New Zealand Travel Guide
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / New Zealand Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Wine, Nature and Golf at the End of the World
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Eric Rosen travels to the end of the earth for a luxury stay. Enjoy.
Summer has not even ended yet, but the crush of autumn obligations and work has already started to feel suffocating. As longer hours, shorter days and colder temperatures threaten, I have been casting my eye around for a way to get away from it all—to the very ends of the earth if necessary—and to find a way to extend summer indefinitely. That is how I settled upon my far-flung destination of The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in the Hawkes Bay region of New Zealand’s North Island.
With airfares dropping on Qantas and Air New Zealand thanks to new competition from Virgin Australia, it seems like a great time to take advantage of the chance to fly halfway round the world to Auckland…and then take another hour-long flight (or six-hour drive!). Finally, we’re starting to get somewhere.
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin / New Zealand Hotels / → All Tags
Queenstown's Matakauri Lodge Might Get Even Better
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving company's dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway; at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
Despite living in Australia for a whole lot of my life, I've never actually been to New Zealand. (It's actually pretty far away when you live on the west coast of Oz – that's my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) Of course I definitely want to check out this beautiful country and a resort that's just changed hands seems like a nice spot to stay.
Near the tourist hotspot of Queenstown on the South Island, the Matakauri Lodge has just been bought by billionaire Julian Robertson. He already owns The Farm at Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs but he's moving south and extending his family of luxury Kiwi resorts.
Tags: Hotel Spas / Auckland Hotel Reviews / Langham Hotels / → All Tags
Langham Auckland's Got a Swanky New Spa
Getting all Asian on us in New Zealand, the Langham Hotel Auckland has just opened a Chuan Spa with a big emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine ideas. The spa takes up the entire second floor of the hotel and offers thirty different spa treatments.
The facilities include snail showers (aka spiral showers, but snail sounds more interesting), herbal steam rooms and an "ice experience." There's also a heated infinity pool outside.
To celebrate the opening, the Langham Auckland is putting on a Chuan Journey package: one night in a special Chuan Haven suite for two, an hour and a half of spa therapy for each of you, a 15% discount on any further spa stuff, free parking and late checkout, starting from NZ$639 ($500). The catch (well, sorta catch): there are only two of these Haven suites in the whole hotel, and you can only book them when you're combining them with spa treatment.
Tags: Killer View / New Zealand Hotels / → All Tags
'Remarkable' Eye Candy in New Zealand
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Um, we have been ready to go to New Zealand since, um, forever ago — but if we needed further convincing, this photo would have done it for us.
This shot belongs to Flickr user Chewy Chua, who snapped this from a room at BreakFree The Waterfront in Queenstown, New Zealand.
A caption:
We stayed in a place called Breakfree, Waterfront. A well equipped and appointed condo/apartment type hotel. Majestic view of the lake and the Remarkables.
Um, yes. Remarkable indeed. The hotel is located "100 metres from the main street and 30 metres to the lake" — that's Lake Wakatipu — and according to the website, every window and Juliet balcony has a killer view like this.
All rooms here have "kitchen facilities," laundry, an "intercom" and a "security system" and, for a one-bedroom studio, rooms start at a totally decent 99 NZD — about 56 US dollars. Check the place out here.
[Photo: ChewyChua]
Tags: New Zealand Hotels / Hotel Websites / Hotel Technology / → All Tags
Hotel So Sooo Loves Its Guests' Praise
In today's technological world, even Web nerds like us are forced to admit that there's something irreplaceable about the handwritten note. A positive online hotel review lacks the familiarity and comraderie built between satisfied hotel guests and the hoteliers who served them be found in the hotel guest book.
New Zealand's new Hotel So has found a solution to this. In conjunction with its comprehensive site, the hotel launched weloveso.com, a page dedicated to scanned images of the hotel's guest book. No word on whether they white-out any negative reviews. But the Christchurch-based hotel offers ultra modern facilities, free WiFi, and flat screen TVs starting at $69. Sounds like there's not much to complain about.
Tags: Flight Attendants / Crowne Plaza Hotels / Hotel Hell / New Zealand Hotels / → All Tags
Drunken Qantas Flight Attendants Cause Trouble at a Crowne Plaza in New Zealand
Uh-oh sounds like someone had too much fun raiding the mini-bar at the Crowne Plaza in Queenstown, New Zealand.
According to reports, two Qantas flight attendants got wasted in their crash pad hotel room and set off the fire alarm at the hotel:
Many of about 200 guests at the Crowne Plaza hotel were dragged from their beds and sent into the street and two fire engines rushed to the hotel after a fire-alarm access point was smashed on July 31.
