In a town known for racehorses, rowing champs, and seriously good coffee, Cambridge, New Zealand, has just added another thoroughbred to its stable – The Clements Hotel. Fresh from a multi-million-dollar glow-up, this boutique beauty has transformed the town’s original 1866 Beaux-Arts Masonic hotel into a 29-room haven of polished charm and old-school glamour.

Named after Irish-born Archibald Clements (the bloke who built the original hotel), the revamp is all soaring ceilings, stained-glass windows, red brick walls, and a staircase that was made for dramatic entrances. Think Claridge’s in London, but with more gumboots and fewer paparazzi.

Leading the charge is Scottish hospitality whiz Cameron Kellow, who swapped Scone Palace and 20,000 acres of Scotland for the rolling Waikato. His mission was to make The Clements the place for luxe stays, long lunches, and the kind of events you’ll still be talking about when you’re 80. Spoiler alert, he succeeded.

Guests can snooze in Edwardian splendour or wake up under attic beams with leafy views. There’s a café and wine bar for your morning pastry-to-evening-aperitivo journey, a garden-view restaurant serving locally inspired global goodness, and, from October, a speakeasy called “1866” hidden in the basement.

If that’s not enough, the old horse stables are now private luxury suites (fireplace and bathtub included), and the on-site distillery has crafted a bespoke gin using an 1860s recipe because history tastes better with tonic. Duh.