The Westin Auckland

In January 2005, the former Sheraton Hotel and Towers Auckland became the Langham Hotel and a member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing construct. It marked the withdrawal of Starwood Hotels from the New Zealand market, the contract to operate the Sheraton Rotorua having already been relinquished some time earlier.

Two and a half years later however, in June 2007, Starwood returned with the opening of the ultra-modern, purpose-built, waterfront Westin Auckland Lighter Quay, which is now itself playing host to the pre-opening office of the forthcoming Westin Queenstown, in South Island. It would appear that something of a Starwood renaissance has begun in this corner of Asia Pacific.

Prior to our arrival, the hotel staff had already proved on-the-ball, picking up on the fact that two reservations had been made in my name, and politely checking that there hadn’t been an unintentional duplication. The General Manager of the Sheraton in Perth subsequently made contact with Auckland too, and a further pre-arrival email landed from another most helpful of Westin staff members. Indeed, by that point, a third booking had been made to accommodate the final member of our travelling troupe, who would be joining us in New Zealand, and our delightful Westin contact amended the latter booking to match the rate and amenities of the first two, organised adjacent rooms for us and booked a table for dinner in the hotel’s Q restaurant.

The only less than perfect arrangement, therefore, would be rolling up at the Hotel’s lobby in the lean, green, mean machine…..

The hotel is named after the dock basin alongside which it sits, a maritime development that failed in its aspiration to provide an efficient landing facility for cargoes brought into the Waitemata Harbour by bulk shipping, and then shuttled ashore using smaller, ‘lighter’ vessels.

It was an idea that had been successfully used in London but, in early 20^th Century Auckland, it failed to gain traction with the shipping lines, who boycotted it and demanded instead that the main wharves of the harbour be dredged sufficiently to allow their increasingly large vessels to berth without requirement for trans-shipment.

Lighter Quay was therefore one of the last parts of the original harbour basin to be developed, one of the first to be abandoned and then, again, one of the last in the immediate environs to be redeveloped as part of the 2000 Americas Cup-inspired regeneration of the wider Viaduct Basin area.

The 172-bedroomed Westin is arguably the corner-stone of this mixed-use commercial, leisure and residential redevelopment and it sits well within its surroundings – a modern and light-filled building, whose boundaries merge indistinctly into the adjacent apartment complexes which share an architectural theme.

It’s superbly easy to get to from the city’s motorway but, with little public parking in the vicinity, the hotel’s valet service is the most popular choice for arriving guests. For those who may have used an airport shuttle or taxi, there is also a near-permanent presence of private hire, executive-style cars on hand for those without a car to call their own.

Entering the lobby, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking internal courtyards with shallow, geometric, ornamental pools, the clear intention is to create an atmosphere of calm modernity, in that distinctly millennial Western interpretation of Zen.

Despite our by-now traditional crack-of-dawn arrival, and the horror of the door staff in having to valet park The Snot, the check-in staff were bright, smart and delighted to confirm that one of our rooms was ready already – and that as the others were prepared, they’d let us know.

Within minutes, they’d also summoned up a wheelchair for GCC’s use.

The Harbour View rooms continued the theme of light-filled modernity from the public spaces downstairs. Different again from the grande-luxe of a St Regis or an earthy-toned Sheraton, these rooms are high-ceilinged with vast drapes and contrasting light and dark soft furnishings.

The entrance lobby to the room plays host to a wet bar with sink and cafetiere, the rooms themselves outfitted with the Westin Heavenly Bed and large LCD TV, and the bathrooms laid out in complimentary colour-scheme with a separate shower and deep bath.

From the shallow balcony, accessed through sliding doors and, indeed, from any part of the room, the view sweeps around the Lighter Basin, over the radar domes of million-dollar motor cruisers, up to the iconic Sky Tower and out towards the North Shore of Auckland City.

When the need arises though, that view can be comprehensively obliterated by excellent black-out curtains, and the beds certainly live up to their Heavenly branding. They had to, as by this point I’d developed a riotous headache, and complete darkness and bed were both my only and essential requirements.

Four hours later, and with a cranium that felt as though it had been scrubbed out with a rock and lots of sand, but no more like red hot pokers were being driven into it, I emerged into the sunshine again. Summoning the Falcon from the embarrassed valet, I headed back to the airport to collect our next guest, inbound from Sydney on Air New Zealand (concise report: no absent emergency exit sign, but similarly unimpressive service), who’ll from hereon in be known as NeighbourContinentalclub, or NCC.

