Getaway: The Marlborough Lodge, Marlborough, New Zealand

THE PLACE

The Marlborough Lodge is a traveller: it has moved from place to place, and from the spiritual to the secular. Built in 1901, this handsome timber building first served as a Catholic convent in Blenheim, in the Marlborough region of New Zealand's South Island. Today, it is the latest addition to New Zealand's network of luxury lodges. In between, it was sold by the Catholic Church and cut into five pieces to be trucked to a paddock in nearby Rapaura and re-assembled as a bed and breakfast. That was in 1994. Now it has changed again, with the interior refashioned into 10 contemporary suites – a perfect base for exploring Marlborough's famous wineries and the beautiful Marlborough Sounds.

THE SPACE

The lodge sits in a private park shaded by mature trees and bright with established gardens tended by full-time gardeners (and maybe a manicurist for the meticulously neat lawns). Our balcony looks across beds of plump white roses and banks of lavender to a pond and a free-flowing stream. You could happily lose yourself in the grounds and not return until it is time for pre-dinner drinks and freshly made canapes in the "Great Room" where the lodge's obliging manager, Peter White, plays host.

THE ROOM

We're in "the chapel", a generous space under a vaulted ceiling. It is a recreation of the original chapel which – for reasons now forgotten – was left behind when the building was moved. Pale grey walls and white joinery provide the backdrop for successfully eclectic decor, including large red armchairs, red lacquered cabinets as bedside tables and original stained glass windows. The white marble bathroom features a free-standing bath wide enough and deep enough for a family of the local fur seals.

THE FOOD

Chef Sam Webb offers stylish, modern cooking that respects natural flavours and textures. Sam honed his skills in kitchens from Melbourne to Moscow, but he is a local – and that is how he likes his raw material. Flavourful linguine comes with Cloudy Bay clams one night and Marlborough Sounds green-lipped mussels the next. Seafood is a highlight of the three-course evening menus, with delicate starters such as carpaccio of Cook Strait octopus and kingfish crudo followed by mains such as smoky flavoured ora king salmon from the Marlborough Sounds and Whitianga hapuka on barley risotto infused with crayfish sauce.

STEPPING OUT