If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (NZD518.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Style
Pop art deco
Setting
High Street's fashion hub
Explore
In the heart of Auckland’s CBD, deluxe Hotel DeBrett is delightfully art deco, imparting the solidity of the era but with an abundance of warmth, vibrant modern design, pampering touches and a smattering of Kiwi-kitsch collectables. With a seductive bar and fashion- and art-filled laneways to explore nearby, it's a sexy sensory indulgence.
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A welcome drink each
25, including 15 suites.
11am but late check out on request based on availability. Check-in, 2pm.
Rates include breakfast.
There are accessibility points for guests with reduced mobility.
Free WiFi throughout, private dining and meeting rooms. In rooms: a flatscreen TV, tea- and coffee-making facilities and a minibar stocked with regional treats.
Each room has its own configuration as well as artworks, antiques, collectables, retro and custom-made furniture, and Kiwi kitsch to guarantee individuality. For even more unique appeal, Loft Suites 2.3 and 2.4 sport spiral staircases just begging for a flirty cocktail dress and heels to swish down them. Room 1.7 is sexy and snug for young, party-going couples.
If your wardrobe is in need of a makeover, bring an extra bag for the fashion booty you’ll be buying in the surrounding streets and laneways. Some of NZ's most cutting-edge labels are yours for the taking.
Just off the restaurant, the hotels Lounge bathed in natural light from a soaring glass roofed atrium, is a laid-back spot to read or relax with a drink, courtesy of the café service that runs throughout the day.
A ready supply of free cots and rooms with sofa-beds for under-12s mean children are very welcome. A paid babysitter can be arranged with a day's notice.
A ready supply of free cots, extra sofa-beds for under-12s and toys mean children are very welcome here. A babysitter can be arranged with a day's notice, fees apply.
Any age, but older kids will enjoy the buzzy urban location.
The Deluxe and Loft Suites are all designed with families in mind – the bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms and the living rooms come with double sofabeds.
Like all major cities, there's plenty to occupy kids of all ages. There are many great beaches around the city, as well as ferry tours to seaside Devonport on the North Shore or nearby islands such as Waiheke. Daily dolphin swimming tours leave from Viaduct Harbour, which older kids will love.
Children are welcome in the restaurant whenever it’s open, the kitchen is also happy to cater to specific needs on request. High chairs are available.
Given 24 hours' notice, the hotel can arrange babysitting for an extra charge.
The hotel can provide cots at no extra charge.
Extra sofa-beds for children under 12s can be added to rooms for free; for over-12s there's a charge of NZ$50 a night.
For maximum romantic glam, book the table beneath the chandelier. Private dining can be arranged for groups of 6 to 32.
When staying in High Street, wear something from this fashion precinct – a charming number from Karen Walker or Kate Sylvester, perhaps, or a vintage dress from Tango.
DeBretts Kitchen specializes in contemporary New Zealand cuisine, serving seasonal menus that showcase the best of the local produce. The restaurant is bathed in natural light that floods through the soaring glass-roofed atrium, bouncing off the copper-topped tables. Every weekend, the space is transformed into a jazz joint when the Roaring 20's High Tea shimmies in, complete with prohibition cocktails and faux pearls.
During its big-hair Eighties heyday, small but sassy Housebar became a local icon. It has since dropped the shoulder pads and red lipstick and is now dressed in slick, cool-blue hues – and it’s still smoking as the city’s best. The drinks menu pays homage to the hotels historical past, with classically inspired cocktails mixed with precision and care.
Breakfast is from 7am to 12pm; lunch is 12pm to 3pm; dinner is served from 5.30pm and the bar is open late.
Contemporary Kiwi cuisine and updated classics, such as hand-cut fries with aioli and champagne ham and cheddar toasted sandwiches, are available 24 hours a day.
Hotel DeBrett is located in central Auckland, within easy walking distance of Viaduct Harbour, the city’s fashion precinct and Auckland Art Gallery.
Auckland Airport is serviced by many major global airlines including Air New Zealand, Qantas, British Airways, Emirates, Pacific Blue, American Airlines and United Airlines.
The Britomart Train Station is located just 200m from Hotel DeBrett, with services connecting Auckland and Wellington. Check out Rail New Zealand for trains to and from Auckland or for local travel options consult Auckland Regional Transport.
The drive from Auckland Airport to the city centre takes approximately 45 minutes. A taxi will cost in the vicinity of NZ$80. There are also various shuttle services and the Airbus Express, which leaves the terminal every 15 minutes for the Auckland CBD.
