Resort Review: Hapuku Lodge Tree Houses, New Zealand

LOCATION:

Kaikoura, New Zealand

RESORT:

Hapuku Lodge Tree Houses

NIGHTLY RATE:

From $570 and up

Here, inside the Hapuku Lodge Tree Houses on New Zealand's South Island, guests don't wake up in the trees. They wake up on the trees. These suites are built 30 feet off the ground on steel supports (strong enough to withstand major earthquakes) among native manuka trees (strong enough to hold a flock of mountain parrots). The lodge is near the town of Kaikoura, which was touting eco-tourism before anyone knew what ecotourism was. So, from a luxury nest, visitors have unobstructed views of running deer, olive groves and a slice of Pacific waters, where seals and albatross live. But the stay gets most interesting when the wildlife goes into hiding ... and the wind starts blowing through the trees.

This article first appeared in Twenty of the World's Greatest Escapes, in the January/February 2012 issues of ISLANDS.