HotelChatter - nz

What Happens When Our Cubicle Dreams Come True: The Farm at Cape Kidnappers

EricRosen — 2011-01-14T09:31:07-05:00

All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of New Zealand’s hotel scene.

About a year or so ago, in a Cubicle Dreamin’ fantasy piece, we told you about one of our all-time dream hotels, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in the famous wine-making region of Hawkes Bay on New Zealand’s North Island.

Well, in one of those amazing twists of fate, we actually got to visit the gourmet golf resort over the holidays this year, and here are a couple of our photos and impressions of the resort, which we can only describe as world-class.

Inside Wellington's Museum Hotel

EricRosen — 2011-01-13T09:16:07-05:00

<![CDATA[ <object id="flashObj" width="486" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=733180408001&playerID=4862856001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAE7CVnI~,RUihgoZlRJi9tuTl58qaAut8tr6OMl2M&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="@videoPlayer=733180408001&playerID=4862856001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAE7CVnI~,RUihgoZlRJi9tuTl58qaAut8tr6OMl2M&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of New Zealands hotel scene. Today on our New Zealand hotel scene roundup, we take you to the nations capital, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/city/Wellington">Wellington</a>, or Windy Welly as the locals call it thanks to its typically blustery weather, to show you around our room at the citys <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Museum+Hotel/ian/114483">Museum Hotel</a>. Wellington is about one tenth the size of Auckland, but we were still white-knuckling it

Why We Needed To Use the Restroom at Westin Auckland Lighter Quay

EricRosen — 2011-01-12T09:11:07-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/18481/Westin_Marina.JPG" class="top">All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of New Zealands hotel scene. So far in our mini hotel tour of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/city/Auckland">Auckland</a> weve taken you to the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Langham+Hotel,+Auckland/local/1901">Langham</a>, where we stayed, and over to the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hilton+Auckland/ian/192372">Hilton</a>, where we popped in for an impromptu tour one day. Now were going to take you to the newest of the citys upscale chain hotels, the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Westin+Auckland+Lighter+Quay/local/715">Westin Auckland Lighter Quay</a>. We had to settle for another quick guerrilla tour of this harborfront property because we werent actually staying there, and couldnt take any photos inside. But we did manage to get a good look around and thought it was worth mentioning here anyway.

Inside The Hilton Auckland, Where The Pool Hangs Off The Roof

EricRosen — 2011-01-11T11:05:39-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/hiltonaucklandpool.jpg" class="top"> All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of New Zealands hotel scene. Though we stayed at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Langham+Hotel,+Auckland/local/1901">Langham</a> during our three days in <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/city/Auckland">Auckland</a>, we took the opportunity to visit a couple of the citys other premier hotels including the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Hilton+Auckland/ian/192372">Hilton</a>. The first thing that struck us as we dropped off a couple friends was the architecture. The hotel is on a renovated wharf, and was designed to look like a cruise ship, though it had more of an oil tanker aesthetic if you asked us. The one cool feature was the pool suspended four stories above the driveway, and you know how we like our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/6/27/125953/845/hotels/10_Death_Defying_Rooftop_Hotel_Pools">dramatic

Inside The Langham Auckland

EricRosen — 2011-01-10T11:10:24-05:00

<![CDATA[ <object id="flashObj" width="486" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="@videoPlayer=733498593001&playerID=4862856001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAE7CVnI~,RUihgoZlRJi9tuTl58qaAut8tr6OMl2M&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="@videoPlayer=733498593001&playerID=4862856001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAE7CVnI~,RUihgoZlRJi9tuTl58qaAut8tr6OMl2M&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen takes us on a tour of New Zealands hotel scene. Though its the biggest city in New Zealand, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/city/Auckland">Auckland</a> is still a small place, with just about 1.4 million souls, so the hotel scene isnt quite as big as were used to. Still, we found a few options to talk about based on our recent trip down to city of sails, including the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Langham+Hotel,+Auckland/local/1901">Langham Auckland</a>,