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bootiful wellington
Wellington is often referred to as New Zealand’s capital of cool. Chris Parvin visits one of the most liveable cities in the world.
Capital cities are all about culture, but in Wellington’s case that should
read ‘cultures’.
You want architecture? You’ve got it. Theatre? It’s everywhere. Museums? Yup. Sport? In spades. But then there’s natural history, world-leading innovation, sparkling nightlife, urban buzz, waterfront vistas, green space, retail offerings, bushland…all in a city the size of a pocket handkerchief.
Somehow, amid all those distractions, they manage to run the country from here too, so filling a few spare days is no problem at all.
HOTELS
Whether you want to live the high life or come down a few notches and spend the money you’ll save on attractions instead, Wellington’s got a pillow with your name on it, right next to the chocolate mint.
Starting around the top of the accommodation tree, the Bolton is one of the smartest five-star hotels in the capital.
The boutique property is sited on the corner of Bolton and Mowbray Streets – any more central and you’d be sitting in the prime minister’s morning latte – but luckily Parliament is close enough to throw things at, yet far enough away not to disturb you with its division bell.
The Bolton also has a class many strata beyond its namesake town in Lancashire, England, but none of the plummy trappings you might expect to go with its standing.
The staff long ago mastered that art of blending attentive service with discreet anonymity, all neatly packaged in a fine Kiwi delivery.
All the rooms seem hand-tooled to reflect every aspect of New Zealand culture without clutter or incongruity and yes, try describing it yourself after your stay and you’ll find yourself lapsing into five syllables with ease too, one for each star.
Hotel information:
boltonhotel.co.nz
Reservations: 64-4/472-9966
The InterContinental brand dials up a dozen news stories from international events over the last five decades but the quality that made them one of the world’s last names in accommodation hasn’t changed.
The Wellington version, in Grey Street, puts the harbour a hop, skip and a jump away, though that sort of thing might be frowned upon in a city of civil servants. There’s every chance your conference or meeting will have been held there but other than bum-snugglingly comfy seats and expansive runway boardroom tables, the well equipped spa and fitness centre mean you can hop, skip, jump (and primp) without ever leaving your base.
Hotel information:
intercontinental.com/wellington
Reservations: 64-4/472-2722
Wellington doesn’t muck about when progress finds the past in its way. Which is why the Museum Hotel, originally sited on land the city fathers needed for the national museum, Te Papa, simply had to be shifted. And what’s the obvious way to move 3,500 tonnes of stone building 120 metres? On rails, of course.
New Zealand’s largest ever building relocation, in 1993, may have been the world’s shortest commute, but it arrived refreshed enough that within five months it was open for the business of luxury accommodation.
It’s worth going to the website to read the history of the operation, but staying at the place is something rather special. Accommodation is beautifully appointed, the restaurant is enviable and the facilities are everything you’d have a right to demand in such a plum location. The property even boasts a few examples of that swiftly disappearing hotel specialty, adjoining rooms.
If you needed any more persuading, it’s also got a highly impressive collection of contemporary art and the restaurant’s called Hippopotamus. Case rested.
Hotel information:
museumhotel.co.nz
Reservations: 64-4/802-8900
This being a business break, and you possibly being in need of a spot of relaxation, and you also being the sort of person who finds that peace in books, has Wellington got the place for you?
Yes.
Booklovers, a downtown, upmarket bed-and-breakfast, can make you feel like an actor in one of those commercials about living the great life in the city. You know the scene; waking up on a sunny Sunday morning, stretching out your first yawn of the day before choosing a book from the kitchen and letting your imagination and the smell of coffee do the rest.
This is cultural accommodation at its finest and Wellington at its Wellingtoniest. Its calendar includes ‘Autobiographies Aloud’ evenings and the Booklovers garden gets rave reviews of its own.
Yeah, sure it’s a bit different from your five-star flash, but there’s nothing bohemian about the accommodation, the welcome and the fact you can even entertain your aunty with refreshments from the management.
Hotel information:
booklovers.co.nz
Reservations: 64-4/384-2714
SHOPPING
One of the great attractions about Wellington is its compact layout. For retail enthusiasts, it’s a dream setting with brand after brand and label after label hoving into view seemingly at every bend in the road.
Fashion is big business in New Zealand and the capital hosts designer stores from all the major Kiwi names, creatives who continue to make a splash in the world’s major couture centres, in numbers and close proximity in the centre of town.
In turn that means a feast for the eyes of even vicarious fashionistas as window displays stray from the ranks of the straight sell into the world of entertainment.
