Rosewood to Manage Julian Robertson’s New Zealand Luxury Lodges

Luxury hotel operator Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will take over the management of the late hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson’s three resorts in New Zealand.

(Bloomberg) — Luxury hotel operator Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will take over the management of the late hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson’s three resorts in New Zealand.

The lodges — Kauri Cliffs near the Bay of Islands at the top of the North Island, Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay and Matakauri Lodge in the South Island ski resort of Queenstown — will come under the Rosewood portfolio on Dec. 1.

“My family and I are delighted to partner with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to continue the personal style of hotel management our parents put in place when they opened The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs over 20 years ago,” Jay Robertson, Julian’s son and chief executive officer of Robertson Lodges, said in a statement Tuesday.

Tiger Management founder Julian Robertson, who died in August 2022 aged 90, was one of the most successful hedge fund managers in the world for many years and amassed a $4 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He had a love for New Zealand after first visiting in the late 1970s, and amassed substantial assets in the country.

Robertson’s family sold its New Zealand winery business — Dry River Wines in Martinborough near the southern tip of the North Island — in October last year for an undisclosed sum.

Rosewood manages 30 hotels, resorts and residences in 18 countries, including the Carlyle in New York, the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and Hotel de Crillon in Paris. The three Robertson Lodges will be the first it has managed in Oceania.

“It is with great respect and admiration that we seek to honor the Robertson family’s original vision by further elevating the guest experience offered at each resort with Rosewood’s singular approach to ultra-luxury hospitality,” Sonia Cheng, chief executive officer of Rosewood Hotel Group, said in the statement.

Cheng is the daughter of billionaire Henry Cheng, the chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, which is one of the world’s largest jewelry retailers by market value. Henry Cheng also controls property-to-retail conglomerate New World Development Co.

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