This luxury Kiwi lodge is basically the Flintstones gone posh

The lodge

Delamore Lodge Waiheke, Auckland, New Zealand.

Checking in

Unless you have the wherewithal to fund a direct chopper transfer from Auckland Airport – and more than a few flush guests at the exclusive Delamore Lodge actually do – the easiest way to reach Waiheke Island is aboard the breezy 40-minute ferry from New Zealand’s biggest city. On a late Friday afternoon, the ferry is packed with returning residents, holidaymakers and at least two Australians – me and a squawking caged pet cockatoo. By the time you arrive at this wine-infused island, famed for its bold, high-quality reds, you’ll probably be craving an end-of-the-week drop, something that can be readily accommodated at this luxury accommodation. But the truth is there’s so much more to wonderful Waiheke Island than its much-vaunted wines and wineries.

The look

Designed to blend into the subtropical Waiheke Island, the six-room, hilltop-set Delamore Lodge is constructed in an organic-like adobe-style (think The Flintstones gone posh). Although its physical appearance is distinct from other New Zealand luxury lodges your reviewer has stayed in, Delamore Waiheke conforms to the national model with its requisite exquisite location, views and attentive service, all designed to more than justify the routinely hefty, mainly inclusive, tariff.

The room

No matter how luxurious the capacious rooms here at Delamore may be, and, yes, they are rather luxurious and capacious (with a refurb set to be undertaken soon after my stay), nothing can match the mesmerically beautiful and uninterrupted yacht-filled bay and ocean views enjoyed from each of them. Framed by lush, landscaped gardens complete with exotic Kiwi shrubs and a sloping lawn where resident, white rabbits make cameos, there’s an inviting, al fresco terrace with mud brick-sculpted outdoor setting. Back inside the room, the bathroom features an oversized bathtub to help soak up those vivacious vistas.

Food + drink

Wherever there’s genuinely fine wine there’s almost invariably fine food, and Waiheke Island is no exception. The island’s best restaurants, which include the eccentric, Spanish-themed Casita Miro, will be nervously awaiting the verdict from the forthcoming inaugural Michelin Guide New Zealand. Whatever the reviews, you can’t possibly go awry with a long lunch at Oyster Inn overlooking the beach at the village of Oneroa. This classic bistro is owned and run by Josh Emett, the Kiwi celebrity chef recently appointed Air New Zealand’s latest culinary ambassador. Back at Delamore, while the sumptuous gourmet breakfast, complete with stunning views, is inclusive of the tariff a restaurant-quality three-course dinner is optional from $120 a person, with wine pairing $70 a person.

Out + about

Beyond its well-documented assortment of wineries, such as Tantalus Estate and Mudbrick Vineyard, one interesting new attraction on Waiheke is Allpress Olive Groves. It’s a spinoff of the ubiquitous, trans-Tasman Allpress Espresso coffee roastery brand, founded by New Zealander Michael Allpress, which was bought by the Japanese Asahi beverage behemoth five years ago. Now Allpress is happily pressing ahead with pressing olives and producing premium extra virgin oils in an attractive new headquarters, complete with its own bistro, right below its groves of olive trees clinging to a steep slope on what is an undulating island.

The verdict

Perhaps the ultimate compliment to New Zealand’s ever-growing retinue of celebrated luxury lodges, which stretch from top to bottom of the Land of the Long White Cloud, is that they’ve been shamelessly copied by Australia. With Auckland closer to Sydney than Perth in flying hours, Delamore Waiheke makes for a memorably splurge-worthy experience on one of the South’s Pacific most pleasurable, pretty and accessible islands.

The essentials

Rooms from $1656 a night including accommodation, transfers to and from Waiheke Matiatia Ferry Terminal, pre-dinner drinks and canapes, gourmet breakfast and full use of all lodge facilities including its inhouse Jacuzzi and sauna. Delamore Waiheke, 83 Delamore Drive, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, Auckland New Zealand. Ph: +64 9 372 7372. See delamorelodge.com; aucklandnz.com; airnewzealand.com.au

Our rating out of five

★★★★½

Highlight

Waiheke is one ravishing island from any vantage point, but Delamore Lodge’s superb and secluded location is impossible to top.

Lowlight

Delamore’s tariff is as steep as the hill on which it’s built, but, then again, exclusivity is an integral component of the New Zealand luxury lodge model.

The writer stayed as a Delamore Lodge, Discover Auckland and Air New Zealand.