Wallingford Homestead

Set behind lawns and old trees, with verandahs strung along its garden face, Wallingford Homestead reads first as light on grass and second as a working kitchen. The nearest coast, Te Paerahi at Porangahau Beach, lies a short drive off, and guests come for the countryside and the water both. Rooms and views run toward farmland rather than surf, but the sea is close enough to shape a day trip. Nine of the homestead's rooms are set up for paying guests, including king rooms with garden views and verandah suites with direct outdoor access. Each has under-floor heated bathrooms, a Nespresso and loose-leaf tea setup, and organic bath products; some open straight onto a private verandah for breakfast. A heated pool and pavilion sit within the gardens, closed through winter, alongside lawn games and off-street parking with an EV charging point. Dinner is built around a set degustation menu from chef Chris Stockdale, drawing on produce grown on or near the property and matched with Hawke's Bay wine. It is a small operation. Two resident border collies, Marley and Arthur, wander the lawns. Wallingford sits about an hour from Havelock North and roughly two hours from Napier or Palmerston North airports, with a helicopter transfer possible directly onto the grounds.