[Auckland] Review: Cordis Hotel - A New Brand By Langham Group

Last week I had the chance to visit New Zealand for the first time with Hong Kong Airlines and the Langham Hospitality Group! I was in Auckland for 4 days and stayed at the brand new Cordis Hotel which had just been refurbished and rebranded from The Langham. Cordis is an upscale hotel brand under the Langham Group and there are plans to expand the existing hotel in Auckland into the largest in New Zealand by 2020. Various room types are available to meet different travelers' needs, and the room type I stayed in was the Executive Room. The Executive Rooms are actually the same size as the Standard Rooms but just located on the higher floors and with access to The Club Lounge (more on that later).

Rooms size is decent at 300 sq ft and the Signature Dream Bed is available as a King bed or 2 Twin beds. The decor is modern and chic with a white and grey color palette plus a splash of orange - the signature color of Cordis.

All rooms have a free-to-use ‘Handy’ smartphone which offers unlimited local and selected international calls, 4G data and more. Let's face it - most people need to be online 24/7 nowadays, so this is incredibly useful for international travelers!

The marbled bathroom comes with a combined bathtub and rain shower plus an assortment of basic amenities.

An electronic safe, iron and ironing board are provided in the room while there's ample space to put your luggage in the closet.

 

Complimentary water, coffee and tea are also available, and the mini bar has a nice selection of alcohol if you prefer fancier drinks. 

During my stay, I had the chance to try Langham's award-winning spa brand Chuan Spa once again! The signature massage therapies combine Traditional Chinese Massage techniques and blended oils to restore balance and harmony. Five types of oils are available with each corresponding to the 5 elements - Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. Based on aroma, I ended up choosing the Water one for my massage. After the therapy, I was presented with a customized drink and snacks to complete my session and was free to use the other spa facilities including sauna, herbal steam room and snail shower. My time at the Chuan Spa was super relaxing - my only complaint was that it was far too short!

For more wellness options, the gym is opened 24/7 and the outdoor pool is heated year-round to 27 degrees Celsius. I saw plenty of people in the pool even though it was winter time in New Zealand.

Cordis Auckland has two dining concepts that are open to the public. The first is the Lobby Lounge which is opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as afternoon tea.

On my first day, I had the luxury of enjoying the signature High Tea by Cordis in the Lobby Lounge right after my long flight from Hong Kong! The food comprised of an exquisite array of handcrafted sweets, pastries and scones with flavors inspired by New Zealand ingredients. You can top off the experience with tea chosen by the Tea Sommelier or - if you're like me - with a glass of champagne.

The other dining concept is the highly popular Eight Restaurant with 8 interactive kitchens serving a variety of international flavors including seafood, grilled meat, salads, Indian tandoor, sushi, dim sum, pasta and desserts! The restaurant is also opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I ended up having dinner here twice during my stay and the restaurant was pretty much packed each time with lots of celebrations going on.

New Zealand is known for its seafood so of course the seafood selection here was impressive! Not only was there a lot of variety, the quality was high and super fresh.

Besides fresh seafood, you can also have them grilled or steamed.

The pasta station was one of my favorites where you can customize your own pasta noodles and sauces.

Another favorite was the Indian tandoor - I loved the butter chicken here and they also had a chocolate naan that was surprisingly good!

The meat station has a wide selection with some that are not commonly found outside of Australia and New Zealand - namely kangaroo, alpaca and ostrich meat! And yes I tried all of them and kangaroo was my favorite of the three.

  

If you still have room for dessert, be sure to indulge in the chocolate fountain!

Besides the Lobby Lounge and Eight Restaurant, hotel guests with club lounge privileges can also dine at The Club Lounge located on the top floor. Opened from 7am-8pm, you can enjoy breakfast, afternoon tea and happy hour here in a more private and intimate setting. 

And of course you can always eat in your own room with room service! On the last day, I ordered the Continental Breakfast and I was pleasantly surprised when a toaster was provided - I have to say that there's nothing more satisfying than freshly toasted bread!

Thank you Cordis Hotel for the fabulous stay - I'll definitely be back when I come back to Auckland! Stay tuned for my blog posts on things to do in and around the city next!

*By Invitation 

Cordis Hotel
83 Symonds St, Grafton, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Tel: +64 9-379 5132
http://www.cordishotels.com/en/auckland/

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