SKYCITY Grand Hotel

The SKYCITY Grand Hotel is a luxury property accessed through an elegant entryway with a high awning and brass-hued rotating doors. The third-floor reception area is an elegant conglomeration of peach-colored marble floors and dark-wood paneling and trim, with large hanging lanterns and ceiling track lighting to complement floor-to-ceiling windows that let in a bit of street light on one end. The reception desk is a long section of veiny grey marble; macarons are on offer for guests to snack on as they check in. There's also a separate lobby with a long blue runner of carpet along with clusters of brown leather chairs for guests to lounge on. A fifth-floor skybridge connects the hotel to the SKYCITY Casino across a small alleyway. For a business-oriented hotel, there are surprisingly a lot of large scale, colorful art pieces that bring character to these spaces.

The hotel is non-smoking throughout the interiors, though there is a smoking deck with deck chairs and great views that's open 24 hours a day. The hotel is geared toward international and domestic visitors alike, most of whom are staying at the hotel for conferences and other events. However, the hotel does attract some long-term visitors and families with its self-contained serviced apartments complete with kitchens and washer/dryers. 

The SKYCITY Grand Hotel is right beneath the Sky City Tower, in Auckland's Central Business District (CBD), a few blocks west of Queen Street. It's across the street from a massage center, a hairdressers, a convenience store, and a branch of antipodean coffee shop chain Gloria Jeans. It's a 10-minute walk from the New Zealand Maritime Museum, Princes Wharf (which has ferries to nearby attractions such as Rangitoto Island) and Britomart, a transit center with lots of trendy restaurants. The expansive Auckland War Memorial Museum is a 15-minute drive or half-hour bus ride away, while getting to the airport takes around half an hour by car or about on hour on public transport, traffic permitting. 

The SKYCITY Grand offers 316 rooms in eight room types, ranging from Luxury City View Rooms with king or two twin configurations all the way up to opulent Grand Presidential Suites with panoramic harbor views. Decor and design schemes are fairly consistent across rooms, with minimalist light-wood and charcoal gray furnishings, black-and-white photo prints on the walls, and pops of color in the form of red throw cushions. Rooms have large floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on adjacent office buildings or out onto the cityscape. All rooms come with flat-screen TVs, minibars, air-conditioning, electric kettles for tea, capsule coffeemakers, iPod docks, safes, and blackout curtains. Bathrooms are large and contemporary, with lots of counter space, huge mirrors, hairdryers, bathrobes, and toiletries by luxury brand PURIRI.

The different types of Luxury Rooms share similar amenities and sizes. Superior King Suites have separate lounge areas and wet bars along with huge bathrooms with deep soaking tubs and separate glassed-in walk-in showers. Premium category rooms have been more recently upgraded. Premier Self Contained Suites are more like serviced apartments with fully equipped kitchens, washing machines, and dryers. Grand Presidential Suites have separate living areas with autumnal color schemes and funky floral patterned carpets, huge entertainment system, butlers' kitchens, and gorgeous light-grey marble bathrooms with large two-tap basins, soaking tubs, embedded flat-screen TVs, and separate walk-in showers with ceiling-mounted rainfall showerheads. Wheelchair accessible rooms are also available. Wi-Fi is free throughout. 

The SKYCITY is located in a part of Auckland with plenty of great restaurants (including a few in the Sky City Tower itself), and the hotel has three of its own excellent dining spots to choose from along with 24-hour room service. The Grill by Sean Connolly focuses on meats and seafoods sourced primarily from local New Zealand producers. Most of the dishes are centered around fish, lamb, or pork, although they do offer burgers and a number of various sides, plus a single vegetarian option. The restaurant is open for lunch on weekdays and dinner every day of the week, and reservations are recommended. Japanese food is the specialty at MASU Japanese Robata Restaurant and Bar, which offers sushi, sashimi, and grilled Japanese specialties at lunch and dinner throughout the week and into the weekend. Gusto at the Grand focuses on Italian food, with traditional main dishes along with pastas and small dishes. Breakfast is also served here buffet style and features Italian specialties along with continental mainstays (it is not included in the rate).

The on-site East Day Spa offers all types of treatments, from massages, body scrubs, and wraps, to facials, brow-tinting, and makeovers. In-room massages are also available. There's also a sauna and a spa pool along with a heated indoor lap pool with an adjacent whirlpool tub. The hotel's 24-hour fitness center is one of Auckland's larger in-hotel facilities and features a good range of cardio machines -- including a couple of treadmills -- plus free weights and resistance-training equipment. Personal trainers can be called in on request. 

The hotel has a number of event spaces and board rooms. Meals and cocktail hours can be organized by the hotel, and there's an outdoor section with views of the Sky Tower. There's also a business center, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. Other on-site amenities include babysitting, laundry service, currency exchange, and valet parking. The hotel also has its own fleet of chauffeur-driven Mercedes vehicles and can arrange airport transfers, but they are expensive.