Doors Open Today On New Zealand’s Newest Hotel

Doors Open Today On New Zealand’s Newest Hotel - The $80m Holiday Inn Wellington

Holiday Inn Wellington, the country’s newest hotel, opens its doors today heralding a new era in stylish accommodation for visitors to Wellington.

The 280-room hotel breaks the mould of mid-market hotels in the capital, offering well-designed, contemporary rooms, a stunning bar and restaurant and leisure facilities unmatched in the city – from just $175 per double room.

Holiday Inn Wellington General Manager Heather Idoine-Riley says: “This hotel will change people’s perceptions about staying in a Holiday Inn. We’re delighted the strong design philosophy that has driven this project has produced such a distinctive Wellington-style property.”

Located on Featherston Street , in the heart of the CBD, the hotel is Wellington’s largest and just a stone’s throw from the Beehive, the Westpac Stadium and waterfront.

Carefully designed to maximise the panoramic views from its 17 floors, there are sweeping views of the harbour, the city and hills from many rooms - a high proportion of which have balconies, an unusual feature in a Wellington hotel.

The hotel also features a 17 metre lap pool, a spa, cardio room and sauna – the only hotel in the city with this leisure combination.

The arrival of the Holiday Inn name in Wellington – one of the world’s strongest and most widely recognised hotel brands – will also help strengthen the city’s profile with international visitors who seek familiar leisure brands when travelling away from home.

As the first Holiday Inn in the North Island, and one of the most innovative Holiday Inns in Australasia, the property has been meticulously designed to offer stylish, relaxed comfort.

The brainchild of leading Auckland property company Melview Developments and one of the capital’s leading architectural firms, Studio Pacific Architecture, the hotel makes the most of its CBD site close to the harbour with angled vertical fins orientating most rooms to capture plenty of light and expansive views.

The 280 guest rooms range from standard rooms through to 19 suites and, at the top of the building, a presidential suite. All are furnished with luxurious fittings, bold contemporary fabrics and the deep, comfortable beds are smothered in pillows, cushions and throws.

Guest rooms offer fully equipped kitchenettes while distinctive glass-walled bathrooms enhance natural light. The higher grade rooms also offer LCD TV’s, and DVD players, together with a guest library of discs.

On the ground floor is Plate, a relaxed restaurant with strong hints of latin flavours, with one of New Zealand’s most interesting chefs, Sarah Ginella, at the helm. Opening onto an alfresco area – again unusual for a Wellington hotel – Plate is set to rapidly become one of the city’s foodie landmarks with its classic retro-chic interior and vibrant menu.

Ginella, a former head chef at Wellington’s Pravda and Auckland’s acclaimed Rocco restaurant, as well as running her own Ponsonby Road restaurant in Auckland, spent three years at some of London’s top restaurants. She brings an exciting blend of international cuisine to the capital with the emphasis on beautifully fresh, simply cooked food.

With the meetings and events market in mind, stretching across the second floor is a suite of four conference and meeting rooms, all with floor to ceiling windows flooding the area with natural light – another unusual feature in a central city hotel.

ENDS

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