Alegria Beautyfarm is the perfect opportunity for a pampered night or two in a modern house with a Mediterranean ambience. It stands high on a hill overlooking vineyards, olive groves, a deer farm and Kawau Bay. You will, however, possibly wish you had booked for a week.
I arrived early on a bright clear morning to be greeted by Claudia who had prepared a magnificent breakfast, including excellent German coffee, home-baked, wheat-free bread and delicacies from all around Europe – decorated with herbs from her garden. Another special aspect of Alegria is the beauty studio in a delightful separate group of rooms.
Claudia is a German qualified beauty therapist, offering her guests sensational face and body treatments. Her speciality starts with a back massage, followed by an application of self-heating mud on
the spine, using French Phytomer products. According to Claudia, these products are the best in marine cosmetology.The favourite of the guestrooms is the adjoining, pleasantly serene Spanish Room, with its elegant theme of olives, and an enormous bed covered in crisp white linen. It opens to a terrace overlooking the green countryside and has a roomy ensuite bathroom.
If you can drag yourself away from the farm, there are two wineries nearby, a couple of golf courses, the Matakana Market on weekends (definitely worth a look), plus snorkelling at Goat Island or you may consider a day trip to Kawau Island. Or, if course, you might just stay put.
City Mix Auckland – September 2005