Former Qantas flight attendant, marketer and property developer Angela Dillon has transformed a tired B&B in one of New Zealand’s leading wine regions into one of the country’s most luxurious boutique hotels.
If royalty were to sweep past you as you enter The Marlborough, it would come as no surprise. Everything about this property is grand, including the entry where large gates give way to a winding tree-lined driveway where you cross a bridge to manicured gardens before the striking 10-room Victorian building appears.
The property was originally a convent next to Saint Mary’s Church in Blenheim township, where it was accommodation for 19 nuns, and had to be divided into five pieces to be moved here, to Rapaura – a wine region northwest of Blenheim.
It has lived many lives, as a youth centre and preschool, and in 1994, after it was moved here, it was a bed and breakfast, before Dillon discovered it a decade ago.
It has now been completely transformed into what is undisputedly one of the country’s best luxury boutique hotels, all while paying homage to its heritage.
Native timbers were extensively used in the construction, with the building’s centrepiece a carved staircase constructed entirely from kauri.
Dillon’s vision
It was Dillon’s introduction to the property by a friend that led to its new lease on life.
“I was born just outside of Christchurch, and so my family is still there, and I moved to Australia and worked for Qantas internationally for a number of years, and then had a marketing business in Australia before I did a property development in Phuket,” says Dillon.
“I had wound down my incentive marketing company in Sydney, and was considering what to do, and then a friend introduced me to this property and said, ‘You can’t retire, you’re too young to do that’. I was just going to take a breather, but that was 10 years ago, and here we are.”
She says one of the things that makes the property a standout for most guests is the level of service.
We watch it over dinner, where staff describe menus and ingredients in intricate detail, and are by your side before you’ve even raised your arm.
We experienced it on arrival too, when house manager Macey Matzig (her husband Wieland Matzig is the Executive Chef who has worked for the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi) greets you when you arrive, offering a beverage of your choice as she takes you through a tour of the grounds.
Dillon’s inspiration, she tells us, was to ensure guests have all the creature comforts they could ask for, without it being stuffy. And she was adamant, no fixed menu.
“Just knowing what I like from my travels, you are used to having a fixed menu, and I hate being told what to eat, and so that’s how it evolved.”
The result is hatted-restaurant Harvest, a local favourite.
“Locals know the restaurant, but when the team call to confirm bookings and say, ‘ It’s The Marlborough’, they have to clarify by adding that we’re the boutique accommodation attached to Harvest.”
It’s surprising to us, visiting from Australia, given how luxurious and unique this property is, but with its largely international audience, it makes sense that locals see it as a restaurant first.
When we’re there, there are several groups of Americans and an Israeli couple, all talking about the wineries they’ve visited that day; after all, we are in one of New Zealand’s most famed wine regions. And a stay here is fitting. As Dillon says, “there is nothing else like it in a working vineyard in New Zealand”.
The plan now is to extend to offer another 10 rooms by early next year in a neighbouring building, currently under construction, which will cater to families and groups.
Wine and dine
Only the top New Zealand restaurants are awarded ‘hats’ by the Cuisine Good Food Award – and Harvest has been bestowed a ‘hat’ for three years running.
Guests enter the restaurant via a hidden door, which you’d be forgiven for thinking was simply a map of the northern part of the South Island, but at the press of a button, it slides open to reveal a hallway to the dining room.
Dishes include starters of tuna crudo with estate chili, rockmelon and garden cress, and mibrasa charred octopus with chorizo, pumpkin and rainbow carrots, followed by local Stony River Black Angus with estate carrot, agria potato, crumble and lemon jus and hand-speared local fish from the Marlborough Sounds with cabbage, vadouvan and estate Kokihi (New Zealand spinach).
It’ll come as no surprise that Executive Chef Wieland Matzig worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and you can match your dishes, of course, with local wines, including wine from the onsite vineyard.
My room
We climb the grand kauri staircase to the ‘Finch’ suite. Each room is named after a bird, and every room is different.
Ours is a top-floor suite and has a huge bathroom (with heated floor) with an oversized bathroom with standalone bathtub, but it’s the little details that make all the difference. A candle with a bespoke scent created for the property, chocolates and limited-edition wine all await.
In our room, double doors open to a shared balcony, where you can sit and sip that velvety wine while you overlook the manicured gardens and chapel, where you’ll go for pre-dinner cocktails and canapes.
Staying in
Peruse the art, all by local artists, including Sofia Minson’s work of a Ranginui (Maori chief), which sets a striking tone in the living area; relax in the library, once the music room for the nuns, or take a dip in the heated pool.
Light walks around the 6.5-hectare property with 400 different native and exotic trees lead to the hydrangea trail, NZ native plant trail, vineyard trail and kitchen garden trail through the organic gardens, where you can see the vegetables you’ll be dining on that night.
At the entrance is also the Rapaura Tennis Club, founded in the 19th century, with six grass courts (available during the summer months), but the pièce de résistance (after a local gin in the chapel and decadent morsels from the kitchen) has to be dining at Harvest.
Heading out
Outdoorsy-types will love the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds. We’ve just come off a three-day hike, bike and kayak with Wilderness Guides, where your luggage is transferred, lunch provided, and ferries booked.
If you want a quick taste of the 73.5-kilometre track from multiple perspectives, this is the way to do it. Days are spent surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery and nights bedding down at Punga Cove and Portage Resort – only accessible via the track, boat or helicopter.
If you’re not up for the 17-kilometre walk, 24.5-kilometre bike and roughly four-hour kayak, you can just do the first day of hiking from Ship Cove to Furneaux Lodge, then catch a ferry to Picton (about 30 minutes from Blenheim).
For those who prefer to wine and dine, there’s plenty of that. With two-thirds of the country’s winemakers calling Marlborough home, Oenophiles will be in their element with more than 150 wineries and 30 cellar doors to explore.
Verdict
A luxurious boutique hotel that pays homage to its history in the most beautiful of ways, while giving off a contemporary vibe. Walk in and the property envelops you like a luxurious sofa, where you’ll be treated like royalty and served some of the country’s finest food and wine.
Details
Address: 776 Rapaura Road, Rapaura
Room type: Deluxe room
Check-in: 2pm
Check-out: 11am
Rates: starting at around AU$1,700 per night (off-peak).
For more information, visit The Marlborough.
