Stay: SO Sofitel Auckland
Set to open in early 2018 in the heart of Auckland’s central business district, near the waterfront, designer boutiques and a myriad of restaurants and bars, the 130-room SO Sofitel Auckland will be the first SO Sofitel property to debut in the Pacific region and will occupy the old New Zealand Reserve Bank.
Guestrooms take inspiration from Auckland’s volcanic origins, with elements of liquid, vapor and solids incorporated into the rooms’ avant-garde design. Many of the hotel’s guestrooms offer sweeping views of Waitemata Harbour, while all Club rooms boast balconies and have access to Club Signature, which has its own al fresco terrace and bar. Additional amenities include the rooftop bar HI-SO, SO Spa, an indoor lap pool, and a SO Fit gym ensconced in the old bank vault. Call for rates. For more information, visit accorhotels.com.
Play: Scenic Helicopter Flights
Soar over New Zealand’s national parks, glaciers, mountains and lakes from the seat of a helicopter on one of The Helicopter Line’s scenic flightseeing tours. Available from five iconic locations— Mount Cook, Twizel, Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier and Queenstown—the tours mostly operate on AS350 Squirrel helicopters with an open cabin plan for optimal viewing.
On the 35-minute Alpine Scenic Flight from Twizel, for example, guests fly over the rugged Ben Ohau Mountain Range and into the towering Neumann Range before making a snow landing on the Glenmary Glacier for a picture-perfect photo-op. Rates start at $360 per adult; $252 per child for the Alpine Scenic Flight. For more information, visit helicopter.co.nz.
Stay: PurePods
These eco-friendly, free-standing glass accommodations provide guests with up-close and uninterrupted views of nature. Set in an open clearing on private farmland on the South Island, the four 1-room PurePods offer comfort, luxury and dramatic vistas without neighbors to guarantee complete privacy. Constructed almost entirely from glass with no carpet, curtains or ceiling, the PurePods are slightly elevated, giving guests the sensation that they are floating over the ground. The self-contained retreat runs on solar power, uses filtered rainwater, and has natural waste composting.
The PurePod stay is part of a New Zealand itinerary arranged by New Zealand travel experts New Zealand In Depth. Keep in mind there is no WiFi, TV or cellular signal in the PurePods, so make sure your clients are comfortable disconnecting from their devices. The stay includes dinner in guests’ PurePod and a breakfast basket in the morning. There are four PurePod locations: one near Little River on the Banks Peninsula; two overlooking the Kaikoura Mountain range; and the newest PurePod opened January 2017 in the hills above the Waipara wine region. Rates start at $225 pp per night. For more information, visit newzealand-indepth.co.uk/luxury-accommodation/banks-peninsula-accommodation/purepods.
Play: Hobbiton Movie Set
Visitors to the town of Matamata in the heart of the Waikato region on New Zealand’s North Island can step into the lush pastures of the Shire—featured in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies—at Hobbiton Movie Set. On the Hobbiton Movie Set tour, guests go on a fully guided Middle-earth adventure around the 12-acre set; past Hobbit Holes, the Mill and into the famous Green Dragon Inn, where they’ll be presented with a complimentary, exclusive Hobbit Southfarthing beverage. Along the way, guests’ escort will point out the most famous locations and explain how the movie magic was made.
Tours are known to sell-out well in advance so pre-booking is a must. Rates through March 31, 2018 start at $114 per adults (17+); $74.50 for youth (ages 9-16); and $35 for children (up to 8 years old). For more information, visit hobbitontours.com.
Stay: Park Hyatt Auckland
With plans to open in 2018, the Park Hyatt Auckland will be the first Park Hyatt hotel in New Zealand. Located on the eastern edge of Wynyard Quarter in a prime waterfront location on Auckland Harbour, the 7-story hotel will feature 195 guestrooms, food and beverage outlets, a spa, fitness center and an 82-ft. pool.
Park Hyatt Auckland is part of the Auckland Harbour major revitalization set to become world-class leisure, entertainment, culture, and dining destination. Call for rates. For more information, visit wynyard-quarter.co.nz/park-hyatt.
