Firefighters were called to a building fire at a popular beach holiday park north of Napier on Sunday night.
Three fire engines and two tankers from crews in Bay View, Napier and Hastings were called to the Waipatiki Beach Holiday Park about 7.30pm.
When they arrived, they found the building engulfed in a well-involved fire, a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said.
A spokesman from the Napier fire station said an office block at the holiday park was badly damaged and a nearby home also sustained some damage.
A specialist fire investigator was on the scene on Monday morning to investigate the cause of the fire, the spokesman said.
Edward Shand from Napier spotted the fire as on a Sunday evening drive as he cruised down down the hill to Waipatiki Beach.
He said the group saw what they thought was a huge bonfire, but as they drove closer it was clear the fire was nowhere near the beach.
Shand said he and his friends parked up, along with about 20 locals, and waited for emergency services, who arrived 10 minutes later.
A representative of Waipatiki Beach Holiday declined to comment on Monday morning.