sense of calm and a simplicity that does not compete with the views.
This clever blend of confident sophistication and a laid-back “kiwi” charm has wowed design afficionados the world over. Comments in the lodge’s guests book follow a similar thread of “this has to be the best place on earth” or “I feel privileged to visit”. High and heart-felt praise that only comes with knowing that you are enjoying something truly built with care and love.
| “One is hardly prepared for the sight of the Lodge at Kauri Cliffs. The vista of an emerald sea, with waves crashing on the white sand, is the backdrop to one hundred shades of green rolling hills that comprise a world class golf course and a gracious Manor house, with Georgian wrap around porches.” - Gallivanter’s Guide review. |
Gallivanter’s Guide also added “Josie Robertson is the visionary behind the lodge project and her design sense is stunning. It has been called a South Carolina plantation house and an East Hampton summer cottage, but Kauri Cliffs really defies traditional description because it is uniquely ‘Josie’. She and New Zealand interior designer Virginia Fisher have either designed, discovered, or commissioned every piece of furniture”.
The 11 outlying guest cottages, each housing two guest suites, are equally cosy and stylish. All suites enjoy such appreciated touches as private entrance foyers, walk-in robes, huge bathrooms with both showers and sunken tubs, open fireplaces, and private porches. Homey touches such as tongue and groove ceilings, rattan armchairs, soft furnishings in soft blues and muted earth exude a quiet luxury that stands the test of time.
A two-bedroom Owner’s Cottage was originally conceived to provide a personal retreat for the owner’s and their family and friends. Like the suites in feel though grander in scale, the Owner’s Cottage is spacious and inviting, making it in-demand for honeymoon couples or two couples travelling together.
US design bible Architectural Digest featured the Owner’s Cottages at Rosewood Kauri Cliffs and Rosewood Cape Kidnappers in the December 2008 issue, with the bedroom of the Kauri Cliffs cottage gracing the magazine’s cover.
In 2021, three new Residences, now known as Villas, were added to the accommodation offering, all with four bedrooms, expansive living and dining spaces, and private infinity pools. Virginia Fisher’s interior design ensured complete cohesion with the rest of the lodge while adding to the “chic quotient” for luxury accommodation.
The more classic property in both architecture and design of the three New Zealand lodges, Cliffs has proven its timeless and enduring style. For lovers of style and interior design, Rosewood Kauri Cliffs is the New Zealand benchmark.
