Set in the less-traveled Ahuriri Valley on the South Island of New Zealand, the Lindis is reminiscent of the best Patagonian hotels for the way it melts into the landscape, and for the way it demonstrates that unapologetically modern architecture and design are the perfect complement for their ageless natural surroundings. The suites are extraordinarily lavish, as are the freestanding Pods, set out of sight of the main lodge.

Huka Lodge is a fisherman’s paradise, founded in 1924 on seventeen acres of land alongside the Waikato river, three hundred meters upstream from Huka Falls. The Waikato, along with some 40 other nearby rivers, attract anglers from all over the globe, and nearby Lake Taupo is filled to the brim with trout. Fishing is not the only draw, though — rafting, obviously, is an option, as are golf and horseback riding.

The spectacular “Bay of Islands” region is home to a world-class hotel, the Eagles Nest. This hotel is a legend around New Zealand, but it’s not as well known overseas, perhaps a function of its small size; comprising just four villas, with an absolute maximum capacity of 22 people at a time, there’s a limit to the number of evangelists this place can produce. Those who do manage a reservation are bound to go home raving about the place.

Built around a 150-year-old stone homestead, Stoneridge Estate is the result of four decades of vision by a local family who transformed a former sheep paddock into one of New Zealand’s most atmospheric retreats. Its stone walls and arched windows recall old European châteaux, as the lodge blends reclaimed materials and antique detailing. Suites and cottages open onto formal gardens and mountain peaks.

Otahuna Lodge is New Zealand’s grandest historic homestead, a turreted Queen Anne estate set among daffodil-dotted gardens just outside Christchurch. Built in 1895 for a prominent Canterbury statesman, it is now a private lodge layered with carved kauri, stained glass, and roaring fireplaces. No two suites are alike, each reflecting the house’s original bones, from inglenooks to wide verandas.

Where else but in New Zealand would you actively seek out a working sheep ranch for a bit of rural high luxury? This is lodge country, where plush interiors and rugged exteriors go hand in glove. And this particular sheep ranch, Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, lies not on some dull green hillside but on the headlands overlooking Hawke’s Bay, on the North Island of New Zealand.

This is one of those New Zealand hotels where your room comes with a generous, serene expanse of the natural world and practically no one to share it with. No danger of your helicopter, seaplane or ferry arriving at the wrong hotel on the Bay of Many Coves; there’s just one here, and like its setting, it’s a stunner. It’s a scenic trip in, and on arrival you’re greeted by the only form of terrestrial transport available: a golf cart.

To get hung up on the décor and the furnishings at Solitaire Lodge would be (forgive us) to miss the forest for the chairs. What’s special about the lodge is most certainly its location, close to the popular North Island resort town of Rotorua, but with a lake all its own: Lake Tarawera, which Solitaire overlooks from a hillside atop a peninsula, surrounded by the lake’s calm waters, with a view of the Tarawera volcano in the distance.

Delamore Lodge is the archetypal New Zealand lodge hotel — a luxe and secluded guest house in improbably stunning natural surroundings. In this case, the setting is Waiheke Island, a 35-minute ferry ride from Auckland, and the lodge itself a unique four-suite property carved into a hillside facing Owhanake Bay, a surprisingly successful blend of Mediterranean architecture and Maori décor.

American visitors may find there’s something familiar about the architecture at Blanket Bay, 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.

Rosewood Matakauri is a tiny hotel — comprising just three suites in the main lodge, and four villas nestled in the native bush, this is one of the most private and intimate hotels anywhere. And its location doesn’t hurt a bit, to say the least. Here, at the edge of Lake Wakatipu, this hotel features interiors that rival, in their sheer luxuriousness, the finest city hotels and the most exclusive resorts.

Wharekauhau Country Estate is a 3,000-acre working sheep farm set above the cliffs of Palliser Bay. This lodge is home to a cluster of freestanding cottage suites, each with open fires, exposed beams, and wide views over pasture and sea. Guests spend their days riding horses along the coast, sipping local Pinot in the main lodge, or exploring the estate’s trails by quad bike.

Set within one of Central Otago’s oldest vineyards, Gibbston Valley Lodge & Spa offers a grounded and sensorial take on wine country luxury. Timber-clad villas look out to wide skies and distinct ridgelines, while days revolve around organic gardens, vinotherapy spa rituals, and BioGro-certified Pinot Noir wines. From handpicked grapes to solar-powered streams, every detail reflects deliberate care.

New Zealan has city culture, of course, but what’s worth going on and on about are the natural gifts of the place. So a hotel like Azur plays to all its location’s strengths; it’s urbane and sophisticated, just a few minutes from the center of Queenstown, but mostly it’s just immersed in natural splendor, with views of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkable mountain range, and easy access to all the activities.

Eichardt’s Private Hotel was established during the gold rush days of the 1860s, and was, at the time, Queenstown’s premier lodging. Of course, that was a long time ago, and in the intervening years hard times befell the property. But every setback is an opportunity in disguise. Eichardt’s, a pale and waterlogged shadow of its former self, was rescued and rehabilitated by its new manager, Victoria Shaw. The result is a delightful small hotel.