Rosewood Kauri Cliffs

Character and identity

Set on a 6,000-acre working sheep farm on Northland's wild Pacific coast, this 22-suite lodge feels part Hamptons, part farmhouse, reached down a country track through backcountry that delivers no neighbours for miles. Suites are built around an open fire and a wall of glass framing the David Harman championship golf course as it tumbles to cliffs above the ocean. Dining (included, both dinner and breakfast) leans hard on farm-to-table lamb and line-caught snapper and kingfish. The spa sits beside a stream in native Totara forest, with an infinity pool that runs out to the horizon and access to three near-private beaches.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The reason to come is the setting and the golf: a David Harman course running to clifftops above the Pacific, with views that hold up whether you're teeing off, in the spa, or in front of your suite's fire. Book if you're a golfer or want true remoteness with included fine dining; angle for a suite with the strongest course-and-ocean line, and build in a helicopter day to the Bay of Islands.