A Home That's Better Than Home

Viva indulges in a staycation in the luxuriously eye-catching Grand Deluxe rooms at the SKYCITY Grand hotel

With the summer holidays receding in the rear-view mirror, more than once we’ve caught ourselves scrolling wistfully through pictures of blue-watered tropical island resorts on Instagram and dreaming of hopping on a flight somewhere exotic. But we’ve discovered that a relaxing and photogenic mini-break can be found much closer to home than a five-hour flight (and without the same strain on the wallet).

Part of the fun of taking a mini-break in your own city is doing all the things that you know you can do, but never make time for when you’re at home. But when you’re checked into the air-conditioned comfort of a hotel room, where there are no household chores calling to be done, you’ve got all the time in the world.

The first thing we did after arriving in our Grand Deluxe room, was throw ourselves down on the new smoke-grey couch scattered with plump, colourful velvet cushions with a pile of magazines to flick through. The couch and cushions are part of a fresh colour scheme inspired by the centrepiece of the room — a circular rug with a striking floral print designed by Dutch wunderkind Marcel Wanders for Moooi Carpets.

Other elements in the rooms — the copper cone lamp in the corner, the botanical Euro pillows and charcoal bed throws in the bedroom and the round gold-andgranite coffee table in the suites — take their design cues from the rug, which, as The Dude from the Big Lebowski would approvingly say, “really ties the room together”. Along with the picture-window view across Auckland to the Waitakeres, the couch with a peep of the rug in the background makes a perfect backdrop for a selfie to let your friends know you’ve taken a break for the weekend.

With one of the city’s finest dining precincts at the front door of the hotel, we had to get dressed up for dinner, starting with a long, Puriri-infused soak in the deep bath (and an aperitif glass of champagne). After getting ready while enveloped in the knitted Bemboka robes, we headed out under the twinkling lights of Federal St for a night that began with oysters at Depot and ended with cocktails at Bellota.

Sensibly downing a couple of pre-sleep glasses of water from the new smoked-glass water tumblers in the bathroom, we collapsed into the softness of the King Koil bed. These beds are so comfortable that guests have been known to want to take them home with them as a permanent reminder of their holiday — and fortunately you can, if you ask about it at check-out. We didn’t, but only because we’re already planning our next visit.