Mercury Ridge

Beautiful tranquillity. I'd describe this as a Boutique Hotel. It was apparently built in an Italian style as a holiday home with five bedrooms/suites. Positioned on the side of a hill with open views across the bay it is beautiful. The host Jo and Tom are very welcoming. Rooms are very comfortable each making the best of the view with a patio in front. Place your breakfast order in the evening before and everything is beautifully prepared for you in the morning. Take the short ferry ride across o Whitianga to find loads of food, shopping and entertainment.

This was our last stay after a 6 week tour of New Zealand and was just what we wanted. We had a lovely stay at Mercury Ridge. A beautiful lodge on a steep hill overlooking Cooks Beach. The views were awesome, the peace and tranquility very restful. Tom and Jo are fantastic hosts who made us feel very at home. This is quite an unconventional establishment mixing bed and breakfast rooms with small apartments with lots of shared space both indoors and outside, but it just works. In fact whilst we were there we didn't encounter any other guests and yet they were fully booked. This may be because we booked a later breakfast as we were on wind down and wanted to enjoy the outside space as the weather was beautiful. The decor and fittings are very high quality and there is a lovely ambience created. The rooms were very comfortable and the free mini bar and snacks were appreciated, as was the cheese platter available on arrival. The breakfast cooked to order was awesome, the best in 6 weeks travel, and we loved being able to eat outside in the sunshine, with the most amazing views surrounding us. The location is excellent as you can visit Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach and Whitianga via the ferry at Lands Ending all within a short drive. Beach Towels and basket are provided. There are a number of restaurants recommended all within a short drive. The small village of Cooks Beach is walkable but note the steep hill on return. There are lovely walks along the beach and through the reserve to Shakespeare Cliffs and it is probably best to park near the beach to access. We would highly recommend a short stay at Mercury Ridge.

I must start by saying the property was lovely , the room comfortable and the lady hosting could not have been more friendly and served us lovely breakfast. So if you like this sort of thing 100% perfect . I have no idea why my agent put us here when I wanted to stay in hotels with facilities and plenty going on. There were no facilities. My heart sank when we drove up a long drive to a remote B&B which was basically staying in someone’s beautiful house. It was not a hotel and was so not us we left after 2 days out of 4 with no chance of refund. Just check its what you want before booking and note 10 day cancellation clause.

We loved the beautiful location and atmosphere in this quiet, small scale, and high quality lodge. The owners are super helpful and friendly, the views overlooking the bay are superb, and the breakfast is absolutely delicious. Highly recommended.

What a fabulous place! We loved our stay at Mercury Ridge. Everything was perfect - the room, the views, and the hospitality. I really couldn’t find anything negative to say. Tom does a fabulous job with breakfast every morning. The eggs Benedict on potato rosti were fabulous! We also loved the complimentary goodies in the room, including chocolates, crisis, biscuits and a range of cold drinks, plus the usual tea and coffee. The views over Cooks beach bay are jaw-dropping and we loved watching the sunrise and sunset each day. This is truly a special place - just go!!

Fabulous location in the hills overlooking Cooks Beach. We were in the Bosun suite which was large and very comfortable - Nespresso machine much appreciated. Breakfast lovely and eaten sitting outside on the verandah. Tom our host very helpful - had spades for going to hot water beach. Tip, aim to get there about 2hours 30mins ahead of low tide so you have pick of places to dig, gets crowded later even when as we did outside school holisays