Relais & Chateaux tees off in golfers’ paradise
Golf course developer and hotelier Julian Robertson is the force behind Relais & Chateaux newest Route du Bonheur.
Relais & Chateaux was first created from a single Route du Bonheur – the “Road to Happiness” – in the 1950s.
A group of French hoteliers created an itinerary for travellers to follow between Paris and the Riviera, and to discover the region and its terroir according to locals who knew the region best.
These hoteliers later became what is today known as Relais & Chateaux, which grew to include 520 hotels and restaurants in 61 countries around the world.
Central to Robertson’s new Route du Bonheur are the three lodges and two golf courses he and his family own and operate in New Zealand.
The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs and Kauri Cliffs Golf Course in Bay of Islands
The Farm at Cape Kidnappers and Cape Kidnappers GC in Hawkes Bay, also located on NZ’s North Island; and
Matakauri Lodge in the South Island alpine resort of Queenstown.
Robertson’s Route du Bonheur also includes off-site, one-of-a-kind activities including helicopter tours, winery visits, the fjords and glaciers of Milford Sound, kiwi tracking and nature hikes at Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs, two of the largest privately held environmental preserves in New Zealand.
According to Relais & Chateaux chairman Jaume Tapies, R&C recognises the growing power of the Asian and Australian affluent traveller and has earmarked the region as a key source of revenue for 2014 and beyond.
Ian Jarrett
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