Huka Lodge

Huka Lodge began in the 1920s as a fly-fishing camp on the Waikato River just above Huka Falls, and it effectively invented the New Zealand luxury lodge. It closed in 2024 for a NZD 25 million refurbishment under Baillie Lodges and reopened in March 2025 - later than planned, and considerably changed. The dining room and bar were expanded to face the river, a new River Room put floor-to-ceiling glass on the emerald water, and private lounges were added upstairs.

Twenty-five suites and two private cottages are spread along the riverbank through parkland gardens, each opening onto lawn that runs to the water. The tradition of dining wherever you like - the wine cellar, the riverbank, the trout stream - has been kept.

Rates are quoted per person and include pre-dinner drinks and canapes, a five-course dinner and breakfast. Fly fishing on the Waikato and Tongariro remains the classic pursuit, alongside jet boating to the falls, scenic helicopter flights and the geothermal valleys around Rotorua.