SkyCity Grand in Auckland, New Zealand

Looking for an ideal hotel to use as your home base when in Auckland, New Zealand? Look at the skyline and head for the 1,076-foot SkyTower—the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Right across the street from the casino and hotel complex of SkyCity is the luxe SkyCity Grand hotel.

The 316 stylish rooms range from Luxury King and Twin rooms to the Grand Suite (which is the size of four Luxury rooms). Even the smallest rooms are spacious enough, and offer a separate bath and shower, plush bathrobes, in-room movies and tea/coffee-making facilities. Broadband Internet is available, but for an additional fee.

You may want to curl up in your room to sleep off the jet lag, but there’s time for that later. Get out and investigate the rest of the hotel, which includes plenty of ways to taste the many flavors of New Zealand: dine by Peter Gordon, The Grill by Sean Connolly, The Lobby and The Terrace. If that’s not a big enough selection, head across the street to SkyCity, and pick from an additional handful of tasty options.

Aside from pleasing your palate, get rid of your jet lag at the gym, or even better, the East Day Spa. After that, rest up in your room for a full day of fun in Auckland.

SkyCity Grand, +64-9-363-7000
90 Federal Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

Photo courtesy of Jill K. Robinson

More New Zealand-related information:
Sky Tower, Auckland, New Zealand

Bathroom of the economy "lodge rooms" at New Zealand's Huka Lodge

Do you imagine yourself vacationing with royalty and movie stars?  How about fishing along side one of the richest men in the world?

If you like your luxury mixed with star power, consider booking a stay at the Huka Lodge in Taupo, New Zealand. Located beside the Wairakei Park Reserve on New Zealand’s North Island, the Huka Lodge has played host to Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates and Kate Winslet. What attracts the mega rich and mega famous to the hotel?

Well, first of all, it’s more like a paradise retreat than a hotel. The Huka Lodge sits on 17 acres beside the Waikato River and has gone to great lengths to create a natural, soothing environment for guests.

Picture waterfalls, babbling brooks, and birds chirping in the trees. And if all that isn’t enough to soothe your senses, there’s always the tennis court, heated swimming pool, spa pools, petanque and croquet courts.
The property is set on 17 acres, but includes only 25 rooms, the most exclusive being two cottages set in the grounds.

Of course, you couldn’t have all this piece and quiet if you had to share your space with hundreds of other guests. Not to worry, the Huka Lodge maintains its exclusivity by offering only 25 rooms in total – 18 Lodge Rooms, one suite, the four-bedroom Owner’s Cottage and the two-bedroom Alan Pye Cottage.

Scenery at New Zealand's Huka Lodge

And how does one get to this exclusive and secluded paradise? You can certainly drive (or, let’s be honest, ride) to The Lodge. Driving by rental car or limousine takes about 3 hours from Auckland, 4.5 hours from Wellington and 1-hour from Rotorua. But if you’re in a hurry, helicopters are available from the same cities for a quarter of the travel time. Because – of course they are.

How much will a night at The Lodge set you back?  Surprisingly, not as much as you’d think.  A single room during the off season is only $1,095 per night – and that includes pre-dinner drinks, a five-course dinner, full country-style breakfast, use of all Lodge facilities and transfers to Taupo Airport. It’s practically budget pricing! Of course, if you want to upgrade to the Owner’s Cottage, prepare to shell out a little more than $8,000 (more if you bring extra guests).

Reservation information (and pictures to make you drool) can be found on The Huka Lodge website.

Photos courtesy of The Huka Lodge.

A gorgeous room at the Matua Gardens Resort in Southern New Zealand

If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, a trip to New Zealand is high on your list of dream trips. The glorious scenery that stood in for Middle Earth lures all kinds of traveling film buffs, from cape-wearing elf-lovers to Gortex-clad outdoorsy types ready to scale mountain peaks.

The people of New Zealand (a.k.a. “Kiwis”) are more than willing to show you around Rivendell, Anduin River and the Gardens of Isengard, all of which can be seen on a tour of the area around Wellington.

Places to stay near Wellington:

• Boutique: Museum Hotel – 165 room boutique hotel in central Wellington city, opposite the harbor and New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa
• Business-style: Brentwood Hotel – classic hotel lodge-style, with free wifi, airport shuttle, big meeting rooms (if you want to have an impromptu LOTR convention!
• Comfortable luxury: Bay Plaza Hotel – amazing harbor views and 24 hour room service says it all

For fans who dream of joining the equestrian Rohan clan, or just want to see the place in the Southern New Zealand Alps that became Edoras, the tour to take is the Lord of the Rings Edoras Tour.

Places to stay in Southern New Zealand:

• Budget: Base Christchurch Hostel – voted best location in the city, with a separate women-only area available
• Eco-friendly: Manaaki Eco Farmstay B&B, a farm complete with sheep!
• Luxury: Matua Garden Retreat, a boutique, 5 star retreat overlooking Robinsons Bay, Akaroa Harbour.

Of course, no LOTR pilgrimage to New Zealand will be complete without a stop by the Shire, courtesy of a Hobbiton Movie Tour. Set on the Alexander Farm in Northern New Zealand, many of the hobbit hole sets are still available for you to wander through.

Even better, you can stay on a farm in the area, the beautiful rural Matamata district, including dinner, bed and breakfast in true Kiwi style. The tour can pick you up and drop you off right at the doorstep of where you’re staying!

Photo: Matua Gardens Retreat website

Related: Road Tripping New Zealand Style; 90-Mile Beach, New Zealand.

When I backpacked around the world for six months in 2007 I stayed in scores of hotels, motels, hostels, and B&B’s ranging from five star resorts to real dumps, but my goal was always to find the best value for the money. The Windsor Hotel Bed and Breakfast in Christchurch, New Zealand was one of my very best finds and to this day is one of my favorite places.

The Windsor Hotel Bed and Breakfast

From the moment I stepped through the front door, every effort was made to ensure my stay was pleasant and comfortable. The hotel manager began with a personal tour of the entire facility. The Windsor is a cross between a traditional hotel and a hostel. The  guest rooms are lined up along one side of the long hallways, while separate washbasin, shower, bath, and toilet rooms line the opposite side of the halls. Sharing bathrooms can sometimes be uncomfortable, if not downright onerous, but in this case the  facilities were separate – some rooms contained toilets, others had only washbasins, while still others held only showers – and there were so many separate rooms that I never felt as if I was sharing. The rooms themselves are furnished with comfortable beds, Read More »