Review: Park Hyatt Auckland hotel
Striking an excellent balance between relaxed and refined, Park Hyatt Auckland is a destination in its own right.
By Chris C., May 18 2021
Country
New Zealand
City
Auckland
Hotel
Park Hyatt
Notes
The Good
- Spacious, modern rooms with excellent harbour views
- Extensive food and beverage options
The Bad
- A short distance to the city centre: a consideration for some business travellers
X-Factor
- Whether visiting on business or leisure, you're sure to leave feeling relaxed
Introduction
Perched on the water's edge with 195 guestrooms and suites, Park Hyatt Auckland is a relatively new addition to the CBD's hotel landscape, opening its doors in September 2020.
Yet, it's far from a typical 'city hotel' – and with the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble now in full swing, NZ's first and only Park Hyatt is well worth a trans-Tasman trek.
Location & Impressions
Situated on Halsey Street, the hotel resides at the edge of Viaduct Harbour, at the north-west tip of Auckland's CBD.
This puts it within easy walking distance of attractions such as the New Zealand Maritime Museum and the ASB Waterfront Theatre.
Corporate offices for companies such as Air New Zealand, HP, IBM, KPMG and Microsoft are also close by along Halsey Street, although it's a longer hike (17 minutes to Sky Tower) or a quick Uber (<10 mins with traffic to the same) if heading towards the city centre.
Having opened in late 2020, the hotel is modern in every respect, with the open lobby providing a great first impression of the property.
Included in that, a light installation representing a pathway to the sea, as well as protection and strength – joining other Māori artworks throughout the property, and even a moat.
Being right on the water, there's plenty to explore on foot outside the bounds of the hotel.
When it's time to fly, allow at least 30 minutes by car to Auckland Airport – or longer during peak traffic.
For World of Hyatt members, Park Hyatt Auckland sits in Category 5, currently commanding 20,000 points for a standard night. A credit card surcharge applies to all guests, being 2% regardless of card type.
Room
With a variety of accommodation categories to choose from, the King Bed Harbour View with Balcony rooms at Park Hyatt Auckland allow for a perfect mix of business and leisure.
As the name suggests, water views can be enjoyed during the day and into the evenings.
Motorised shutters open to provide a clearer view, or close to keep any rain out: and your balcony dry.
Speaking of that balcony, it's a sizeable space complete with a table and chairs – and the view you enjoy may include a look back towards the city, where Auckland's Sky Tower is easily spotted.
Back to the room itself, and this innovative (and aptly nautical-styled) sofa and chaise is a comfortable place to sit, relax, dine, or work.
The added chair here was the most favourable for laptop work, with power points available at both ends of the sofa, as well as there being an HDMI connection for the TV at easy reach.
Speaking of the TV, Chromecast is built in and is easily set up over the hotel's WiFi, by keying in a quick pairing code on your own device.
Then, you're free to stream content from your own apps and subscriptions, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video – but do remember that other apps exclusively available in Australia, like Stan and Foxtel Go, won't work here: as of course, you're overseas.
Although the Chromecast had to be re-paired every 24 hours, playback worked flawlessly. The TV also sits on an arm, allowing it to be angled towards your spot on the sofa, or towards the bed.
The bedside offers more power points, as well as intuitive lighting controls. Wave your hand in front to wake the panel up, then either press quickly for a simple on/off, or press and hold to dim each light to your preferred setting.
Exploring the room further, there's a respectable walk-in closet offering hanging space, a shelf for your luggage, an iron and ironing board (plus another well-located power point), and a safe.
The entrance to your room offers a stylish entry table, again complete with power points – charging a phone here being an easy reminder to grab it on your way out.
Tucked into the drawers: a kettle and a Nespresso pod machine, being light enough to easily shift to that bench.
A full mini bar is also on-hand for any cravings.
There's a WC in a dedicated room next to your walk-in closet – but step through to the main bathroom, and you'll find it almost as large as the living space.
Providing a walk-in shower with Le Labo amenities, bathrobes, double sinks and a lighted mirror, there's plenty of space to get ready for the day or evening.
Add to that, a freestanding tub with a sturdy shelf: perfect for amenities, or even a glass of wine.
Like the room, the bathroom looks out towards the harbour view – but don't forget, that means there's a view into the bathroom too, including from your balcony.
This is, of course, why there's a motorised blind for the bathroom glass, controlled via the same dimmer panel as the bathroom lights.
Eat
Guests have no shortage of dining options at Park Hyatt Auckland, beginning with Onemata: the hotel's signature restaurant.
Serving breakfast every day – and at no charge for World of Hyatt Globalist members – a salmon Eggs Benedict was hard to look past while enjoying the water views.
À la carte breakfast is also served next door at The Living Room until midday every day.
If breakfast isn't included in your reservation (and you're not a Globalist guest), it's a great alternative, and one that's usually much quiet than Onemata.
