An inn-escapable luxury hideaway
Our suite is called Skyfall. And it’s unapologetically seductive. We’re talking floor-to-ceiling mirrors surrounding a luxurious king bed, a bath that looks like it was designed for a Roman emperor, and a shower with special lighting that creates a dramatic silhouette for those who use it.
I have never seen anything like this. It’s the kind of place where your jaw drops at every turn.
The sprawling mansion is hidden in the side of a hill in Russell, overlooking the Bay of Islands. And I mean hidden. It’s been built under 330 tonnes of soil, with a big flax plantation on top.
Our room has glass windows running its entire length, overlooking a beach and the vast expanse of the Bay of Islands.
If the next Bond film needs a suitably dramatic hidden hotel, this is it.
The mystery of the Donkey Bay Inn starts the moment your car pulls up. The only clue that something spectacular awaits is a pink wall, with a bright-yellow tunnel, framed by two big statues.
The light reflects inside the tunnel, creating an almost ‘‘yellow brick road’’ feel of excitement. Through the tunnel, you pop out at an open-air zen garden of lush tropical plants. The path continues to the glass-lined circular entrance of the inn.
Inside, you’re greeted by an elaborate library and wrought-iron spiral staircase on one side, and a huge lounge with a plush semicircle velvet couch on the other. Oversized bean bags in every colour of the rainbow sit outside on a grand deck.
The place is a little like Northland’s version of a museum of modern art, with pieces perfectly dotted around every corner. It’s a boutique theme on steroids. I caution myself that I’ll need to take out a mortgage if I knock anything over.
Then you notice the view. The entire front of the inn is floor-to-ceiling glass, framed against the expansive Bay of Islands. One suite, Tosca’s Room, is on the left wing of the house, which opens up to an ocean-front courtyard.
The suitably named Emperor’s Room is on the right wing of the house. It’s described as a grand apartment and includes a large conservatory also overlooking the sea.
Then there’s our suite, Skyfall. The entrance is up a long set of wooden stairs to the top storey. There’s a plush lounge, which leads to the mirrorlined bedroom and the gigantic bathroom at the end. Everything is designed towards the view; even the glass shower is set against the balcony to maximise the vista. You can waste a lot of water if you get too distracted.
In another unexpected twist, the deck overlooks a semi-private beach – a few hundred metres down the hill – that is used by naturists. If that’s not your cup of tea (or, in Bond fashion, your martini) you can swim at the adjacent Long Beach, one of the most beautiful in Russell.
The inn’s best secret can be found along a walkway on its own little peninsula: a set of his and her outdoor baths overlooking the sea.
We spent the day wondering who the genius was behind everything. There are literally dozens of art features inside the inn – such as the enormous Jesus statute surrounded by candles – and you notice something new every time you wander through – but it doesn’t feel remotely cluttered or tacky. It takes someone with