New Zealand and Australia s most romantic hotels revealed
13 May, 2021 01:36 AM
4 minutes to read
Fiji dreaming: Tokoriki Island Resort in Nadi is the South Pacific s number 1 hotel. Photo / Supplied
Fiji dreaming: Tokoriki Island Resort in Nadi is the South Pacific s number 1 hotel. Photo / Supplied
NZ Herald
With a year of pent up demand a leading travel website has revealed the leading New Zealand hotels whose pages have attracted the most virtual visitors during 2020.
Trip Advisor has revealed the world s favourite places to stay as part of their annual Travellers Choice Awards.
A massive 42 Kiwi hotels featured across all categories in this year s Awards showing, while borders remain closed, the rest of the world is still dreaming of a New Zealand holiday.
12 of Melbourne s best private dining rooms for group bookings
Carrie Hutchinson
Photo: Supplied
Special occasions and long overdue catch-ups deserve a touch of class. And you re in luck because we ve rounded up 12 of Melbourne s best private dining rooms.
Melbourne seems to have come alive again. The streets are pumping on the weekend, but if you re catching up with a crowd your booking ducks need to be in a row. Two-hour seating times, limits on numbers inside venues and the dreaded end-of-evening bill can all make a fun time turn feral.
The solution: hire a private space in a favourite restaurant, gather loved ones and tell them this is how you re all rolling.
Shandelle Battersby/NZ House & Garden12:13, Apr 30 2021
Supplied
Hotel Fitzroy, Ponsonby, Auckland.
Immersing yourself in a vibrant inner-city neighbourhood and having an authentic local experience is the new luxury when it comes to travel and at one of Auckland’s newest hotels you can combine all of that with five-star comforts.
Hotel Fitzroy, by Fable, has just 10 suites – six in a beautifully restored heritage villa and four in the black-clad contemporary annex tucked behind it – just a few minutes’ walk from the Ponsonby Rd shopping and dining strip.
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THE ONE HOTEL
An extensive makeover of the Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour has cemented its position as Auckland s most luxurious digs. Overlooking Waitemata Harbour, the landmark hotel has timeless French flair with elaborate ceiling art, rich Louis XVI inspired furnishings, bold modernist sculptures and a new Club Millesime. Michelin starred chef Marc de Passorio has been brought in to oversee chic waterside eatery La Maree. See all.accor.com
THE ONE RETAIL STRIP
Auckland s answer to Melbourne s Chapel Street, Ponsonby is home to the city s superlative retail strip. Browse chic boutiques and concept stores such as Muse for international and local labels, Flotsam and Jetsam for vintage treasures and Curionoir s flagship store for handcrafted candles and essential parfums. Stop for coffee at Dizengoff and pop in to The Blue Breeze Inn for cocktails and pork buns. See iloveponsonby.co.nzcurionoir.com
Fitzroy’s latest three-storey venue to open is a Japanese-Italian concept by the brains behind Ichi Ni.
Hotel Fitzroy already housed Japanese-inspired restaurant Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya on the ground floor but has expanded to include a 150-seater modern Italian eatery, lounge and bar, Cappo Sociale, on the first level, and a rooftop bar on the second floor with meals and views of the city.
The building’s bones previously accommodated the Old Colonial Inn since its inception in 1854 and the team have worked towards bringing the venue back to life in a modern context.
Its public bar and outdoor dining area are set to open on the ground floor in mid-2021, but the venue also boasts five outdoor, weather-proof spaces and terraces, a salumi bar at Cappo, plus a bottle shop and pantry. You could practically live here if you needed to.