Showing posts with label Accommodation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accommodation. Show all posts

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Best Western President Hotel - Auckland City

By Dexanix at Multi Tasking Mummy


Photo from Google Images
Our Family went up to Auckland for a couple of nights this weekend. I had front row tickets to the Designer Selection Fashion Show and NZ Fashion Week (oooerrrrr!)

We mulled it over for ages, then decided that even though hotel stays with an 8 month old teething baby and an almost 3 year old boy are rarely ever relaxing, we never get to go away, so we thought we would stay in a hotel for 2 nights, and make the most of it.
Photo from Google Images
After trawling Wotif.com for what seemed like hours, I chose the deal at Best Western President hotel on Victoria Street in Auckland City. The deal they had was $129 a night for a King Size bed and buffet breakfast daily for 2 people. I'm a big fan of Hotel breakfasts, so this was pretty exciting. Parking was $20 a night which brought our 2 night stay up to basically $300, so a big outing for a family who never goes anywhere!

Anyway, we arrived there on Friday afternoon and got checked in. I had seen photos on the website, it looked like a nice place, but sometimes appearances can be deceiving. I had a horrible feeling we were going to be let down, especially since their rating on Wotif was a self rated 3 stars.
Well, my worries were quickly proved wrong. It was a lovely hotel, all staff that we encountered were great, the room was bigger than we expected, had a view of The Atrium on Elliott, and the buffet breakfast was AWESOME. 
Nice bathroom
When we first arrived there was a problem with the air conditioning in our room, but we called Housekeeping and 2 staff members came up quickly and had it fixed straight away, and any staff we came into contact with throughout our stay were always lovely and more than helpful, and the very central location was perfect for us, and if we ever get to go away over night on our own, without the kids, that will probably be our choice of hotel.
The view from our Room

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Peppers on the Point, Rotorua

By Leonie at Kiwi At Heart

Last month my daughter and I were fortunate to experience a ‘famil’ at the stunning Peppers on the Point Resort in Rotorua.


Peppers on the Point is an historic mansion, situated overlooking the beautiful Lake Rotorua and Mokioa Island, surrounded by 2.8 hectares of land.


Stunning is the only way to describe the idyllic surroundings of this most impressive resort.
The history of the resort is equally as impressive. Until 1994 this mansion was a family home and throughout the main building there are photos of the family (s) who lived there, and the home as it changed over the years.
Peppers on the Point is also very popular as a wedding venue for both New Zealanders and discerning International travellers.
The beautiful stone chapel overlooks the Lake and is the perfect, peaceful, romantic setting for saying those vows.


The grounds also have walkways and animals including Sam the Dog, some donkeys, miniature horses, alpaca and sheep – a total hit with children.



Accommodation
At Peppers, there are a number of different accommodation types to suit different experiences.
The mansion, has beautiful suites, including a disabled access suite.
There are two cottages on the property, complete with Jacuzzis, separate from the main house.
There is also a larger apartment, seperate to the main house, available for larger groups.
We were fortunate to stay in a beautiful suite with twin queen size beds, a massive window overlooking the lake, a huge bathroom with underfloor heating and spa bath.




Other facilities
Peppers has a large wine cellar, a large room to serve as a lunch venue for those wishing to book a function, spa treatments available.
They also have a libray with books and dvds, which was a favourite place for my daughter.

Food
I think the thing that wowed us the most at Peppers, aside from the attentive, friendly staff, was the amazing food.
As a person with Coeliacs and food allergies to dairy and eggs, it is always a challenge to eat out .
The chefs at Peppers went above and beyond to cater for my food requirements.
We started off our dinner experience with drinks and canapés in the lounge, in front of a roaring fire, an intimate setting with only a few other guests.

The canapés themselves were an experience of incredible taste!
For dinner we were seated at our own table, as were the two other sets of guests. Peppers does have a large dining table for bigger groups but we were impressed by the intimacy created by being able to dine on our own.
The table service was incredible. We were waited on hand and foot by highly professional and friendly staff.
Our four course meal started with a beautiful Tomato and Fennel soup,
 followed by an entree of scallops. The main was fresh New Zealand Schnapper and the dessert a beautiful sorbet.
My daughter declared it the best meal she had ever eaten (in all her 10 years!) and I had to agree! It was divine! And better still, it catered for all my food requirements.
A big thumbs up to Peppers on their exquisite food!!

Breakfast was also a delicious experience and we felt pampered and attended to.

Peppers is definitely a place I would recommend for a number of reasons. For a romantic getaway it ticks all the boxes, for a family experience where your children are treated as important guests too, it is perfect.
The setting is beautiful, the food is exquisite, the staff are professional and friendly.
It is the PERFECT getaway.

http://www.peppersonthepoint.co.nz/