This hotel has everything you need (and everything you don’t)
By Sue Williams
The place
Movenpick Hotel Auckland, New Zealand.
Check-in
Outside, it’s belting rain and a cacophony of horns and shouting as Auckland’s rush hour traffic comes to a grinding halt in a maze of city centre construction work. But as soon as a parking valet steps forward to drive my over-sized hire car into the under-sized entranceway (relief!) and usher me into the hotel lobby, it’s all sweetness and light and peace.
Posh plush – the Movenpick Auckland.
There are big squashy sofas and lounge chairs, coffee tables and a delicate artwork of flying glass birds, oblivious to the Hunger Games going on beyond the doors, guarded by a twin pair of stone lions.
The look
I like to think of it as posh plush. There’s miles of marble, oceans of thick carpet, a flurry of contemporary features and tall windows with stunning views of the harbour and city. This was once the Grand Mercure but it’s been renovated and refurbished into the first of New Zealand’s two Swiss-born Movenpick hotels, to add to Australia’s Hobart and Melbourne with another on the way for Brisbane. With 207 rooms, a good-sized gym, a yoga room, a coffee bar in the lobby, an outdoor sun deck on an upper level, a top-floor restaurant and bar, and conference rooms, it’s one of a clutch of new five-star hotels to hit the city.
Service
If the staff are any way representative of Kiwis, then they’re odds-on the friendliest race on earth. Everyone, from the restaurant waiter to the cleaners to the duty managers are eager to make sure you have everything you need – and everything you don’t – from someone to drive you out of that entranceway, to the hotel’s signature massive ice cream sundaes that you can order right around the clock, with kids’ versions free.
The room
Rooms have a homely feel.
Oh joy of joys: a TV set into the wall that you can watch while you’re soaking in the bath. I’ve only experienced this once before and adore the feeling of luxurious self-indulgence. There’s also a niche with a desk which is great for working, and the bed is beautifully firm. The room is decorated with real books and ornaments which makes it feel homely too, while there’s a coffee machine, a selection of teas and a few little cakes to go with them.
Food + drink
Movenpick’s Chocolate O’Clock.
Aha, this is where the Movenpick brand comes into its own. A hallmark of all their hotels is the magical Chocolate O’Clock that happens at 3pm daily when a table is laden with chocolate – think fondue, cupcakes, slices, macaroons, truffles – for all guests to help themselves. This Auckland hotel also has that BODA restaurant looking out over the harbour and city, serving Asian fusion fare to accompany a wide range of cocktails and a long wine list. For the mornings, the curtains are drawn completely back for breakfast, with a juicer to prepare your own veggie or fruit shots.
Out + about
The hotel, a member of the Accor group, New Zealand’s biggest hotel operator, is right in the city centre, and close to everything: the harbour, shops, restaurants, cafes and other bars. There are buses right outside, a taxi rank and also a clutch of shared e-scooters ready for hire, while it’s close to Britomart Station, the Viaduct Harbour and the ferry terminal.
The verdict
Indulge in one of Movenpick’s massive sundaes.
A great luxury hotel but has a quirky sense of fun, with those massive sundaes – best shared between two – and the chocolate hour making a trip to the gym an absolute necessity.
The essentials
From $NZ299 a night in a Queen Superior Room. ALL.com
Our rating out of five
★★★★½
Highlight
The top-floor restaurant and bar has such sublime views, it’s a wonderful place to dine or have a cocktail as the sun slips down
Lowlight
No chair in the room is the right height to fit the desk, without being piled with cushions.
The writer was a guest of Movenpick Hotel Auckland.
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