The Journal — NZ Luxury Homes
Eagles Nest: New Zealand's Most Private Clifftop Villa Experience
Discover the pinnacle of New Zealand seclusion at Eagles Nest, where world-class design meets the pristine, untouched beauty of the Bay of Islands.
Published 6 August 2026 · 13 min read
Category: Luxury Stays
Eagles Nest is a premier luxury retreat in Russell, Bay of Islands, offering five architecturally distinct, private villas situated on a 75-acre clifftop peninsula. Renowned for its exceptional service, Michelin Key status, and complete privacy, the estate provides world-class amenities including infinity pools, private chefs, and personalized experiences in one of New Zealand's most stunning coastal landscapes.
The sign at the gate is easy to miss. A discreet logo on a post at the turn-off from Tapeka Road in Russell, and then a driveway that winds up through 75 acres of sub-tropical native bush before the property reveals itself — five individually designed villas positioned along a clifftop ridge above the Bay of Islands, each oriented to its own slice of an outlook that spans 144 islands and more water than you can track with the eye.
Eagles Nest is the Bay of Islands at its most distilled: complete privacy, considered design, and a level of personal service that anticipates rather than responds. It holds One MICHELIN Key — recognition by the MICHELIN Guide for an exceptional stay — and has been named New Zealand's Leading Villa Experience by the World Travel Awards. But the most instructive review came from a guest who had stayed in many of the world's finest properties and wrote that Eagles Nest stands as one of the finest, most hospitable stays of our lives. That calibration — from a guest who was not easily surprised — tells you something the awards do not.
Five Villas, One Peninsula, No Shared Spaces
Eagles Nest is not a hotel with a reception desk and a dining room. It is five privately owned, multi-million dollar villas on a gated 75-acre clifftop peninsula, serviced by a team whose entire function is the comfort of whoever is staying. There are no common areas, no other guests visible from any villa deck, and no reason to leave the property unless you choose to.
The five villas are individually designed — each architecturally distinct, each positioned to maximise a specific aspect of the Bay — and range in size from the intimate First Light Villa at 102 square metres for two guests to the four-bedroom Rahimoana at 1,500 square metres for up to eight.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — The five villas, set across a private clifftop ridgeline above the Bay of Islands
Four of the five villas have their own private heated infinity pool. All five have private jacuzzis, gas fireplaces, original artworks, home cinema systems, gourmet kitchens, and Ecostore amenities. Louis Roederer Champagne, fresh fruit, and gourmet breakfast provisions are included in every stay. The minibar is stocked on arrival.
The Porsche — available to guests for exploring the wider Northland region — is the detail that most people remember. It is also the detail that best captures the Eagles Nest philosophy: think of what the guest might want before they think of it themselves, then make it available without announcement. — explored in our Rosewood Kauri Cliffs luxury lodge review.
The Five Villas in Detail
Rahimoana is the property's crown — a four-bedroom, 1,500 square metre private estate with uninterrupted ocean views, a private beach, an infrared sauna, and its own helipad for guests arriving by private helicopter. It is among the most expensive single-night villa bookings available in New Zealand, and among the most complete private estate experiences on offer anywhere in the country. A Private Chef Experience is included on two evenings for guests staying three nights or more until November 2026.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Rahimoana, the flagship four-bedroom clifftop estate
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Rahimoana, with uninterrupted Bay of Islands outlook
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Inside Rahimoana, the 1,500 sqm private estate
Sacred Space is a four-bedroom villa at 353 square metres, designed for groups or families seeking complete privacy with the full Eagles Nest service model — private pool, jacuzzi, fireplace, and Bay of Islands views from every room.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Sacred Space, a four-bedroom villa designed for complete privacy
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Sacred Space living area with Bay of Islands views
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Sacred Space private pool and deck
Eagle Spirit — where the most detailed independent reviews have been written — is a three-bedroom villa with a vaulted open-plan living space, floor-to-ceiling glass walls framing the water, and a deck with infinity pool and jacuzzi positioned precisely for sunset.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Eagle Spirit villa
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Eagle Spirit, positioned for sunset over the Bay
The Eyrie and First Light complete the collection — two-bedroom and one-bedroom options respectively, each with its own distinct architectural character and the same clifftop outlook that defines the property. First Light is consistently noted by guests for its glass-walled bedroom with sunrise views across the Bay, and for the calibre of personal service from Kim, Lauren, and the Eagles Nest team who manage the property with the kind of attention that generates reviews written in superlatives.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — First Light, a light-filled one-bedroom retreat for two
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — The Eyrie, with its 15-metre heated infinity pool and expansive outdoor living
Dining: Private Chefs, Local Produce, and the Bay Below
Eagles Nest has no restaurant — because a restaurant would require sharing space with other guests, and that is precisely what this property is designed to avoid. Instead, a team of resident personal chefs is available to prepare dinner in your villa, working from a menu that showcases the finest in New Zealand produce: freshly shucked oysters, crayfish and lobster from Bay of Islands waters, grilled beef fillet, venison, and lamb, paired with vintages from the lodge's wine cellar.
