New hotels in Cambridge

Cambridge, in the Waipā District of the Waikato, has one tracked new hotel: The Clements Hotel, which took its first guests on 5 August 2025 in the restored 1866 Masonic Hotel building on Duke Street. The town has about 22,700 people, sits 23 km from Hamilton and 144 km from Auckland, and is better known for horses, rowing and cycling than for its hotel stock. Most visitors come for a day or a weekend, so a single new hotel changes the picture more than it would in a larger city. Here is what the town offers, where the hotel sits and who it suits.

The town in brief

European settlement began in 1864, when the 3rd Regiment of the Waikato Militia founded the town and named it after Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. Māori pā occupied the area before that. Dairy farming, tourism, the equine industry and sport are the main sources of work today.

Cambridge describes itself as the town of trees and champions. The trees are the avenues and arboretums, and the champions are racehorses and rowers. Thoroughbred stud farms surround the town, and its nickname as the equine capital of New Zealand is a fair summary of the local economy. The rowers come from Lake Karapiro, which hosted the 2010 World Rowing Championships. Past residents include the rowers Mahé Drysdale and Eric Murray, and the All Black Colin Meads was born here.

State Highway 1 runs alongside the town, so it is easy to reach by car from Auckland (about two hours) and Hamilton (26 minutes). Rotorua is 92 km away, roughly 1.2 hours. Intercity buses stop on Victoria Street opposite the i-Site visitor centre, at the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets.

What to do

A weekend in Cambridge

Victoria Street is the main axis, lined with galleries, boutique shops, antique dealers and cafés. The Equine Stars Walk of Fame runs along it, honoring winning horses, and a statue of a mare and foal stands in Jubilee Gardens. On Saturday mornings the farmers' market takes over Victoria Square with local produce.

Cambridge Museum occupies the old Court House at 24 Victoria Street. Entry is free and donations are welcome. It opens on weekdays from 10am to 4pm and at weekends from 10am to 2pm, though it is worth checking before a special trip. The museum also holds the history of the Masonic Hotel, which is useful context for anyone staying in it.

The heritage buildings are scattered rather than concentrated. St Andrew's Anglican Church dates from 1881, Cambridge Primary School from 1879 and the Edwardian Town Hall from 1909. Lake Te Koo Utu is a lake set below street level, reached from the Albert Street car park, with a flat loop around it and several trails climbing back up to the streets.

For a longer walk, the river tracks start in town. The Settlers Track follows the Waikato from Bath Street under the High-Level Bridge to the boat ramp at Riverside Park, and floods now and then in winter. The Soldiers Track runs from under Victoria Bridge to the Ferguson Bridge on Shakespeare Street and passes seven magnolias near the High-Level Bridge. A town belt loop leaves from Lake Te Koo Utu and returns along Thornton Road.

Anyone arriving by campervan should know that the Victoria Street bridge is narrow, with width, height and weight limits. The Ferguson Bridge on Shakespeare Street is the alternative.

A full week

With more days, the Te Awa River Ride is the first thing to build around. The trail is 65 km long, from Ngāruawāhia to Lake Karapiro, and part of it runs through Cambridge's own streets. Walking or cycling from the Town Hall to Karāpiro is about 15 km and mostly flat. A velodrome that is also Cycling New Zealand's headquarters sits nearby, and visitors can ride its track. Te Miro Mountain Bike Park is just outside town.

Lake Karapiro is about 8 km from the town centre by road. It was formed in 1947 when the Karapiro dam and power station were built and is roughly 21 km long. It is the home base of Rowing New Zealand, and the Don Rowlands Events Centre has a grandstand for watching races. Kayaking, paddleboarding and water skiing share the water, and the parkland around it has picnic areas and camping. The Waikato River Trails continue downstream from the lake: the Karāpiro section runs from Horahora Road to Arapuni Village, with a 500 m boardwalk and a café at Rhubarb that cyclists favor.

On the water in town, Camjet runs jet boats from Riverside Park on Dominion Avenue, with fares from $55 and trips that range from thrill rides to quieter runs up toward the base of the Karāpiro dam.

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is the day trip with the most to show. It is a fenced native forest reserve, with 47 km of predator-proof fence, described as the largest ecological island on the New Zealand mainland, and the aim is to bring back species such as kiwi, kākāpō and tuatara. The visitor centre and the southern enclosure open daily except 25 December, from 8:30am to 4pm, and guided tours are recommended. Entry to the southern enclosure was listed at $16 for adults and $7 for children aged 5 to 16. It is about 30 minutes from Cambridge by road.

Closer in, the Maungakawa Scenic Reserve is about ten minutes' drive and has an easy 30-minute loop. The Sculpture Park at Waitakaruru Arboretum has about 70 sculptures along all-weather tracks.

