Ugbrooke Country Estate

“We want to go back!”

Ugbrooke was the highlight of our trip around the South Island & the favourite part of our holiday. Alex & Peter are outstanding hosts & not only warmly welcomed us into their home but also made us feel part of their family. I loved everything about our stay; wonderful Alex & Peter, Jasper, Jimmy … more

Ugbrooke was the highlight of our trip around the South Island & the favourite part of our holiday. Alex & Peter are outstanding hosts & not only warmly welcomed us into their home but also made us feel part of their family. I loved everything about our stay; wonderful Alex & Peter, Jasper, Jimmy & Marty the gorgeous fur babies, the grand country home & beautiful estate and the surrounding vineyards. Alex is a superb cook & we loved relaxing in the grand dining room listening to stories about the history of the home & drinking the local wine. Fantastic conversation & delicious food & wine! We slept really well in the very comfortable bed in our grand bedroom. We really wished we could have stayed longer & were very sad to leave new friends & such a beautiful location. Thank you for making my birthday celebrations so special.

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“A hidden gem”

We visited for two nights at the start of a tour round the South Island. We arrived early evening and were warmly welcomed by our hosts Alex and Peter. We were shown round and introduced to family members that were staying. Within a short while we were settled in their lovely old garden with a glas… more

We visited for two nights at the start of a tour round the South Island. We arrived early evening and were warmly welcomed by our hosts Alex and Peter. We were shown round and introduced to family members that were staying. Within a short while we were settled in their lovely old garden with a glass of wine looking out over the vineyards to the sea and the North Island beyond - an idilic setting. Later out host introduced us to another couple staying, which is one of the advantages of staying where there are only a few rooms. The house itself is 19th century and has been carefully restored by the current owners, with many of the original features. Our room, along with the rest of the house, had. Dry high ceilings, large windows and we also had doors our onto a lovely verander - this house is full of character. The next morning we watched the sun rise in the verander with a pot of tea. We then went for a walk in their 16 acres, through an old wood and back to see their 4 horses. As it was such a lovely morning we had breakfast outside. The breakfast spread was very good, consisting of a variety of cereals, yogurt, fruit salad, fresh fruit, warm croissants, and toast (with some home made jams and even marmite. Really liked the China cups, saucers and tea pot to help make an excellent cup of tea. We decided to cycle to the local vineyard, and Peter kindly prepared the bike for us. This was a very good trip that lasted half a day. In the afternoon we used their pool which was excellent. It was heated and so lovely and warm, and was also a very good size so that I could swim lengths. We then lay on the loungers until the sun went in. That evening we had dinner cooked by Alex. This was salmon and lamb. The lamb was in a red wine juice and I have to say that this was the best lamb meal that I have ever had. The food was excellent and well worth the $NZ 40 each for two courses. We were so able to drink our own wine from the local vineyard. Peter and Alex were great hosts. They made us feel very welcome and were very relaxed such that we felt we could wonder around as we wished. It was great to talk to them both about life in NZ, the history of the house and the surrounding region, and also Peter took me around the house, explaining the structure of the house and how it was build. They went out of their way to make sure everything was perfect, being very thoughtful, switching the fire on in the evening in case we were cold, leaving cold water in our fridge, etc. This was a great find, we really enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the place and the great hospitality. A perfect start to our trip around NZ.

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“Simply sublime”

Ugbrooke was the perfect location to start our honeymoon. I don't really have sufficient words to describe how wonderful Ugbrooke is along with our wonderful hosts Alex and Peter. Wonderful attention to detail, beautiful breakfasts, immaculate rooms with wonderful decor and furniture, wine and conv… more

Ugbrooke was the perfect location to start our honeymoon. I don't really have sufficient words to describe how wonderful Ugbrooke is along with our wonderful hosts Alex and Peter. Wonderful attention to detail, beautiful breakfasts, immaculate rooms with wonderful decor and furniture, wine and conversations by the fire in the beautiful dining room, a piano, a pool table, an outdoor pool but wasn't warm enough weather to use, a guided tour of this stately wonderful home, many comforts provided. Alex and Peter were an absolute delight to spend time with as were the lovely house dogs who were beautifully behaved and knew not to go into our room or the dining room. Alex was kind enough to let us use her kitchen to cook dinner in. The house has been beautifully maintained and has wonderful historical artifacts and photos dotted about as well as a brief history in the guest information sheet. Ugbrooke is set on an elevated piece of land in the country surrounded by vineyards within east driving distance to Blenheim. We both felt very sad to leave after such a wonderful stay. We will be back. Thank you Alex and Peter for such a special stay.

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“Wow”

Really nice place and Alex and Peter are wonderfully warm and inviting. We were travelling without a car and Alex kindly picked us up in town, and dropped us off again. Dinner both nights was great. Only regret is that we could not take home a Puppy!