Auckland's New Five-Star Park Hyatt Is Now Open

Feel like a staycation? New Zealand's first Park Hyatt is officially open for business and pleasure in a prime waterfront position. The 195-room, five-star hotel is Auckland's first major hotel opening for 2020. It arrives from Beijing-based investors Fu Wah and has been called a new benchmark for luxury hospitality in New Zealand.

Designers from Singapore firm ar+d, together with Bossley Architects and local iwi Ngāti Whātua, designed the seven-storey hotel to reflect a Māori wharenui (house). Guests are welcomed by an oversized waka, carved by Rotorua artist Lionel Grant, as well as site-specific light installation from Peata Larkin. Further, the exterior centres on the notion of a Māori cloak wrapping around the building, while the guest rooms feature traditional artworks and carvings, and custom-designed tukutuku panels and rugs.

Entry level guest rooms clock in at a spacious 47 square metres and overlook the Lighter Quay or Waitematā Harbour. The $10,000 per night Presidential Suite comes with its own internal garden and a rooftop terrace.

Elsewhere, the absolutely massive property features soaring atriums, a ceremonial garden and moat, a 25-metre infinity pool and a full fitness centre. The day spa comes equipped with a Himalayan salt sauna, an aromatherapy steam room and a tepid hydrotherapy pool.

Executive chef Brent Martin brings over 20 years of hospitality experience to the hotel's four dining options. Headline restaurant Onemata opens out onto Lighter Quay and spotlights produce by way of Big Glory Bay, Mahurangi and Clevedon. The opening menu lists pāua risotto, Te Mana lamb adobo, kaffir pastrami and broccoli with nori hokey pokey, bacon jam and buffalo yogurt. Diners can also create their own meal by choosing a protein, sauce and accompaniments. There's fresh snapper, wagyu bavette and grainfed tomahawk to be paired with kawakawa chimichurri, béarnaise and perhaps baby carrots in mānuka honey.

Visitors will also find relaxed grab-and-go cafe The Pantry; all-day dining venue The Living Room, which offers a-la-carte breakfast and a multi-course high tea service; and The Captain's Bar, a cosy venue specialising in fortified spirits and the home of activations like rum and chocolate tasting. The Waka rooftop bar will round out the offerings when it opens later in the year.

Park Hyatt is now open at 99 Halsey Street, Auckland CBD. Bookings ahead of 31 October, 2020 to stay before 31 December, 2020 will receive NZD$50 credit per night to spend onsite as well as a complimentary room upgrade.