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…

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,…

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…

Walking On Water – Langkawi’s 6-Star St Regis Hotel

There was something spectacularly Biblical in front of us as we opened the door. This was the absolute top suite at the St Regis Hotel in Langkawi, Malaysia and while it wasn’t ours for the night, it was unoccupied for a couple of hours. I’d asked for a tour of the property because of all…