Drawing up at the lobby entrance again, the staff had clearly agreed a military-style operation to remove the Ford Snot from the forecourt with remarkable rapidity, and we were met with doors and boot being opened with the parking brake barely yet applied, and us being ushered inside with enthusiasm.

The Snot was gone in seconds.

The second room had been prepared before I left and NCC’s was ready and waiting when we arrived back from the airport. Time for a chat and coffee in her room, before we headed down to the lobby lounge to meet with other friends and family for a late afternoon drink.

The bar service, emanating from the restaurant to one side, was friendly and efficient and another member of staff appeared to offer assistance in re-arranging furniture to accommodate the burgeoning throng.

The Viaduct Harbour area of Auckland isn’t short of dining options, but it had seemed like a sensible idea to book the hotel’s own restaurant for dinner, on the basis of a) convenience, b) hotel restaurants tending to be quite spacious and therefore conducive to family gatherings and c) good reviews.

Q turned out to be far better than merely an acceptable compromise; in fact, it was quite superb – albeit with no obvious gadgets or gizmos, Bonds or baddies.

The restaurant itself is internally clad in Mexican onyx marble, which is lit from behind to stunning effect:

Individual dining areas are translucently demarked by hanging curtains of fine chainlink and those floor-to-ceiling windows wrap around the u-shaped space which itself surrounds the partially open kitchen.

The bar at the entrance to Q is rather small though, so we were quickly taken to our table, which looked out through the drawn-back doors on to the terrace outside, the marina and the Sky Tower.

Service from the French Maitre d’ and indeed all the staff, but especially a young Scottish waiter, was both friendly and professional. At first glance, the menu plays to the traditional strengths of New Zealand’s culinary stalwarts, but closer inspection and description from the knowledgeable staff reveals both creativity and imagination has been applied.

Amongst the party, the selections covered the menu fairly comprehensively and all were declared absolutely superb, which is quite a feat when playing to a multinational audience of three generations and a vegetarian.

The 2006 Syrah, from Craggy Range by the Tukituki River over on the East coast of New Zealand’s North Island, was an absolutely superb choice and was washed down well by all present. With delicious breads and amuse bouches to kick things off, and the twinkling lights of Auckland’s skyline to draw the evening to a close, it was a fine, fine place to dine together.

The Westin’s beds might have been Heavenly in their cosseting of their sated occupants overnight, but it was the devil’s own job to drag us from in the morning and prepare for yet another voyage – this time across the Hauraki Gulf by boat.

First though, Q welcomed us back for breakfast, which offered a good selection of buffet items from a presentation at that far end of the room where we had dined the previous evening, as well as an a la carte menu choice.

The restaurant, transformed from the atmospheric moodiness of the glowing marble the night before, was now light, bright and buzzing with both residents and non-residents preparing to begin their day. Indeed, tables were set up just outside the restaurant to the rear of the lobby quadrangle, such was the demand. The only less than wholly-positive observation that could be made throughout the breakfast service was that the provision of tea and coffee could have been slightly more prompt; staff were delighted to offer cappuccinos and lattes et al to order, but the express provision of heart-starter filter (which is so often craved) would be the icing on the cake.

Checking out of The Westin was the only unpleasant experience of the entire stay, and then only because it marked the end of it. The next beds upon which we would lay our heads were to be at a private rental property, the risks and uncertainties of which threw Starwood’s underlying consistency into sharp relief. Wholly different to the styles of either its Sheraton or St Regis cousins, this Auckland outpost had proved itself a slick but welcoming, stylish but comfortable haven for our first night in New Zealand. It augurs very well indeed for the Queenstown property when it launches, in March 2010.

It was a shame too that so few of the hotel's facilities had been enjoyed; the sophisticated gym, the stylish pool and the spa all went untested given the time available on this single-night stay.

The checkout process itself was swift and the accounts accurate; the staff as smart and courteous as everyone else we’d come into contact with. The queue for the small hotel café, Toast, was out of the door as we finally pulled away from the hotel forecourt, the door staff smiling broadly as they saw the back of The Snot for the last time.

Final Verdict for the Westin Auckland: 9.0/10. A real shame that this was just a one-night stay and that there was not more time to explore the hotel’s range of facilities, including the stylish lap pool, gym and spa. However, and for all the reasons discussed – the staff, the architectural style, the fixtures, fittings, furnishings and Q Restaurant - the Westin is the perfect place in which to cool your heels after a long haul flight. For longer-term visitors to Auckland, it’s also ideally located to explore both the sights and sounds of the city, whilst being a calm retreat in which to rejuvenate between bouts of touristing.