Play: White Water Rafting
Queenstown Rafting offers white water rafting adventures on Shotover River (grade 3-5 rapids) in historic Skippers Canyon, or on the gentler Kawarau River (grade 2-3 rapids), which includes drifting under the bungy bridge and rafting through Gibbston Valley.
Tours include Queenstown coach transfers, a safety and paddling technique briefing, wetsuits, booties, safety equipment, and a sauna and hot shower. Half-day Shotover and Kawarau rivers rafting is available year-round starting at $169 per adult. For the ultimate rafting experience, book your clients on the 3-day Landsborough Wilderness Experience, where guests can enjoy the remote outdoors in style with gourmet food and luxury camping as well as bush walking and paddling through grade 3-5 rapids interspersed with meandering scenic river flats. Rates start at $1,332 per adult, and include Queenstown to Wanaka coach transfers, a 2-night stay, all meals, wine and beer, a scenic flight into the Landsborough Valley, a safety and paddling technique briefing, guides, wetsuits, booties, and safety equipment. For more information, visit queenstownrafting.co.nz.
Stay: QT Museum Wellington
After undergoing a multi-million dollar makeover, Wellington’s new design-driven hotel, QT Museum Wellington (formerly the Museum Art Hotel), is now home to a curated collection of art in a stunning harborside location. The hotel features modern guestrooms ranging from spacious Junior Suites with harbor views and a private patio to the QT Executive Suite also with a private balcony overlooking Wellington Harbour, each with perks unique to the brand, such as night caps, emergency bow ties and other quirky amenities. For foodies, there’s a French-inspired Hippopotamus restaurant, a lobby lounge, and Hot Sauce a Japanese/Korean street food bar set to open this year. Rates start at $135.75 per night. For more information, visit qthotelsandresorts.com/wellington.
Play: Classic New Zealand Wine Trail
Visitors can taste their way through Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington and Marlborough on a 240-mile journey through some of New Zealand’s major wine producing regions. On the 4-day Classic New Zealand Wine Trail, guests will have the opportunity to taste and shop at more than 100 cellar doors, as well as a variety of vineyard restaurants and cafes. In Hawke’s Bay, guests can sip on robust Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In Wairarapa, Pinot Noir is the drink to order. Wellington, which is said to have more bars, restaurants and cafes per capita than New York, is ideal for foodies. Meanwhile, Marlborough is known for its top-notch Sauvignon Blanc.
While the main focus of the touring route is wine and food, the route also serves up a bevy of adventure and cultural offerings, such as wildlife viewing, forest hikes, fishing trips, visits to historic villages and artists’ studios, and live theater shows. For more information, visit wellingtonnz.com/classic-new-zealand-wine-trail.
Stay: Helena Bay Lodge
In our February onsite review Globetrotting: The Far North of New Zealand, travel advisor and Recommend columnist Susan Farewell recounted her time in Northland and The Bay of Islands where she found, as she puts it, “several unimaginably beautiful properties,” including Helena Bay Lodge, which opened last October. The stunning property overlooking Helena Bay and the South Pacific Ocean features five villa suites, accommodating a total of five couples at a time.
As Farewell narrates, “The main house and suites are filled with art that the owners have collected on their world travels, and highlight of any stay here are the meals. The Lodge has brought the Michelin-starred Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890 of Southern Italy here with chef Michele Martino at the helm.”
Rates through Sept. 30, 2017 start at $1,068 per night dbl in a Junior Suite; $1,860 per night dbl in a Villa Suite. For more information, visit helenabay.com. Click here to read the rest of Farewell’s onsite review and to learn about more accomodations in this part of New Zealand.
Play: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Visitors to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington can discover the rich history and stories of New Zealand through various exhibitions and artifacts. In addition to housing ancient treasures from the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, the museum features a Mana Whenua exhibition exploring the indigenous Maori people’s way of life and The Mixing Room exhibition, where guests can hear stories from over 70 young refugees in New Zealand told through art, film, poetry, performance, and new digital media. General admission to Te Papa is free. For more information, visit tepapa.govt.nz.
