There is comfort and convenience at this new inner-city hotel where staff are just the right side of attentive. Photo / Grand Hotels International
OPINION
A brand-new hotel has opened its large glass doors on a bustling street in the middle of Auckland’s Central City. Lifestyle multimedia journalist Tyson Beckett checks in to the new opening to see what the fuss is about.
Location: 80 Wellesley St West, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
Style: Classy corporate
Price: King rooms start at $189
Perfect for: Extended stays or vacationing visitors seeking a nice and well-positioned inner-city crash pad
First impressions: This might be the Goldilocks of hotels. Brand new but without the paint smell or kinks to be ironed out, nice but not ostentatious, there is comfort and convenience at this new inner-city hotel where staff are just the right side of attentive.
Rooms: There are 191 guest rooms spread across 10 floors in the recently opened hotel in the middle of Auckland’s City Centre. In one of three fast lifts, I pressed the button for the 11th floor and swiped into a King Suite Harbour View Room (currently prices for this room start at $310, more standard rooms start at $189).
Bigger than some apartments I’ve lived in, the suite boasted expansive views of both the city and harbour that could be admired from the bedroom, separate living room and even the bath, thanks to a large picture window into the bedroom (never fear couples, there is a blind for modesty and the loo is tucked around the corner.) Pulling back two sets of curtains in the bedroom to reveal a vista that includes the full length of the Sky Tower, I was struck by what a great place this would be to be stationed at on New Year’s Eve.
Other highlights include a high-piled king-size bed, tasteful gold-toned decor and a full-sized lounge with a couch and second television. Anticipating an influx of corporate visitors, other notable touches are geared towards longer stays – like a huge walk-through wardrobe that provides ample room to unpack. There is no temptation from a minibar here, instead, a full-sized fridge-freezer anticipates some level of self-catering will take place. More dinnerware and cutlery would make this easier. The generous mugs provided for use with the in-room Nespresso machine don’t fit under the machine spout hands-free, this might irk time-poor people multitasking in the morning when every second counts. I only had the bath awaiting me.
Bathroom: I could have spent the entirety of my two-night stay in the roomy L-shaped bathroom. I gave it a good go, managing three baths over two nights. Accessible via both the entranceway the tiled bathroom felt spa-like with waffle robes, a broad bench with twin basins, two large well-lit mirrors and a walk-in shower that housed both rain and handheld shower heads.
My room had wall-mounted full-sized bottles of O&M hair and body products in the shower and by the basin. Superior rooms have Antipodes amenities. The hotel could consider installing some by the bath too, to save the awkward cupped-hand dash across the room to the bath.
Facilities: Wi-Fi was fast and seamlessly easy to access. The small, but well-resourced gym on the 11th floor has a great (and pleasantly distracting) view out across St Mary’s Bay. Self-parking is available at St Matthews car park around the corner, for $39 a day. Bike parking is available on-site.
Food & drink: Arriving for an early bird dinner at The Forester Bar & Grill on level one of the hotel before meeting up with friends, I had my pick of the restaurant’s 80 seats; there was only one other table of diners and a guest enjoying a quiet drink at the adjoining bar. I decided the best seat in the house was one that faced the floor-to-ceiling windows allowing this solo diner to overlook the bustling Wellesley St as I leisurely read the menu which has clearly been designed for wide appeal. In the restaurant’s words they “focus on prime cuts of meat cooked on the grill and fresh fish sustainably sourced from local waters”. I ordered the hero dish: chargrilled NZ Angus Prime Beef Eye Fillet, dolloped generously with salsa verde and a smear of rich bearnaise sauce and accompanied with crunchy in the best way agria fries ($49). As a token gesture towards health, I also ordered a bowl of perfunctory broccoli ($9). I was having a hard time deciding between sticky date pudding or the coffee Kahlua tiramisu (both $18) for dessert but hadn’t actually left space for either.
Many of these crowd-friendly dishes are also available to order as part of the room service offering, and through the wee hours the restaurant delivers a selection of more fortifying fare (think pizza, toasted sandwiches and pasta).
Breakfast is served in the same room between 6.30 and 10.30am. The morning I managed to prise myself out of the plush bed in time to catch it, there was the choice of complimentary continental breakfast (cereals, fruits, juices, yoghurts, mini pastries, toast) or cooked brunch options from an a la carte menu. The chatty but not overbearing waitstaff let me know that there would be a full buffet the next day when they had more guests checked in. I appreciated the mindfulness around food waste and was more than satisfied by the novelty of pint-sized pain au chocolates which could be dunked into my long black, though suspected if I had any requests they’d be accommodated in a heartbeat. A kiosk cafe in the lobby offers lighter, grab-and-go options.
In the neighbourhood: Whether you’re staying for work or play, everything is a short jaunt from the airy lobby. Head out onto the street, make a left and in the very next block you’ll find all-day eating and drinking options at City Works Depot: start your day amongst Aucklanders over woodfired bagels at Best Ugly, brunch with a Korean bent at Chur Bae or venture a couple of blocks further for a perfect espresso at Allpress’ Browns Mill Roastery.
It’s five minutes the other way to the Elliot St eateries which are a local favourite spot to stop in and fuel up before a show at The Civic, Aotea Centre or Auckland Town Hall. A further five will find you at The Art Gallery. The Viaduct, Auckland’s waterfront and Ponsonby Rd are also within leg-stretching distance. Suffice it to say you’re in a bustling part of town. Management is understandably counting down the days until the International Convention Centre, directly across the road, is finally completed. When it is, business guests will be able to nip across the road to their morning session before their coffee has even kicked in.
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Family-friendly: The hotel offers both conjoining rooms and family rooms as well as having cots on hand for infants. A large stand of tourist pamphlets in the lobby offers plenty of inspiration for family outings.
Accessibility: There are nine accessible rooms in-house that feature roll-in and accessible showers, grab bars in the toilets, and lowered peepholes and thermostat controls. Elsewhere accessible features include braille in the lifts and public toilets, a step-free lobby with wide pathways and a lowered end of the lobby counter.
Sustainability: Full-size, refillable toiletries in the bathroom cut down on dinky single-use plastics. In the living room, a large bin with designated recycling slots makes sure the recycled glass Otakiri bottled waters don’t end up in landfill once you’ve used them. Guests staying more than one night are encouraged to hang a provided environmental card on their doors to opt out of a cleaning service, in return housekeeping will leave a $10 dining credit voucher in their room which can be redeemed at the restaurant or cafe during their stay.
Contact: grandchancellorhotels.com/hotel-grand-chancellor-auckland or email reservations_auckland@grandchancellorhotels.com
Some domestic regional flights have been affected.