Swept Up in the Arms of Villa Margarita

We had a long drive down from Taranaki almost to the bottom of New Zealand's North Island, ending up in the lovely outskirts of Wellington in Pauatahanui. We were late for dinner but no worries, our host Mark was so jolly on the phone he put us right at ease. We had sat through a long traffic jam, worrying again about our late arrival, but when we got to Villa Margarita, everything was bliss.

Mark and Margarita Owen opened their swank modern boutique villa about thirteen months ago. It is set on a sweeping piece of land in rolling hills. When we awoke in our bedroom, one of five in the main house all set in a long corridor, behind the full length glass walls was a stunning vista of miles and miles of mountains and grazing cattle.

Mark is a true renaissance man--he cooked up some steaks, served his home baked bread and after dinner we went down to the music room. There he played Mozart and Beethoven on the baby grand, and treated me to a luscious Cuban cigar. Cindy and Margarita donned wigs and danced to the glorious sounds of the music, and I felt like I was in a movie. The sounds of the Moonlight Sonata and the jovial warmth of the room was bliss. Then we repaired to the movie room where we watched videos with surround sound on the wall-sized screen.

These two are a lovely pair, she a gorgeous latina whose family owned a cigarette company in Miami, and Mark a tall and handsome man with an easy laugh and a background in real estate and now, hospitality. The setting here is very California, modern paintings adorn the walls and all of the fixtures and appointments are first class. They have been entertaining many corporate executives here and earned the Qualmark five stars. They offer guests a two-bedroom villa just up the drive that features a huge clawfoot bathtub right outside the house, surrounded by nothing except windswept fields and cattle.