A boutique lodge on the fringe of Northland's Waipoua Forest has been named New Zealand's best hospitality business. Winning the supreme award in the 2016 New Zealand Hospitality Awards is a coup for Waipoua Lodge owners Ian and Fran Farrant, who bought the century-old homestead only six years ago and entered the awards for the first time this year, yet won a hat-trick of accolades. At last night's ceremony in Auckland the Farrants also scooped the awards for best accommodation (30 rooms and under) and excellence in customer service. Judges said the lodge, which has just four luxury suites, represented "the absolute pinnacle of natural and genuine Kiwi hospitality". In the 2014 Westpac Northland Business Excellence Awards they picked up the prize for best business owner-operator; in the same year travel publisher Fodor's ranked Waipoua Lodge among the world's top 100 hotels.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 13, 2016 23:45 UTC