Beach houses

“Self-catering in NZ has never been sexier.” The Observer rates four of the North Island’s most luxurious retreats; the Glass House on Waiheke Island (“this is a beach house in the same way that Concorde was a passenger jet”), the Top House at Lake Taupo (“surely a contender for Architectural Digest“), Big Tom’s Cottage at Tuki Tuki Valley, Hawkes Bay (“the quaint rustic property has been given a contemporary twist with funky local artwork, including a giant fly and weeping rugby ball – a reference to a notorious All Blacks’ defeat in 1937”), and One Orange at Wainui Beach, Gisborne (“another cool contemporary fusion of wood and glass, it has been cleverly constructed to offer generous outside space with maximum protection from the changeable coastal winds”).