Sky's The Limit

SkyCity Grand set the benchmark for five star hotels when it opened in New Zealand’s largest city. Nick Walton discovers the Grand continues to define luxury travel in Auckland over a decade later.

I remember it like it was yesterday, or so the adage goes; the opening party of the SkyCity Grand was the Auckland party to attend in 2005, with celebrities, politicians and yes, even All Blacks in attendance. The new hotel, the first truly luxurious house of slumber to open in the city in an age, was the talk of the town, and everyone, from captains of industry to lowly journalists, were clambering to book a staycation or reserve a table at one of the Grand’s restaurants. So, it’s comforting that, more than a decade late to the party, when I finally do arrive to check in, SkyCity Grand looks better than ever.

Nestled within a city block-sized complex that houses a casino, convention space, countless restaurants and bars, and a host of heart-stopping tourist attractions, all in the shadow of the city’s iconic 328-metre high Sky Tower, SkyCity Grand is what true five star hotels are supposed to be, a destination in of itself. In fact, the hotel has helped revitalise the whole neighbourhood, with Federal Street, a narrow pedestrian-friendly lane that bisects the complex, now one of the hottest dining enclaves in the country.