Why The voco Auckland City Is Perfect For Your Next Staycay
BY MAHI KUMAR
As winter approaches, we’re all looking for ways to keep ourselves entertained. Why not treat yourself to a staycay?
22 June 2023
voco is everything I love in a hotel; sexy, modern and luxurious.
Everyone is either heading off for a glitzy Euro summer or Bali for some much needed beach club relaxation. If you’re a North Island local like me though, you don’t have to look far for your own slice of holiday heaven that’s within close proximity.
The Voco Auckland City is an IHG Hotel that has just recently celebrated its first birthday, meaning that it is brand spanking new and well-designed with a modern interior. Nestled right in the prime real-estate of the Auckland CBD, it’s the perfect base for your Auckland based staycay. With the Sky Tower, SkyCity, Viaduct Harbour, Wynyard Quarter, Britomart and Commercial Bay all within walking distance, you’ll get an authentic experience of Auckland whilst simultaneously feeling like you’ve been transported into an international destination because of the quality of the hotel.
Voco is sophisticated and environment-friendly, offering refillable Antipodes bathroom products, filtered water, eco-friendly showers, 100% recycled quilt filling, compostable bags, cups and straws and has even won accolades for being a sustainable tourism business (it’s not all talk, girls - they care about the environment out here!).
So why do I think Voco is the perfect hotel for your next staycay?
The Amenities
It’s a lifestyle hotel with quality amenities at the tip of your fingers. Let’s not forget all the environmental aspects that I just mentioned but there’s more…
The hotel is a one-stop shop. You want to work out? The fitness centre has a section for free weights, exercise bikes and treadmills. You need to print some documents out? The business centre has you covered for all your business needs.
Voco also has a restaurant at the ground floor trattoria. The Italian restaurant called Mozzarella & Co serves breakfast from 6:30am to 10:30am daily and serves artisan fired pizzas and pastas all day for lunch and dinner. They have also just launched their new winter menu for lunch and dinner and there were some fancy and enticing ones in there for me. My recommendations are the Pesto Bucatini and the Prawn Fetuccine Alla Crema. So whether you’re after a bowl of bolognese or an iced black, you’re covered. Not to mention you can order french toast right up to your room - that’s a big winner for me.
The star of the show, however, is the rooftop bar called Bar Albert which is the highest rooftop bar in New Zealand. How incredible is it to have an inhouse rooftop bar? It’s giving New York, if you ask me. This was so phenomenal that I have a whole separate section on it.
Not to mention that if you forget literally anything, they will be there instantly, be it your toothbrush, hair straightener, nail clippers or anything of the sort.
Also, not strictly an “amenity” but the robes are so lush that you feel like you’re in holiday heaven lounging around in them.
Quality Rooms
The comfortable rooms offer the hallmark voco styling of beautiful dark blue and grey walls. The hotel is new and it feels it; being sleek yet spacious at the same time. I resonated with the interior of the rooms so much because It’s everything I like in an accommodation; functional and indulgent yet not excessive.
The grey tiled bathrooms are also gorgeous with large eco-friendly rain showers (and yes there’s room for two in there) and LED mirror lighting (a girl’s best friend…). The bathrooms are sexy. I know I keep using that word, but I don’t know how else to describe it. The dark grey tiling and frosted glass complimented by the accent lighting really sets the mood for it to be a sensual and relaxing ambiance.
The third best part about the rooms are that they have user-friendly media hubs for devices and smart TVs with Chromecast functionality. This means you can cast Netflix or Disney+ straight from your phone to your smart TV, making it easy for you to pick right back up on that episode that you left off at home!
My second favourite feature of the rooms are the beds. They are so soft that you can lay your head down and feel instantly sleepy. They’re the kind of beds that make you want to be snuggled up with the love of your life and lay there watching something - exactly what you want on a staycay.
The best part though are the views. I’ve stayed twice at voco on different levels and can confirm that regardless of what level you are on, you have unobstructed views of the Auckland harbour and the Skytower. To say that they are phenomenal views is an understatement, and the fact that it’s at your bedside while you lay in your bed is epic to say the least. That’s just during the day time too. This is the kind of place you can fall asleep with the love of your life to a lit up Auckland city. It really does romanticise Auckland because I felt so proud to be from here when I saw the gorgeous skyline illuminated in all her glory at 3:00am, with my equally gorgeous man by my side.
Bar Albert
Last, but not least….How incredible is it that a hotel has its own rooftop bar on level 38? Bar Albert should in and of itself be reason enough to stay at the voco. The rooftop bar is gorgeous and glamorous, which is exactly what you want and really transports me back to feeling like I'm at a Los Angeles rooftop bar like Cara Cara at the Proper Hotel, or EP & LP in West Hollywood.
It’s the perfect location to ask your friends to come visit you, or to zoom up to for some snacks and drinks after a long day.
The venue is predominantly indoor with full 360 degree unobstructed Auckland views, sleek brown-wooden interior and brown leather couches that feel classy and sophisticated. The outdoor area is smaller, but provides sunset views in a more intimate and sleek setting. The decor of the bar is Art Deco, making it streamlined and simple yet beautiful in an unostentatious way.
Undeniably, the view from Bar Albert is phenomenal (especially the loo - if you’re a female, go to the loo closest to the windows!).
The snacks here are also divine. We ended up ordering 4 sets of half a dozen oysters because they were so delicious. You also can’t go wrong with their pumpkin and goat’s cheese arancini and the duck fat roasted potatoes (which are a generous portion).
The cocktails here are right up my alley as they have an array of gin & tonic options (and gin is my spirit of choice) so you can catch me devouring the entire signature G&T menu, particularly the Stranger & Sons which has ginger and curry leaves in it! The cocktail list also takes it up a notch for creativity with every cocktail named after one of Auckland’s well known streets. My favourite is “Chancery Street” which has tequila and mezcal with apple and citrus notes. We tried an array of tequila based cocktails, glasses of bubbles and beers, so it’s safe to say that they have a wide range of drinks at your disposal.
My thoughts:
All in all, run, don't walk to book your stay at the voco. The voco provides an indulgent and sophisticated accommodation experience. You can entertain yourself all day (and night) in the hotel, but if you do want to explore, the prime location makes all of Auckland’s hot spots easily accessible. So do yourself a favour and book that stay!
RELATED STORIES
GIVEAWAY
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to Chatty Chum's mailing list to receive the latest in beauty and lifestyle news, giveaways and the launch of our Editor's Collection boxes.