The barbecue experience — freshly shucked oysters to start, grilled local fish or beef fillet as the sun drops behind the ridge — is described by multiple guests as among the finest meals they have eaten in New Zealand, not for its formality but for its simplicity: extraordinary produce, prepared well, eaten on a private deck above one of the most beautiful bays on earth.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Private chef dining, served in-villa
Guests who prefer to self-cater will find the fridge pre-stocked on arrival with gourmet breakfast provisions — eggs, smoked salmon, bacon, yoghurt, fresh berries, bread, juice — replenished daily. Gourmet picnic hampers are available for days spent on the water or exploring the Bay's 144 islands.
Experiences: The Bay and Beyond
The Bay of Islands has been attracting visitors for good reasons since long before tourism was an industry: 144 islands, turquoise water, some of New Zealand's most significant Maori and colonial history, and a marine environment rich enough to support dolphin encounters, deep-sea fishing, and diving on most days of the year.
From Eagles Nest, guests have access to charter boat fishing and sailing on the Bay, complimentary mountain bikes for exploring the 75-acre estate and surrounding peninsula trails, horse trekking through the Northland landscape, and helicopter flights over the Bay of Islands coastline.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — The Bay of Islands, on guests’ doorsteps
Two guided nature experiences available through Eagles Nest stand apart from the standard activity programme. The night-time Kiwi Walk takes small groups of no more than six guests into a private forest and conservation area where Kiwi come out to forage after dark — alongside Ruru (native owl), glow-worms, and the sound of the native bush at night. The day-time Ecology Walk through the same forested valley offers native bird spotting — Weka, Tui, Fantail, Fernbird, Kingfisher — alongside guided education on native plants and their traditional uses. These experiences require advance booking and reflect an Eagles Nest value that the property rarely advertises: genuine conservation custodianship of the land.
In-villa spa treatments — massage, facial, and wellness therapies in the comfort of your own villa — are available on request through the concierge team.
Why Eagles Nest Matters to the Northland Property Conversation
The Bay of Islands peninsula is Northland's most concentrated expression of what the region offers at its finest: coastal access, native bush, deep historical significance — Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document site, is visible from Eagles Nest villas — and the kind of spatial privacy that the Auckland region cannot replicate at any price.
Eagles Nest occupies 75 acres of its own clifftop peninsula in Russell, New Zealand's first European settlement, with the Bay as its front garden. The property demonstrates, in operational terms, what considered land stewardship, architectural precision, and service culture look like when they have been built on the same land over time.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — Rahimoana’s pool terrace above the Bay
For buyers exploring residential property in Northland and the Bay of Islands region, the Eagles Nest estate provides the clearest sense of what the premium end of this coastline feels like from the inside. The Active Investor Plus visa pathway, which from 2026 allows internationally mobile buyers to enter the NZ$5 million-plus residential market, is opening Northland to a new category of buyer who is arriving via exactly the kind of curated experience that Eagles Nest represents. — explored in our New Zealand luxury property market 2026. — explored in our Rosewood Kauri Cliffs lodge review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eagles Nest located and how do I get there?
Eagles Nest is located at 60 Tapeka Road, Russell, Bay of Islands, Northland — approximately three and a half hours drive from Auckland, or one hour from Kerikeri Airport which has direct connections from Auckland. A car ferry crossing at Paihia provides the final approach by road. The Rahimoana villa has its own private helipad for guests arriving by helicopter.
How many villas does Eagles Nest have and how many guests can it accommodate?
Eagles Nest has five privately designed villas accommodating between two and eight guests each, for a maximum of 22 guests across the entire property. The property can be booked as a whole for exclusive private use. Villas range from the one-bedroom First Light at 102 square metres to the four-bedroom Rahimoana at 1,500 square metres.
