Park Hyatt Auckland opens on September 15. Photo / file
Park Hyatt Auckland opens on September 15. Photo / file
A spa room partly lined with pink Himalayan rock salt bricks, 25m sunken outdoor infinity pool and a $10,000-plus a night presidential suite are features of New Zealand's most expensive new hotel.
Brett Sweetman, new general manager of the five-star almost-finished $300 million Park Hyatt Auckland, said the property at99 Halsey St in the Wynyard Quarter would open on September 15.
The spa room is lined with that Himalayan product - bricks popular for their moisture-absorbing properties, Sweetman said. The pool overlooking Karanga Plaza won't be filled till the end of this month but has a weir feature to capture water which will appear to cascade over the pool's northern lip.
Brett Sweetman, general manager of the new Park Hyatt Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
Room rates start at around $450/night for a 47sq m harbour suite but for the northeast presidential suite on the top, seventh-level floor, Sweetman said rates would be $10,000-plus per night.
"But it's a 245sq m suite, with its own guest elevator, an internal garden and a 130sq m balcony. We've got two reservations confirmed for that, subject to the opening of the borders," Sweetman said.
Which begs the question: who will stay in the upmarket new hotel, given global travel's nose-dive, shut borders and our national alert level 1 anti-coronavirus status?
Sweetman acknowledges quarantiners are not targets. The pandemic persuaded the Chicago-headquartered Park Hyatt management in New Zealand to radically alter the marketing focus, from international to domestic guests.
The new Onemata signature dining restaurant at Park Hyatt Auckland. Photo / supplied
To entice custom, the hotel is offering a $50 credit per night for guests booking before October 31 and staying before the end of this year. That credit can be spent on-site or on a room upgrade.
Sweetman said the hotel had great waterfront views of the Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Quarter area and 195 rooms including 23 suites.
Onemata is the hotel's signature restaurant, seating 105 people inside and 40 outdoors, facing the Lighter Basin, with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening on to the waterfront walkway.
The Pantry is a more casual street-front dining/cafe opposite ASB North Wharf, accessed off Halsey St as well as through the hotel.
