QT Auckland – Hotel Review

With its quirky design, award-winning restaurant and polished service, the 150-room QT Auckland makes an ideal stay for those looking for a buzzy city escape in New Zealand’s largest metropolis. Oh, and there’s a rooftop bar that might just be Auckland’s best-kept secret. Read on for the full review.

Where is QT Auckland?

Located in the Viaduct Harbour close to the CBD, the hotel is walking distance to everything downtown Auckland has to offer including reinvigorated historic precincts, harbourside eateries and designer shopping. Auckland airport is 25 kilometres or about 35 minutes away via cab or rideshare.

What’s near QT Auckland?

There are several dining precincts nearby including Viaduct Harbour, Britomart and Wynyard Quarter. The Commercial Bay shopping centre, about eight minutes’ walk away, has more than 60 boutiques by local and international designers as well as a high-end food hall. The stylish inner-city suburbs of Ponsonby and Herne Bay are approximately 10 minutes away by cab.

Room types

Following the lines of the curved building, there are nine different room types at the QT Auckland. Each room features bold interiors, mismatched furniture and designer details such as unusually shaped mirrors and hand-blown lava glass lamps. The stand-out rooms are the 45-square-metre QT Junior Suites which have a huge, freestanding designer bathtub. While many rooms have harbour and city views, only the QT Executive Balcony rooms have access to an outdoor space to take in the view.

Restaurants and bars

The celebrated ground-floor restaurant Esther is the brainchild of renowned chef Sean Connolly. Named after Connolly’s grandmother, Esther has a Mediterranean-inspired menu and is based around an open “country-style” kitchen which is led on a daily basis by executive chef James Laird. Esther is open for breakfast and dinner seven days (and lunch Wednesday-Friday.) It’s also popular with non-hotel guests so it’s best to book ahead. Just as appealing is a cocktail and tapas at the hotel’s partially-covered rooftop bar, which has views across the city skyline to the harbour.

Sustainability

The hotel has refillable water stations on each floor (there are no single-use water bottles) and there are plans for an EV charging station.

Accessibility

There are seven fully accessible rooms, accessible parking and all public areas can be accessed by wheelchair.

Travel for work

Although the QT Auckland is more suited to play than work there is free wi-fi, desks or tables that can be used as a workspace in most rooms and a small gym in the basement. There are also event spaces, meeting rooms and a private dining room perfect for relaxed, corporate get-togethers.

What you need to know

There’s a wonderfully layered design theme here. Keen observers will notice that designer Nic Graham took his inspiration from oysters and oyster farming, referenced in everything from the carpet in the hallways to the cage-like, stand-alone wardrobes in the guest rooms.

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