Cordis Hotel, New Zealand

It is really quite easy to understand why anyone would pick the Cordis Hotel in Auckland for their wedding. This reinvented luxury hotel offers premium services and is very well known for this. All guests are treated like royalty; imagine how the bride and groom will feel being treated to such grand service, and their families too! During our stay we sneak into the Great Room, one of the largest pillarless ballrooms in New Zealand, where an Indian wedding is perfectly prepared. And our girls can’t stop themselves from making their own entrance on the white carpet.

Entering our suite, we are overwhelmed. Having just returned from a road trip through New Zealand, we are happy with any room with a big bed, but this room tops them all. We love the open, modern and elegant luxurious style. The beds are comfortable and everything is so clean. It conveys a sense of understated sophistication with a blend of warm woods, handcrafted furniture and quality textiles.

Executive rooms and suites offer exclusive Club privileges including daily breakfast, afternoon tea, evening drinks and canapés in the Club Lounge. This place is fantastic; your family really can relax here. And you can make yourself a good cappuccino at any time. The girls are surprised there’s always ice cream to be found, tempting! From 14.00 till 15:00 hours a selection of afternoon tea treats is offered and from 16:30 till 20:00 hours you are welcome to have pre-dinner drinks and canapés. Very nice with young kids who constantly need to have food.

Of course, such a hotel caters for all needs: business travelers, family functions or leisure getaways. The kids are welcomed with a backpack on arrival, with some treats in them. The next day they go for a fun scavenger hunt inside the hotel. And subject to availability, Cordis bean bags and family board games can be requested in Family Rooms. All good intentions aside, the girls are most happy with the big roof top pool. As for adults, the spa offers even more: a relaxation area, heated saunas, steam rooms, gym and Jacuzzi. This is all just awesome after a day full of activities.

On the lobby level, the ‘Eight Restaurant’ provides a buffet-style experience with international flavors from eight kitchens, each offering a different style of cuisine. The room is dominated by a giant chocolate fountain which makes it a perfect setting for breakfast for the children as well. The Lobby Lounge serves casual drinks, light meals, coffee catch ups and High Tea. Since we are looking forward to having an evening dinner with some of our lovely family members here, we take the kids to enjoy the Mary Poppins High Tea in the afternoon. Such a treat with an exquisite array of handcrafted sweets, pastries, and fluffy scones served on elegant fine bone china. The service is professional, attentive and thoughtful. And how ‘annoying’, as it is far too much for two tiny girls; so now we have to share some lasting memories of these delightful pastries as well.

A bit more about things to do: we visit the Auckland War Memorial Museum, telling the story of New Zealand, its place in the Pacific, and its people. It has pre-eminent Māori and Pacific collections, significant natural history resources and major social and military history collections. The Museum is also filled with examples of native birds, insects and plants, and with treasures created from native wood. Children can explore the living, natural world outside the Museum in the Auckland Domain by following an easy trail -where they can listen to birdsong, discover what creatures are hiding in the leaf litter, who is making pretty patterns on tree trunks, who is climbing waterfalls, and much more. On another Discovery trail, children can investigate and explore the fascinating creatures and curiosities of the Weird & Wonderful gallery.

Dressing up (gladly) at the Auckland Museum

Close to the museum, we discover great climbing trees in the park; if it was up to our kids, we could have spent hours here. There’s a number of activities to do in and around Auckland and we are sure the staff is happy to provide you all the details. Be prepared to choose from thrilling adventures such as an Eco zip line, a bungy plunge of the Harbors Bridge or easier: see the views from the Sky tower?

We love the free-to-use Handy smartphones with a built in Auckland city guide that are available in our room, which make it convenient for easy mobile roaming. We take t with us when going downtown, and while Menno is in a business meeting, the girls and Angela take the free shuttle to go shopping. Afterwards the phones make it very easy to call and find each other. On our way back, Menno decides to hire an electric step, a very popular way of transportation in Auckland. Both our kids would love to ride with him, but please note: don’t try this yourself since it’s prohibited.

No time left for us unfortunately, so maybe another visit; we are grateful for our stay here and already working on any excuse to return.

WOW

# The service is superb. And yes, it still has the Langham hospitality awarded with 5 stars. From the front of desk to the cleaning staff, each interaction during our stay was friendly and helpful.

# Absolutely delicious treats in the High Tea.

# The hotel is situated in a lively uptown area, within walking distance of Auckland's museum, galleries and retail scene.