The much-awaited luxury lodge located at the tranquil and relaxing Helena Bay cove in New Zealand's North Island recently held its grand opening for its visitors, tourists and locals alike.
According to Forbes, the $50 million high-end lodge is owned by Russian steel tycoon, Alexander Abramov.
The construction for the lodge began in 2010. Seated within 800 acres of rich flora and located beside a lovely coastline, this luxury lodge not only provides numerous outdoor activities, but also provides excellent European-style spa services, and serves exquisite dishes made from the finest ingredients and prepared by Chef Michele Martino, who is being supervised by Michelin-starred Chef Ernesto Iaccarino from the famous Italian restaurant Don Alfonso 1890, with menus like slow cooked Helena Bay Lamb Shoulder with eggplant "scarpona" style and Meat balls, made with real authentic Wagyu beef, with garlic and chili, according to Luxury Travel Magazine.
This exclusive lodge was supposed to be a private estate for Abramov, and was even claimed as one of the most expensive private estates in New Zealand, before turning it into this beautiful lodge.
The lodge now allows 10 guests at a time in its two villas located by coast, complete with a clear view of the shoreline that is connected to the South Pacific Ocean. Each villa has five suites and provides five staff members to every guest in each suite.
One of this new lodge's features are the heated outdoor swimming pool, an art gallery, gardens perfect for picnics, orchards of lush trees, breakfast and dinner, and even sports activities like playing tennis, trails for hiking and biking, a petting farm where you can see alpacas and donkeys, kayaks and paddleboards for water sports, pass by beautiful sceneries while riding four-wheel buggy cars or brand new mountain bikes, fishing and diving, and also, tours while riding on horseback.
And also, the lodge provides a cultural tour for its adventurous tourists which guided by the local Maori tribes.
