Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour Hotel, review: Testing the waters

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Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour Hotel, review: Testing the waters

A hotel on Auckland’s buzzing waterfront immerses Anthony Dennis in the heart of this revitalised harbour district.

By Anthony Dennis
Updated
Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour room.

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour room.

The French-themed Sabrage Bar at the hotel.

The French-themed Sabrage Bar at the hotel.

THE PLACE

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour Hotel

THE LOCATION

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour: lobby.

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour: lobby.

Sofitel Viaduct Harbour Hotel is one of Auckland's few five-star hotels located right on the harbourfront, where the legacy of the city's hosting of the America's Cup is still evident. The waterway may not quite match its counterpart across the ditch (though, really, what does compare to Sydney Harbour?), but there are surely few lovelier places to be than here beside the city's Waitemata Harbour on a fine, warm day, perched at a waterside café and watching a tourist dangling from a bungee attached to the syringe-like Sky Tower and yachts bobbing at their moorings.

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THE SPACE

The contemporarily designed, low-level Sofitel Viaduct Harbour Hotel Auckland, which began life as the Westin Auckland, borrows its name from Viaduct Basin, the city's former working harbour that's been transformed into a location for upmarket apartments, offices, restaurants, cafes and bars. In 2000, this part of Auckland was the focus of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's hosting of the America's Cup, the catalyst for the impressive rejuvenation of the city's waterfront.

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour: Lava Dining.

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour: Lava Dining.

THE ROOM

If, like this reviewer, you end up with a room overlooking a pebbled rooftop straight across to suites on the other side of the 171-room complex, you could be forgiven for concluding that this is not the best designed hotel in the world. Nonetheless my sun-filled room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, is spacious, tastefully decorated and perfectly comfortable, even though some of the furnishings, such as a timber coffee table, are nearing their five-star hotel use-by date.

THE FOOD

Auckland vies with much-smaller Wellington for the status of New Zealand's food capital and there's certainly a stunning range of decent eating and drinking opportunities right around Auckland's harbour, including at one of the newest precincts, Wynyard Quarter. In a New Zealand city with a similar love affair with coffee as its trans-Tasman counterparts, you need not go further than the in-house 21 Viaduct Café for a decent caffe latte along with casual breakfasts and lunch replete with city skyline views and harbourside alfresco seating. The hotel, what with French origins, is also home to Sabrage Bar, which celebrates the culture around bubbly as well as the arcane art of lopping off the top of glass champagne bottles with a sabre. For a somewhat steep fee you can try you own hand at this practice, which dates back to Napoleonic times.

STEPPING OUT

Stay here for a few days or more and the only vehicular transport you'll conceivably need is a taxi to and from the airport. Everything (well, pretty much everything) worth seeing in Auckland is within walking distance of the hotel, including Queen Street, the CBD's main thoroughfare and retail heart. Don't miss the lively, cafe, bar and boutique-filled Melbourne-like laneways that run off Queen. Closer to the waterfront, you'll find the Britomart complex where the brilliantly refurbished and modernised railway terminus is worth a look, as are the small selection of design-led shops, cafes and restaurants. Nearby, there are regular ferries to popular harbour and Hauraki Gulf destinations, such as suburban Devonport and winery hot-spot Waiheke Island.

THE VERDICT

Auckland is a surprisingly viable short break destination for Australians, with the flying time from our east coast a manageable three hours, along with a forgiving time difference. And, with Auckland's harbour being, like Sydney, its best asset, you can't go wrong with a stay at the Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour. While the hotel lacks a little personality, everything you could need to keep you fully amused for a three or four-day short break is literally right on the hotel's doorstep.

ESSENTIALS

Doubles start from $NZ292.50 ($287); 21 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Auckland; Phone +64 9-909 9000. See sofitel.com/Auckland-Viaduct

The writer was a guest of Sofitel Viaduct Harbour Hotel Auckland and Air New Zealand.

HIGHLIGHT

The convenient harbourside location.

LOWLIGHT

The view from the room and the condition of some of the furnishings.

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