In 1995, Julian Robertson travelled to New Zealand to acquire a working sheep farm near the Bay of Islands on the North Island. Over the next six years, the Robertson's developed and opened the Kauri Cliffs championship golf course designed by David Harman, and The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, marking the family's first foray into the luxury hospitality industry.

Within a year of Kauri  opening in 2001, the lodge would be named among the top resorts in the world by premier publications such as Andrew Harper, Conde Nast Traveler, Golf Digest, Tatler Magazine and Travel + Leisure. 

Later that year, the family acquired a second farm, this time in the stunning Hawke's Bay on the east coast of the North Island. Following a similar vision to Kauri Cliffs, this farm would also become the site of a championship golf course, this time designed by Tom Doak.  Soon after in 2007, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers welcomed its first guest, becoming the family's second luxury lodge property.

In late 2009, the family purchased Matakauri Lodge in the adventure capital Queenstown, on the South Island. The Lodge was fully renovated before reopening in 2010, and is the perfect complement to the Robertsons' collection of breathtaking resort properties. 

The next chapter for these extraordinary lodges unfolds in 2023, with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts being entrusted with management of the three iconic properties - marking Rosewood's entry into the Oceania region. 

Rosewood’s entrance into this highly captivating area of the Pacific is the latest demonstration of the brand’s commitment to expanding the horizons of luxury travel. Channeling a differentiated approach to service that has contributed to the collection’s notoriety around the world, Rosewood is poised to bring a new level of luxury hospitality to this destination, that already exists in the imaginations of so many affluential explorers.