The false alarm cost the flight attendant $1500 to cover damages and the cost of the call-out.
But the next day when the hotel confronted the Qantas staffer they believed pulled the alarm, she apparently had no idea what she had done.
It was a fairly big stuff-up by the guest and when she was asked why she did it, she said she had no idea and she was upset and disappointed with herself. She left next day.
Needless to say the flight attendants have been suspended.
Tags: New Zealand Hotel Reviews / Boutique Hotels / Hotel Bathrooms / → All Tags
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.
Tags: Killer View / New Zealand Hotels / HotelChatter Flickr Pool / → All Tags
Room With a Killer View: Lakeside View at Azur in Queenstown
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
The Azur in Queenstown, New Zealand, has a lot to like about it before we even get into the views: it's the #1 hotel in Queenstown on TripAdvisor, it's luxurious and exclusive with just nine rooms, and you can get a gorgeous lakeside villa (although it'll usually cost you more than $1000 a night).
And then there's the view. Shaolo/Paolo dropped this picture in the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool and we're grateful for it. Who wouldn't want a vacation with a chance of views like this all day? This picture's worth a few hundred words at least, so we won't say anything more.
[Photo: shaolo/paolo]
Tags: New Zealand Hotels / Queenstown Hotels / → All Tags
New Zealand Resorts: 50-50 Chance on Queenstown's Beacon Resort
We've heard some nice things about the collection of Peppers resorts you can find across Australia and New Zealand, so we figured that a good spot to stay in Queenstown--current absolute tourist fave of New Zealand--would be the Peppers Beacon Resort.
The Beacon sounds great from the surface level and has truly outstanding views from many of the rooms--like this one over the lake, and you can also choose from mountain and garden views. It's located a five-minute walk from the middle of Queenstown itself, so you can't get much more convenient.
Tags: New Zealand Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Hotel Packages / → All Tags
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.
Tags: Conde Nast / New Zealand Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
New Zealand's Priciest Hotel Gets the Gold
The Conde Nast Traveller Gold List for 2008 is out, detailing properties that received the highest ratings in the annual Readers' Travel Awards survey (as well as some editors' favorites), and some truly amazing properties made the roll.
For example, in the Best Ambiance/Design category, the Eagles Nest in Bay of Islands, New Zealand comes in at #1. If you just happen to be looking to drop $1,150 to $3,500 per night, the Eagles Nest may be just the place for you. This ultra-posh complex of five villas is situated on a headland above the sea with sweeping views of the bay, and is known for it's stunning location as much as its superior amenities and service.
Along with the Gold List award, the Eagles Nest also holds the distinction of being the most expensive rental accommodation in all of New Zealand. But when one considers the included amenities, it's almost a bargain. Each private villa is outfitted with an extensive wine cellar, a heated Infinity edge lap pool, and chic glass-and-chrome designer furnishings. Guests of the villas also get the services of their own personal chefs, personal trainers, a butler, and a Porsche to use during their stay.
Just don't plan on bringing the kiddies. These villas will make accommodations for pets but come with a warning that children are unwelcome.
[Photo: DesignRhea]
Tags: New Zealand Hotels / Australia Hotels / Awards / → All Tags
Conde Nast Suggests the Treetops Lodge in Rotorua
The recent 20th annual Conde Nast Traveler awards threw up some not-too-surprising results in the Australia/Pacific section, with Melbourne's about-to-be-even-bigger Crown Towers complex coming up in the number one position, closely followed by Sydney's Park Hyatt.
But coming in at number three was the less mainstream option of the Treetops Lodge in Rotorua, New Zealand. With just twelve rooms, it certainly has less guests coming through the door than places like the Crown or the Park Hyatt, but those that have checked in have been suitably impressed.
The Treetops Lodge is in the middle of the forest so nature and wildlife are the key impressions you'll get. There are plenty of outdoor activities to be undertaken including horse riding, hiking and fishing. The restaurant focuses on locally produced (or caught) food, and also on offering a good range of New Zealand wines.
It's really quite a special place and offers some interesting packages including an indigenous culture and cuisine package which gives guests the chance to see a Maori cultural performance and learn about their cuisine.
[Photo: rbmm]
Related Stories:
· Room With A Kiiller View: Treetops Rotorua [HotelChatter]
· What Is Treetops Lodge in New Zealand? [HotelChatter]
· Melbourne to Get Biggest Hotel Down Under [HotelChatter]
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