Cordis Auckland
The line between a vibrant art gallery and urban hotel are blurred at the refreshed Cordis Auckland.
The lines are blurring between what is a hotel and what is a gallery, such is the abundance of hostelries spruiking their art collections. So, is the tableau of two gentlemen in the foyer of Cordis Auckland one of guests resting after a fine breakfast, or is it art? All over the city, posters have been heralding a Gilbert and George short-run exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery, and here they are, in trademark tweed. They sit impassively, eyes closed, heads bowed. Given it’s the London duo’s signature practice to feature themselves in their award-winning works of social commentary, this may well be a living installation.
They’re perched beneath traditional art, Phthalo Blue by Auckland painter Amanda Gruenwald, one of nine New Zealand artists commissioned by Cordis Auckland to produce 49 pieces to adorn its new Pinnacle Tower. The tower adds 244 premium guestrooms to the landmark property on the elevated fringe of Auckland’s CBD, making the now 640-room hotel, the first Cordis outside China, the largest in the country.
Guests are welcomed at the main entrance by Sanne Mestrom’s voluptuous bronze Holding Up The Sky, Ika-roa. An ika-roa is the mother of the stars, and Mestrom has two more here, in the Chairman Suite and the Club Lounge.
Meanwhile, a cube of granite in the colonnade linking the old hotel with the tower is the jagged peaks of city buildings rising from the earth, aka Invisible City by Joe Sheehan.
A dozen weavers worked on Ki Mua, Ki Muri, slate panels behind the reception and concierge desks into which they’ve worked fibres of pingao and kiekie. In a ritual of handing over the completed site to Cordis, the Ngati Whatua Orakei tribe blessed this piece, as they did each guestroom in the 17-storey tower.
The most arresting subset of works is the lightboxes at each floor’s lift lobby, representing the world in its strata, rising from the earth-bound on low floors up through water (ocean), fire (volcanoes and other mountains) and into air (clouds). All are by Korean-born local Jae Hoon Lee, who blended multiple photographic frames to create each inspiring image. Twice-weekly tours of the art are free to house guests and the public.
I’m in the clouds in Hoon Lee’s world, on level 16, in an Executive category chamber generously allocated somewhere between 31 and 35sq m; the curve of the tower doesn’t allow for uniform sizes, but even entry-level rooms start at about 28sq m. With so much artistic curiosity in the public spaces, and the dramatic panorama of Auckland’s CBD, harbour and islands beyond, the decor has been set at neutral. There’s loads of storage, and an ample bathroom with full-size tub.
Also on the tower’s north face are higher echelons of luxury, starting with nine Executive suites featuring balconies and kitchens. But these are dwarfed by the Chairman Suite on the top level, 252sq m of splendour. You could spend all day just following the sun through the floor-to-ceiling glass, from the vast ensuite with freestanding tub to the plush bedroom and generous lounge. By late afternoon, cocktail in hand beside the fire pit on the balcony, watch the sun set behind the harbour bridge, before hosting an indulgent dinner at the 10-seat table as the lights of Auckland twinkle below.
The tower includes the Club Lounge, an enclave for guests in Executive-grade rooms and above. It’s open for breakfast, light lunches, afternoon tea and cocktails, while snacks, ice cream and beverages are available 24/7.
The Pinnacle Tower completes a substantial revamp of the hotel proper, built as a Sheraton in the 1980s before being taken over by Langham in 2005. In 2017, it moved under Langham’s companion Cordis umbrella to make use of its family-friendly scale and plethora of event spaces, which now total 18.
The first renewal was an expansion of its restaurant Eight, so called for the number of cuisine stations within the set-up. It’s not a buffet per se, although you help yourself to salads, charcuterie, excellent sushi and sashimi, and the dessert table. Let’s call it self-degustation, because at certain stations chefs will cook various choices on the spot. This, says executive chef Volke Macerek, lets guests sample things they might not commit to in an a la carte setting, such as huge sea snails, or any number of exotic meats for a mixed grill of, say, alpaca, wild tahr, ostrich and white chocolate and coffee chicken sausages.
Lighter meals are available in the Chandelier Lounge, but its main attraction is daily High Tea. A three-tiered tower arrives groaning with sweet and savoury items, matched with TWG teas and maybe a glass of Louis Roederer. There’s the expected, such as salmon gravlax and perfect ham ribbon sandwiches, and a cucumber sandwich augmented with pea and goat’s cheese. Then there’s carrot pannacotta, a truffle brie tartlet with hazelnuts, and a triumphant pumpkin St Honore.
Cordis Auckland calls its new bar Our Land Is Alive, as it pours only drinks from NZ.
“Gin is our star,” says barman Mark Goeschel, preparing a martini with Little Biddy Black Label, a licorice-forward gin from a tiny South Island distillery. “It was challenging to make a bar that showcases this lovely country,” Goeschel says. “You couldn’t have done it five years ago; there weren’t enough NZ spirits.”
Many Cordis and Langham hotels apply the Chuan Spa philosophy, based on the five elements and traditional Chinese medicine, and I like the look of Executive Indulgence for the hands, feet and scalp. But therapist Kate believes my face is in greater need, and what follows is an hour of most soothing TLC, ending with my solemn promise not to undo her good work by neglecting to moisturise daily.
One extra feature of Pinnacle Tower only certain guests will experience is the VIP Foyer, a discreet entrance for those Bidens, Jaggers and Dylans requiring a direct connection to the Chairman Suite.
Gilbert and George, however, are happy to mix it with us mortals, providing proof of life at an adjoining breakfast table in Eight before reinstalling themselves on the sofa, Cordis Auckland’s artists in resplendence.
In the know
Rooms start at $NZ249 ($223); Executive Rooms with Club benefits from $NZ474, and suites from $NZ799. The Chairman Suite is approximately $NZ4249 a night. There’s a free
hourly shuttle down to the Auckland waterfront.
Jeremy Bourke was a guest of Cordis Auckland.