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New Zealand's Ohtel Misses on the Bathroom Front

There's something just a touch too snobby about a hotel that proclaims itself "the only designer boutique hotel" in the country, because New Zealand might be small, but there are definitely other boutique hotels--who's to say whether they're "designer boutique" or not?

So we got off on the wrong foot with the Ohtel in New Zealand's capital, Wellington. Can it redeem itself? It depends.

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Wellington's Bolton Hotel Entices Us With Chocolate

Wellington's Bolton Hotel has a good reputation amongst travelers to New Zealand, and comes in at #2 on the TripAdvisor reviews, too. Apparently even the New Zealand national cricket team have been known to stay there when they've got a match in Wellington, and since they have national hero status, it's a very good sign.

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No Hilton For Wellington After All?

Will they or won't they succeed in building a Hilton Hotel in Wellington, New Zealand? Although plans for the Hilton on Queens Wharf in downtown Wellington were originally approved, an appeal process started today to change that decision.

Local interest groups Waterfront Watch and the Wellington Civic Trust are leading the fight against the Hilton, because they say the proposed area is a special site that:

should be home to an iconic structure like a statue or something similar ... a hotel does not fit that category.

The case is expected to last at least two weeks so don't count on a Hilton stay in Wellington just yet.

[Photo: wellnair]

Related Stories:
· Wellington Hotel Appeal Begins [NZTV]
· New Zealand Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Wellington, NZ [Jaunted]

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Lord of the Rings Travel Guide, New Zealand

Everybody is talking about LOTR what with Peter Jackson being up for the Oscar nod this weekend. And because of that, everyone is talking about New Zealand.

Lonely Planet voted New Zealand the world's top destination in 2004, again.

So, when I started to hunt around and look for where one might stay if they were going to hop over to the Southern Hemisphere for a look at Hobbiton or the Misty Mountains, I was blown away by Jason's Travel Guide to Lord of the Rings Locations.

Jasons.co.nz (I couldn't find anyone on their staff page actually named Jason) has done a bang up job. While there are other websites with "spies" who were there sneaking around during the filming, Jason's Travel Guide to Lord of the Rings Locations is all you really need to find out where the film locations were.

They are even selling a The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook by Ian Brodie.

In Wellington, which was used as a "base of operations" for production, Ian McCurrach suggested The Duxton and The InterContinental. You can read his article, "Welcome to Wellywood. They're rolling out the red carpet," which appeared in The Independent on November 23, 2003.