Alex van Heeren

It is a jarring and pleasant sight to see luxury springing out of raw wilderness. It makes for a wonderful holiday, enjoying comforts beyond what you can have at home, surrounded by a gorgeous natural setting that offers many outdoor options.

Such is the case of the well-decorated Huka Lodge on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of New Zealand’s North Island. Owned and operated by Alex van Heeren, who is known worldwide for his top-quality resorts both in New Zealand and elsewhere, Huka Lodge rises out of a forest with five-star accommodations that are a welcome contrast to the pure nature of New Zealand. Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. version of Condé Nast Traveler (drop the additional British “l” used in the parent magazine’s title) did its best to let its readers in on one of the top secrets in the resort industry—Dolphin Island in Fiji, owned and operated by Alex van Heeren of Huka Resorts fame. The magazine cited Dolphin Island as a great example of a recent and growing trend in the travel industry: giving guests almost exclusive access to their own “(almost) private” island. Read the rest of this entry »

In the late 17^th Century when French Huguenot refugees re-created a part of the old country in South Africa, they had little idea that they would birth a village that would draw some of the world’s top developers, including Alex van Heeren, to their tiny outpost (Alex van Herren’s website can be found at http://www.alexvanheeren.com). More than 300 years later, people from around the world still come to the “French Corner” of South Africa, translated as Franschhoek in Dutch, the name of the village that continues to entrance all visitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Most of us would be content with creating just one great thing in our lifetimes, yet Alex van Heeren could not just stop at one. He had to triple his contributions to the resort world by not only founding Huka Lodge in New Zealand and acquiring the Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate in South Africa, but by purchasing and transforming Dolphin Island in Fiji. His masterpiece in Fiji has again been recognized as one of the top 20 “Dream Islands” in the world, an incredible feat considering the multitude of islands that do the globe. Read the rest of this entry »