It sounds like you want a lovely, stained, front door. Oak or mahogany are durable. The finish is very important, and it's also important that all edges are finished. I depended on my well-experienced carpenter to recommend finish options.

You're having posts as part of the entrance, right? You could have them possibly configured so that if your door gets too much exposure to damaging weather, you could later add something between those posts and the building? Such as slats of some type (aesthetically designed, of course). This is just an example:

Some houses around me have no protection for their front door - and they do need to have the doors re-finished more often because of it. I think it's more of a maintenance issue. Lots of sun can be damaging, but you have a north facing entrance.

Also, need to correct myself - my doors (photo way up higher) are mahogany.