By Lyn Potter
Last week we made a mini escape to The Langham hotel in Auckland. At the end of a busy week, it was great to leave the lawns unmowed and the housework undone, pack just a small overnight bag and drive to our destination in under half an hour.
We arrived in the late afternoon, handed our car keys over to the valet service and entered The Langham's famous chandeliered lobby. Signing in was a breeze. We were give an enthusiastic tour of the facilities available to us as Club members before being shown to our elegant suite, suitably named Nirvana. It had an antique Asian ambience. From a corner recess a small stone Buddha statue looked serenely at us. The lounge was cozy, there was a king-sized bed in the bedroom, but the star was the bathroom. It had marble fittings, a deep spa bath, and a whole raft of toiletries each elegantly packed in its own pink cardboard box (The Langham's signature colour).
We chilled out for awhile in front of the flat screen TV before taking the lift to the elegantly furnished Langham Club Lounge, which overlooks the city’s rooftops. I fell in love with the velvety upholstery on their couches! We indulged in canapés and drinks.
Dinner was at the opulently draped Italian restaurant Barolo, which prides itself on using the freshest local ingredients - including home grown truffles.
The waitress was charming and knowledgeable, and the lighting dim enough to hide the wrinkles - but bright enough to see the delicious food on our plates. Before the meal a basket filled with a variety of breads arrived on the table unasked for which was a nice gesture.
We skipped the appetizer and went straight for the mains and a glass of Italian wine from the Barolo region. Even when bought by the glass, it is not cheap, but was the perfect match for the meal.
I love fish so I ordered the Pan-fried Hapuka fillet with macadamia nuts, sautéed zucchini, slow cooked vine tomatoes, parsley and basil. The sweet white fleshed fish contrasted well with the crunchiness of the nuts. The zucchini and vine tomatoes, basil and parsley were a tasty medley of vegetables and herbs.
My partner was keen to try the seared venison, pumpkin puree, rosemary and garlic baby vegetables with a cinnamon infused Dolcetto wine sauce. A more complicated dish but he assured me the venison was seared to just the right degree of doneness and the winey sauce had a pleasing depth of flavour.
We decided to share two sides, a creamy and smooth potato mash (which he loved) and a mesculin salad with walnuts and Montanaro aged goat cheese with a drizzle of balsamic (my favourite).
The desserts looked very tempting but we felt replete, so it was back to Nirvana where we filled the private spa to overflowing and soaked in a bathful of bubbles. Then it was onto a great nights’ sleep. We woke refreshed to find the Sunday paper had been delivered in a monogrammed bag.
Back up to the club again which was beginning to feel like a home a way from home. We leisurely indulged in a lavish Continental breakfast. On the way back down we stopped by to check out the outdoor heated swimming pool and Jacuzzi. A few other guests were already wallowing happily. It looked most inviting, but oh dear, we had forgotten to pack our togs!
We took a peep at the Chuan Spa, a unique Langham facility, where apparently you can have an amazing massage experience (I took a mental note that it would be the perfect place to have an indulgent girls’ night out!).
By then it was (unfortunately) time to go back to our busy lives. It had been a new kind of experience. Usually when we go away we spend as little time as possible in our accommodation and the rest exploring our surroundings, but we’re locals and know Auckland well so for a change a hotel had become our destination.
We'd really enjoyed being pampered in such a luxurious urban oasis, and realized we had made a great choice when last week The Langham was voted New Zealand's best hotel in the World Travel Awards.