My wife and I had our honeymoon in NZ in Dec 09 and stayed at Kauri Cliffs, Cape Kidnappers, Huka, Otahuna and Blanket Bay.

Like listener2, I preferred Kauri Cliffs to Cape Kidnappers. They are very similar, but I am also a hotel junkie and found the interiors at Kauri Cliffs to be richer and the surrounding landscape/attractions more compelling - Maori tourism, sailing, kauri forests etc. I also don't play golf, but really enjoyed just walking the golf course and also exploring other things on the property - trails, beaches, and the spa which was amazing. Just to walk to the spa through the fern forest was somewhat of a spiritual experience. One thing I didn't like about either was that they both required a jacket for dinner. Neither the setting nor the food is formal enough to justify a jacket or tie(albeit the casualness is a strength) and there is nothing else in NZ that would require a jacket.

Otahuna I think was our favourite though. It had the best food, partly due to the personality and presentation of the chefs. We particularly like the country house hotels of England and there are a lot of similarities between Otahuna and Gidleigh Park or possibly Le Manoir (though Le Manoir is much more formal) with the history, the style and the garden. Also we found the value to be best at Otahuna - one of the most delightful things was that they don't charge for things that the others do, like wine and laundry. We also took a tour (another thing they didn't charge for) of their gardens with the gardener and the amount of vegetables and fruit they grow onsite was inspirational.

We also would absolutely recommend Blanket Bay as well. It was a good place to finish as the setting offers a big wow factor.