Two dates matter for planning. The National Agricultural Fieldays, held at Mystery Creek Events Centre near the town, draw more than 120,000 visitors a year. Rooms in and around Cambridge fill up around them. The Takapoto Classic show jumping event takes place each February at Takapoto Estate.

From a Cambridge base, the places listed as logical next stops are Hamilton, Matamata (the home town of the Hobbiton Movie Set), Te Awamutu, Te Kuiti, Waitomo, Raglan and Pirongia, along with the Coromandel Peninsula. Te Awamutu's Pioneer Walk is a 1.6 km riverside route about 18 km away. Walkers with a half day to spare can climb Kakepuku, a 2-to-3-hour return track 33 km from town that ends at a lookout tower on the 449 m summit, or follow the Te Waihou Walkway to the Blue Spring, 5.2 km one way and about 32 minutes by road from Cambridge. Cyclists can ride the Arapuni section of the Waikato River Trails, which starts at the Arapuni Swing Bridge and has some steep climbs. Rotorua is the longest practical day trip. For a city stay in the region's north, see Auckland.

Getting around

Cambridge is walkable in the middle and car-dependent outside it. Cambridge Taxis operates Monday to Friday, and Green Car Hire has an office at 32 Gillies Street. A car is the realistic way to reach Maungatautari and Lake Karapiro unless you are cycling the Te Awa route.

Where to stay

Duke Street

The Clements Hotel is on Duke Street, a short walk from Victoria Street, and it is the only new hotel the guide tracks in Cambridge. Motels, bed-and-breakfasts and farm stays make up most of the town's other lodging, and the guide does not follow them because it is about new openings.

The building was the first commercial building in Cambridge, put up in 1866 by an Irish-born draper, Archibald Clements, and rebuilt in brick in 1912 after a fire the previous November. Gerry Westenberg and Jo Pannell bought it in 2015 and reopened it as a hotel of 29 rooms and suites. Restored Edwardian rooms with high ceilings and newer rooms on an attic level sit in the main building, and three interlinked suites occupy the former stables, one with a private courtyard and gas fireplace. The Clements Suite has a freestanding bath and a 30 sqm terrace.

There are three places to eat and drink on the premises: the Gallery Restaurant overlooking the gardens, the Clements Café & Wine Bar and a basement bar named 1866, built in the original cellar. The basement also holds a buried well, and the Cambridge Distillery Co. makes a gin for the hotel from an Irish recipe of the 1860s that it rediscovered. Through the twentieth century the building was where the Cambridge Hunt Club held its breakfasts and where the local equine community met, so the horse connection is part of its own story. For weddings and meetings the hotel has a 100 sqm lawn, a 36-seat conference room and a boardroom for 10.

At launch, rooms started at NZD 415 for a Deluxe King. Capstone Hotel Management runs the hotel, and its general manager has said the hotel is aimed at the premium end of the local market. That is a different price bracket from the town's motels, which matters for anyone comparing options.

Which hotel for your trip

Couples looking for a night or two in the Waikato countryside, and anyone planning a wedding or private dinner in a historic building, are the natural guests of the Clements. Its lawn, its bar and its restored rooms are the point of it.

Visitors who want to ride the Te Awa trail, watch rowing at Lake Karapiro or tour Maungatautari can use the hotel as a base, since the town center is a 20-to-30-minute drive from most of those places. Cyclists should check how the hotel handles bike storage before booking, because none has been announced.

Travelers watching costs, or those who only need a bed after a Fieldays day, should look beyond this guide to Cambridge's motels or to Hamilton, 23 km north. The Clements is not priced for that kind of stay.

Visitors who want a hotel with a pool or a spa will not find it here: neither has been announced.

Frequently asked questions

What is the newest hotel in Cambridge, New Zealand?

The Clements Hotel, which opened to guests on 5 August 2025 at 68 Duke Street. Its stable suites and basement bar followed in late October, and Tourism Minister Louise Upston held the official opening in November.

How many rooms does The Clements Hotel have?

It has 29 rooms and suites, including two accessible rooms and three interlinked suites in the former horse stables.

How far is Cambridge from Hamilton and Auckland?

Hamilton is 23 km away, about 26 minutes by road, and Hamilton International Airport is around 15 minutes from the hotel. Auckland is 144 km, about two hours by car. Rotorua is 92 km, roughly 1.2 hours.

What is there to do in Cambridge besides the hotel?

Walk Victoria Street and the river tracks, ride part of the Te Awa River Ride, watch rowing at Lake Karapiro or take a guided tour of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, about 30 minutes away. The farmers' market runs on Saturday mornings in Victoria Square.