Window shopping will save you heaps of cash, luggage and packing but it’ll still leave you thinking you’ve had your money’s worth, and Cuba Street, off-Lambton Quay and College Street, will get you your first three fixes. By then you’ll be tuned into the grapevine to find the rest.
But you needn’t hit the high spots to go home with the Wellington look.
Vintage stores are big news in the city with ranges of everything from half-price Gucci to recycled retro. Hunters and Collectors and Most Wanted Vintage are great places to start.
For less hedonistic retail, Wellington souvenir shops climb well above the norm, as capital keepsakes should.
Kura Contemporary Ethnic Art Gallery on Allen Street is a mouthful to say but an eyeful you won’t get enough of in a hurry.
Cuba Street’s Iko Iko promises something for everybody and The Vault should definitely be unlocked during your visit to Plimmer Steps.
More wholesome, if not wholemeal, attractions are on sale at the weekends when the countryside goes all urban at farmers’ markets.
If you fancy foregoing that designer lunch or you’ve gone self-catering, or even if you just like wandering amid foodie smells, sights and sounds, you can sample New Zealand produce at its freshest and finest, and even get some great tips on how to prepare it.
City, Hill Street and Frank Kitts markets are all well established, as is the Harbourside version that comes with a big briny backdrop to add to the vibe.
FOOD
Before you even start thinking about dining in Wellington, you need to think about coffee because the café culture in this city is legendary.
If you’re a fan, scout the main roads and back streets with equal fervor to find something that appeals to your inner bean. If you come away disappointed it’ll be because you either haven’t tried hard enough or you’re impossible to please.
Otherwise the city’s main problem is the huge choice of eating and drinking places.
Naturally, in the libations stakes there are a few highlights. Backbencher, right opposite the Beehive (Parliament), is a wow, full of caricatures of politicians past and present, and some of the real thing too. Down by the sea, St John’s Heineken Hotel is the waterfront bar. Art Deco by design and comprehensive by nature, the beer selection alone is encyclopaedic.
While every city in the world has heaps of Irish pubs, Wellington has a Welsh one. Set in the middle of the road between Cambridge and Kent Terraces, it’s a new twist on the Celtic experience and after three or four pints you’ll sound like you’re speaking the native tongue.
Dining and Wellington go together. Not like love and marriage or anything. This relationship will last forever.
Logan and Brown on Cuba Street is one of the most sought-after seats in town since its owners and chefs started their TV cooking series around New Zealand some years back.
The food is incredible, the experience amazing, everything you’d expect.
Monsoon Poon is stop-traffic gorgeous multi-Asian cuisine on Blair Street; Sweet Mother’s Kitchen serves up authentic New Orleans specialties on Courtenay Place; the Deluxe Cafe offers a little taste of a deli-cafe in New York; hit Duke Carvell’s Swan Lane Emporium for Mediterranean delicacies…the list is endless and you certainly won’t go hungry.
GOLF
Being coastal, Wellington has some excellent natural terrain just begging to put golf courses on. Luckily, we Golf Vacations staff weren’t the first people to notice this and someone else has already done just that, more than 20 times.
But there’s more to the Wellington golf story than the very edge of the North Island, with country courses a short drive inland from the city too.
One of the main drawcards is Paraparaumu Beach, home to numerous New Zealand Opens and only 35 minutes by road from Wellington.
Sea weather plays its part on the exposed links and the fact this is no course for tenderfoots or tappers sorts out the rest of the men from the boys.
You’ll see Miramar Golf Club on final descent into Wellington International, which makes it pretty handy for visiting golfers.
The Graham Marsh design tames big hitters and only favours thinking golfers who bring a full range of shots, but there’ll be a huge welcome in the fabulous clubhouse, whatever happens.
For a great walk in the country, Judgeford, 25 minutes out of the CBD towards the Hutt Valley, is a great bet.
It climbs, it rambles, it plummets and it winds its way through lush countryside to the point that the fact it straddles State Highway 58 is neither here nor there.
This is one of the great treats of New Zealand golf – courses you can pull in to as soon as you notice them off the road, rent clubs, play a round and feel like you’re among friends the whole time.
A country course with country attitudes, Judgeford has no big clubhouse and no draconian committee, just a warm welcome and a great challenge.
Founded in 1895, Royal Wellington Golf Club deserves its place among the country’s most picturesque and historic courses.
Its Heretaunga base just north of the city is impeccable and could give you every reason to wish you’d packed a three-piece suit. But fear ye not, visitors are welcome – even though prior arrangements apply, but only because everyone wants to play there.
Wellington has some 20-plus courses in and around the city with a choice of styles and challenges to satisfy everybody.
Make sure you leave plenty of time, you might want to try them all.
For more information, visit wellingtonnz.com
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