The menu offers some pleasing variety, with this beet-cured salmon bagel – served with cream cheese, red onion, tomato, capers, leaves, and a chilled and seasoned soft-boiled egg – arriving well-presented, wonderfully flavourful, and reasonably priced at NZ$20 (A$18.60).
While Onemata opens for dinner five nights a week, The Living Room remains open for lunch and afternoon tea throughout the day, and then for dinner every night.
Venturing down for an evening meal, the grilled breads with salted buffalo curd and local olive oil were a great place to start, complemented by a glass of De La Terre B. Ferment Chardonnay from Hawkes Bay, on New Zealand's North Island.
With seafood heroed across a selection of small plates and salads, the larger courses lean more towards land staples such as a steak sandwich, beef burger, stir-fried noodles, and steak fried rice (plus the notable exception of fish and chips).
These aren't your only options, however, with the Kumara gnocchi being pillowy soft and served with a tasty lamb ragout, as well as goat's cheese, zucchini and pickled red onion.
For dessert, the raspberry and coconut 'chocolate bar' was an easy pick, topped with strawberries and cream, and a further rectangle of chocolate.
For lighter bites or quick 'grab and go' eats with fresh local coffee, The Pantry opens until 3pm daily, while Captain's Bar welcomes guests from 4pm-late Monday to Saturday.
There's a big focus on spirits and cocktails, with an off-menu Espresso Martini being a delicious treat after touching down from Australia.
The bar's tapas menu gives you the flexibility to enjoy a small snack or order several items to build a light meal, with the tropical prawn ceviche being wonderfully fresh, and the fish bites with tomato salsa a tasty and filling choice.
Relax
When you're not busy enjoying the comforts of your room, your balcony, or exploring all that Auckland has to offer, the hotel has your relaxation covered: beginning with a 25-metre infinity pool.
Separately, there's a Himalayan salt sauna, an aromatherapy steam room, and a hydrotherapy area with vitality pools.
On the same level, a well-equipped 24/7 gym split into two rooms, each tailored to different workout styles. In one, you'll find free weights, medicine balls, kettlebells, exercise balls, yoga mats, yoga balance trainers, and more.
In the other room, whole-body stations such as bench press and lat pull, paired with a good range of cardio equipment (out of view, being a popular with other guests during this visit).
The verdict
Park Hyatt Auckland strikes an excellent balance between relaxed and refined, delivering true five-star service from check-in to check-out.
But beyond that, the Park Hyatt effortlessly avoids the ostentatiousness that some higher-end hotels can exude, in favour of a calmer and more easy-going atmosphere to perfectly match its peaceful harbour surroundings.
Those preferring a city centre location may find Park Hyatt's address a slight drawback, yet with many major offices on the same street – and the rest of the city already in sight – it's a small compromise to make, in return for those stunning water views.
Nightly rates in June begin in the low-to-mid $300s (NZD), or in the region of $450-$500/night for King Bed Harbour View with Balcony. Highly recommended.
Chris Chamberlin was a guest of Park Hyatt Auckland.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
20 Oct 2017
Total posts 4
Chris- I think your negative about the distance of the Park Hyatt to offices a business traveller would visit is not accurate. ASB (Commonwealth Bank) NZ HQ is across the road, AirNZ, Fonterra, Kiwibank, most of the global tech company head offices are a couple blocks away as well as NZ's largest tech/incubator precinct. Many of the top NZ corporate HQs have moved from Albert St/Queen St over the last decade which is part of the reason Park Hyatt was built there plus its a short picturesque walk over the pedestrian bridge to new developments at Commercial Bay and Britomart. Put simply much of the northern part of the CBD where many older Auckland hotels are is not ideal for a business traveller to stay in anymore, plus there are a lot of vacancy and social issues there. The new Travelodge Wynyard Quarter close to the Park Hyatt has also opened recently to take on this demand many with stunning harbour and Rangitoto Island views and the Sofitel and new QT Auckland is nearby too. No doubt there will be other top hotels opening down this way over the next decade.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
Many of those offices (and others) were name-checked in the review as being within easy walking distance: the slight downside of the location being for those needing to visit offices further into the city itself, and preferring the convenience of proximity - especially if they'll be heading to the same place every day.
Do keep in mind, we don't write for travellers who work in one specific industry only (e.g. banking or tech), and our content reflects the reality that some guests will find this location perfect for their own plans, and others would see it as a slight downside: and again, that's covered in the review.
Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles
16 Oct 2017
Total posts 157
I'm a fan of Park Hyatt and have stayed at many. The review from Chris is very helpful. From the photos it looks like this PH is one of the best hotels in Auckland, but perhaps not quite up to PH standards found overseas in terms of the physical property. Of course exemplary service is a watchword at PH hotels around the world and I'm looking forward to, hopefully, enjoying that soon at PH Auckland.
SilkAir - KrisFlyer
28 Mar 2017
Total posts 17
Thank you for the comprehensive review. I was prompted to redeem points for a Harbour suite over three nights. At 40,000 points per suite, I am a happy person! The amenities look appropriate for a PH but what Auckland needed was a gorgeous hotel pool.
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