I remember the first time I ever got a blank face for booking a staycation. “You’re paying money to stay in a hotel, but you’re still in Auckland! Why don’t you just stay at home?” I think they thought I was suffering a head knock. Granted that unenlightened yarn was 15-years ago, but oh how…
Category: Hotels
Rotorua’s Black Swan Hotel & the extraordinary Whirinaki Forest
Location: The Black Swan Lakeside Boutique Hotel is on the shores of Lake Rotorua in the Rotorua suburb of Kawaha Point. How big is the hotel? Think of it as a mansion converted into a boutique hotel, in this case, a 9-bedroom luxury property on a finely manicured 1 acre section. What sets the Black…
The Pacifica: What it’s like staying in NZ’s tallest residential building
Location: Apartment 3401, level 34 of the 57-storey Pacifica Tower, 12 Commerce Street, Auckland CBD. On the doorstep of the fashionable Britomart neighbourhood with its restaurants, bars and boutique stores. Just how tall is the Pacifica? At 178.7m, it is the tallest residential building in New Zealand and the third tallest structure behind the 180.1m…
See inside the rock star-worthy Chairman Suite of NZ’s largest hotel, the Cordis
Location: On the corner of Karangahape Rd and Symonds Street on the fringe of the Auckland CBD, overlooking the historic Symonds Street Cemetery and the forested slopes of Grafton Gully. What’s new at the Cordis? An entire 17-storey tower, that’s what! The just opened, 244 room Pinnacle Tower now sees the Cordis with a whopping…
A luxury, historic villa high above the Dunedin CBD – Airbnb review
I love Dunedin, but I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t always know this was the case. As I wrote in the New Zealand Herald back in July last year, my apology to the “Edinburgh Of The South” was a long time coming, owing to the fact I’ve been a regular visitor ever since my parents…
The Carolinas Come To The Coromandel – The Barn At Lonely Bay, Cooks Beach
I thought I knew Coromandel. I’ve certainly been there enough times and for good reason too: if you’re a North Islander and summer is your season, then Coromandel will have never not been on your radar. When the warmer months roll around, either you’re going to Coromandel or someone you know or are related to,…
You Can Now Stay At The “Tuscany Of The South Pacific” – Mudbrick On Waiheke Island
Mudbrick was one of those places that as soon as I’d heard they’d added accommodation, I knew I had to stay there. This is, of course, liberal interpretation of what “had to” means, but if you know Mudbrick, then you know that the only conceivable thing better than a day-trip visiting this “Tuscany of the…
The Outrageous Views & Suites Of Auckland’s New Park Hyatt
Location: Some of the best real estate in all of Auckland, right on the water at Wynyard Quarter on the site of the former Team New Zealand base, overlooking the ever-grown-up skyline of New Zealand’s largest city. How many rooms? 195 guest rooms across seven-storeys, including six spectacular suites. How spectacular are those suites? Well,…
The Hotel Buried Deep Inside Taranaki’s “Goblin Forest” – Dawson Falls Mountain Lodge
Most people can never believe it’s a year since any significant event in their lives took place. When have you ever heard someone say, “yes indeed, it feels like a year since that happened!” That’s right, probably never. So yes, I can’t believe it’s a year since me, my wife Aimee and our (then) baby…
Why The Hotel Britomart Is Auckland’s Most New York Hotel
I never thought an Auckland balcony could remind me of the time I stayed on the 22nd floor of a hotel overlooking Madison Square Garden in New York, but then again, I never counted on The Hotel Britomart. New Zealand’s first ‘5 Green Star’ certified hotel is simultaneously the most Manhattan-recalling property in Auckland, as…
A Rainforest Retreat & A Historic Firestation – 2 Unforgettable West Coast Hotels
When it comes to Covid and tourism, there are two stats I’m certain I’ll never forget: The West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island – a densely forested, sparsely populated, mountainous slice of world-beating scenery – has seen a whopping 16-percent of all businesses close since the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic. 16-percent. That’s…
Stewart Island’s Unique, Boutique, Must-Visit Eco-Lodge
Stewart Island surprised me in so many ways. New Zealand’s third largest land mass may be two-thirds of the way to Antartica, but as I recently wrote in the New Zealand Herald, “forget notions this is some barren, unforgiving land”. Anything but. You realise this before you’ve even landed, provided you’ve been looking out the…