A five-star luxury lodge that has hosted numerous celebrities and sporting stars, including a former Manchester United goalkeeper, is on the market for sale.
The colonial Hawke’s Bay villa, known as The Manse, is owned by hospitality duo Gary Grootelaar and Dietske van Kessel and has featured in hit TV show The Lap of Luxury, which profiled the top lodges in Australia and New Zealand.
The couple, who charge upwards of $1050 a night to stay in one of their two guest rooms, remain tight-lipped as to the identities of their more famous guests, but did reveal they had just this month hosted former Man U star and AFC Ajax boss Edwin van de Sar. Also known to have visited the lodge is All Blacks legend Buck Shelford.
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Grootelaar met van Kessel, who is Dutch, while he was working in Holland and the pair moved to New Zealand in 2012 so he could combine his two passions – food and golf.
“I always wanted to come back to New Zealand and set up a luxury lodge and be self-sufficient and do the things that I enjoy doing,” said Grootelaar.
They had been looking for the right property to run their boutique lodge when they came across The Manse, in Maraekakaho, Hawke's Bay, for sale.
The two bedrooms with ensuites in the 1910s villa are reserved for guests. Photo / Supplied
Manse co-owner and chef Gary Grootelaar, who is selling up. Photo / Kristian Frires
The 1910 property was originally built by former Cabinet Minister Douglas Maclean on the Maraekakaho sheep station for the Presbyterian minister, Reverend Robert Catherwood.
The station was subdivided in 1930 and the villa was sold and towed by traction engines to its current elevated position.
The Manse had been a family home until Grootelaar and van Kessel bought it to both live in and run their boutique accommodation business from.
They believe the new owners of the property would also likely want it as their family home with the 2.99-hectare section providing plenty of space for the kids to run around.
“We are just selling the house. It’s a fantastic family house. The business opportunity is just something we decided to do ... The Manse has always been The Manse, it’s part of New Zealand’s history,” Grootelaar said.
“We just kept the name and turned it into a business. So, if someone wants to turn it into a luxury Airbnb or carry on what we are doing that’s fine, but the main objective is to sell it as a family home.”
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home offered plenty of flexibility and was large enough for them to turn the games room in one wing of the home for their own private accommodation, while the other rooms were transformed into a library, a gym and a trophy room. The two bedrooms with ensuites were reserved for guests who paid from $1050 a night to stay.
Grootelaar, who was drawn to older buildings having previously owned The Thistle Inn in Wellington which was one of the oldest surviving bars and restaurants in New Zealand, said The Manse ticked all their boxes in terms of size, location and breathtaking views across the vineyards, the Ngaruroro River and the Ruahine and Kaweka Ranges.
It was even a finalist for NZ House and Garden's best sitting room in 2013. Photo / Supplied
Recent The Manse guest Edwin van de Sar. The former Manchester United goalkeeper stood down as boss of AFC Ajax last year. Photo / Getty Images
The 392sqm home had already been extensively renovated with floor, ceiling and wall insulation, ducted central heating and air conditioning in all the rooms, and being completely rewired and replumbed when they bought it.
They only pushed down one wall and added one to create an ensuite for one of the bedrooms.
Van Kessel extensively redecorated the home in keeping with its country feel, choosing soothing and restful greens for the bedrooms and reds in the living room that picked up the light coming from one of the home’s many windows.
The yellow lounge was even a finalist for NZ House and Garden's best sitting room in 2013.
Van Kessel said The Manse had a special feel to it.
“That was the objective – that it was really, really comfortable with lots of nice soft furnishing, antique wood, high-quality mahogany.
“People always talk about how when they come through the front door how it feels good. We also had someone who said it was totally feng shui – the whole property.”
Extensive work was also done outside including landscaping around the pool area, putting in two vegetable gardens and creating a small orchard with plum, pear and apple trees.
The wrap-around verandahs open up breathtaking views over vineyards and out to the Ruahine and Kaweka Ranges. Photo / Supplied
Grootelaar, who is a highly trained chef, prided himself on the fact that they were 85% self-sufficient and a lot of what they ate was grown or reared on the 2.9ha property.
“We breed our own beef, our own pork, our own chicken, our own lamb and two vege gardens.”
There were also two of the most photographed kune kune pigs in the country residing at the property, van Kessel added. A large wetland area with 350 plantings attracted a variety of birdlife.
The couple ran the lodge themselves and their only other employee is a gardener who comes once a week.
Up to four guests stay at The Manse at one time to give them a bespoke, tailored experience. “It’s boutique, it’s personal. We are on call 24/7. We keep it quite exclusive – we don’t let children (stay).”
Grootelaar, who is also a British PGA golf pro, had combined his love of food with golf by offering private coaching to guests at one of three top golf courses in Hawke’s Bay and Taupo.
However, the couple had fulfilled their dreams at the property and were now ready to slow down.
“Retirement – that’s what it’s about and enjoying the rest of our time on the planet.
“We would definitely like to stay in Hawke’s Bay because Hawke’s Bay is a great place.”
- 3519 State Highway 50, in Maraekakaho, Hastings, is for sale by way of price by negotiation
