Blanket Bay

With the Humboldt mountain range on one side, and the shores of Lake Wakatipu on the other, Blanket Bay is blessed with one of the most extraordinary locations of any of New Zealand’s lodge hotels. And the lodge itself is stunning — it’s almost shocking that it contains only eight rooms, so grand is its scale.

American visitors may find there’s something familiar about the architecture: Blanket Bay was built by an Idaho architect as a conscious homage to the lodges of the American West. Exotic it isn’t — this place’s impact is derived not from novelty but from sheer excess. The setting is not alien but simply spectacular, and the lodge goes easy on the New Zealand vernacular in favor of a restrained and comfortable grandeur.

The lodge rooms are handsome, with vaulted wood ceilings and aged hardwood floors, super-king beds, and private balconies or terraces. Suites add enormous living rooms and more space than you’ll know what to do with. And the chalets are pure decadence, built in a more traditional New Zealand colonial style, and offering an extraordinary degree of privacy.

And for when you’ve had enough privacy, there’s the Great Room, the lodge’s centerpiece, with its thirty-foot beam ceiling and enormous fireplace. Dinner is served at individual tables in the dining room, on the outdoor terrace with views of the lake and mountains (in front of a massive outdoor fireplace) or in the intimate environs of the Wine Cave.

As for activities, you’re an hour from Queenstown, adrenaline-sports capital of New Zealand. Anything is possible, from hiking and biking to skiing, helicopter tours and all manner of river excursions. Then again there’s no need to exert yourself — some find the quiet life at Blanket Bay to be perfectly stimulating in itself.

Please note: Due to safety reasons, Blanket Bay does not allow children under the age of 13.

How to get there:
Blanket Bay is a 35 minute drive from Queenstown, or a 50 minute drive from the Queenstown Airport. Costs are $190 NZ for a Ford Fairlane Ghia or GM Caprice and $240 NZ for a Nissan ElGrand 5 seater each way.