What does a stay at Eagles Nest include?
All stays include a bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne on arrival, a pre-stocked fridge with gourmet breakfast provisions replenished daily, selected minibar items, high-speed wireless internet, and daily villa servicing. Personal chef dinners, spa treatments, and guided experiences are available at additional cost. The Porsche is complimentary for guests exploring the wider region.
What is the Rahimoana villa at Eagles Nest?
Rahimoana is Eagles Nest's flagship four-bedroom villa at 1,500 square metres — the most private and most comprehensive offering on the property. It includes a private beach, an infrared sauna, a private helipad for helicopter arrivals, uninterrupted ocean views, and a Private Chef Experience on two evenings for stays of three nights or more until November 2026.
What makes Eagles Nest different from other Bay of Islands accommodation?
The combination of complete villa privacy — no shared spaces, no visible neighbouring guests — with a level of personalised service that anticipates rather than responds. Eagles Nest holds One MICHELIN Key and has been named New Zealand's Leading Villa Experience by the World Travel Awards. Reviews from guests consistently describe it as setting a standard not matched by other properties they have visited globally.
The Bay of Islands at Its Most Considered
Eagles Nest is not trying to be a lodge. It is not trying to be a resort. It is five privately owned villas on a clifftop above one of New Zealand's most historically significant bays, serviced by a team who know the property and its guests with genuine familiarity. The MICHELIN recognition, the World Travel Awards, and the hundreds of reviews written in superlatives all point to the same thing: a property that has been doing the same thing, on the same land, with the same care, for long enough that it has become the benchmark against which other Northland stays are measured.
Image: Eagles Nest / eaglesnest.co.nz — A villa interior, designed to look out, not in
For those exploring residential property in the Bay of Islands and wider Northland region, nzluxuryhomes.nz provides private access to the most considered coastal holdings at the top of the market — including opportunities that do not reach the open listing portals.
To enquire about Eagles Nest directly: reservations@eaglesnest.co.nz or +64 9 403 8333.
Key Takeaways
- Eagles Nest offers five exclusive, architecturally distinct villas spread across a private 75-acre clifftop peninsula in the Bay of Islands.
- The estate provides a highly personalized service model, featuring in-villa dining by private chefs and no shared common spaces between guests.
- Guest facilities include private infinity pools, jacuzzis, home cinemas, and complimentary access to vehicles for exploring the Northland region.
- The property is distinguished by its One Michelin Key status and a commitment to conservation through guided native wildlife experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Eagles Nest unique compared to a luxury hotel?
Unlike traditional hotels, Eagles Nest operates as a collection of five private villas with no shared spaces or public reception areas. Each villa is a standalone sanctuary designed for total privacy, ensuring guests never encounter others, while still receiving highly attentive, anticipatory service tailored to their specific needs.
Are private chef services included at Eagles Nest?
Eagles Nest provides an exquisite in-villa dining experience where resident personal chefs prepare meals using premium New Zealand produce. Guests can enjoy freshly shucked local oysters, lobster, and high-quality meats. For extended stays, a private chef service is included for multiple evenings, allowing guests to dine privately on their own decks.
Can I bring my family to stay at Eagles Nest?
Yes, the property caters to various group sizes through its diverse villa offerings. The larger estates, such as the 1,500-square-metre Rahimoana and the 353-square-metre Sacred Space, are ideal for families or groups. These villas feature multiple bedrooms, gourmet kitchens, and private pools, ensuring both space and privacy for families traveling together.
What activities are available for guests at the property?
Beyond the comfort of the villas, guests can enjoy a variety of curated experiences. These include night-time Kiwi walks, ecology tours, mountain biking across the 75-acre estate, and private helicopter charters. The property also provides access to local water-based activities like fishing and sailing within the historic Bay of Islands.
Is the property suitable for couples seeking a romantic getaway?
Eagles Nest is widely considered one of New Zealand's premier romantic destinations. The intimate First Light villa and the stunning Eagle Spirit villa are specifically designed for couples, offering floor-to-ceiling glass walls, sunset-facing decks, and private hot tubs that maximize the dramatic coastal views for a truly secluded experience.
Expert Insight
Eagles Nest transcends the definition of a standard lodge; it is a masterclass in privacy where the architectural integrity of each villa perfectly frames the sublime Northland horizon.
1,500 — square metres of living space in the Rahimoana flagship villa (Eagles Nest Property Documentation)