New Zealand's finest fashion is well represented in the Britomart area, a two-minute walk away. International NZ names include Zambesi, Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester and World, which has strikingly designed separate women's, men's and beauty stores. Lesser known but definitely worth visiting are Helen Cherry, Knuefermann, and Moochi. There’s also a host of shops selling kooky clothes imported from Asia. Gentlemen are also serviced by Zambesi and outfitters including Crane Brothers and 3 Wise Men, near the hotel. There are plenty of casual, streetwear options as well. Untouched World is loved by international travellers for its luxurious range of organic cotton and merino casual wear.
If you're in need of a good read Unity Books, at 19 High Street, is a sussed local store, or for 'terrific Pacific' gifts, quirky Kiwiana and local crafts pieces, don't miss Pauanesia at 35 High Street.
For its modest population, New Zealand has a considerable output of quality art. There’s a concentration of galleries within easy walking distance of the hotel – download the map to Auckland City Walk of Art. If you feel like window shopping only, visit the Auckland Art Gallery, which includes a small but stylish café.
Fancy some fresh air? You're just a short stroll from Auckland Harbour, hub for ferry rides to nearby islands including vineyard-strewn Waiheke and volcano-toting Rangitoto. Take in the view from the city's iconic Sky Tower, also a quick hop from the hotel.
A few minutes’ walk from the hotel, Hugo's Bistro serves an enticing menu of reconfigured European classics, drawing inspiration from across the continent. Award-winning Indian eatery Cassia is helmed by famed chef Sid Sahrawat, who turns out flavoursome and innovative dishes that are made with first-rate local produce. Venture a little further into the Britomart and you'll find Ebisu, where classic Japanese and European cooking techniques are combined to create an outstanding mix of new-wave sushi and sashimi (with a few Japanese classics thrown in for the old-schoolers).
Pollen is perfect for your morning caffeine fix, but you might end up staying to sample their artfully-decorated chia seed waffles or hearty open omelette.
Like dumplings? You'll love Xuxu on Galway Street & Commerce Street, Britomart.
Albert Einstein said, ‘things should be made simpler, but not simple’. The new owners of the historic Hotel DeBrett have taken Einstein’s wise words and applied them to this revamped art deco haven in downtown Auckland’s glitziest shopping quarter.
I’m immediately struck by a stripy custom-made carpet that is as colourful as a candy bar, yet is toned down by its minimalist surroundings. A spectacular and inventive chandelier crowning the central atrium is fashioned from vintage light fittings recycled from the DeBrett’s previous incarnations and sums up the hotel’s bold old-meets-new aesthetic.
Climb two flights of stairs, or take the copper-domed lift if you prefer, and the designer touches continue as we’re swiped into room 2.7, as if accessing a safe in a sci-fi movie. As we enter our top-tier Loft Suite it occurs to me that it’s bigger than our former London apartment. I am taken aback by the glamorous wardrobes – his and hers – panelled on four sides with antique glass. Mr Smith, on the other hand, is much more impressed by the two televisions, one in the dining area and the other in the bedroom. All his Christmases have come at once. While the lamp-lit bedroom and its wrinkle-free bed are inviting, hunger takes over and within minutes we change from work to dinner attire with a relieved sigh, as heels convert to flats and the weekend begins.
Cool yet cosy, the Kitchen Restaurant is a winning feature of Hotel DeBrett. Its L-shaped eating area consumes a New York loft-style atrium with a rustic, brick interior, an open kitchen and an inviting fireplace in an adjoining sofa-strewn space (ideal for an apéritif). At an affordable NZ$15, why not start with a glass of Moët on a Friday night? A striking Russian waitress pours our bubbly, before a friendly Spanish waiter interrupts our appreciative murmurs to take our food order. As a vegetarian, usually it’s an uninspiring choice between risotto or ravioli. But the DeBrett’s seasonal menu seduces with shiitake mushroom custard surrounded by lemon gnocchi, artichokes and caramelised chestnuts: a mouth-watering flavour to savour.
Feeling slightly oversized and very much in need of a lie down, our prayers are answered when we discover the guests-only Drawing Room. I laze on a 1970s two-seater, pop an old vinyl LP onto the retro record player, pour a drink from the honesty bar and use the free Apple computer to do some research for tomorrow’s adventures.
The DeBrett boasts an enviable location in the heart of Auckland. You might think that being so central the noise would be chronic but no, sirens outside are merely mute flashing lights. A stone’s throw from the waters of Waitemata Harbour, the theatre is only a minute’s walk away and the hotel nestles among chic cafés, galleries and fashion shops (including Kiwi stars Karen Walker and Kate Sylvester).
So, predictably, tomorrow brings a whole lot of trouble: one too many shopping bags, a few too many flat white coffees, and a whole lot less left in the pocket. ‘What else can a girl do when surrounded by such designer talent?’ I ask Mr Smith, who diplomatically doesn’t attempt an answer. We top off the day with a cocktail in the DeBrett’s intimate, wood-lined Housebar, another spot we love, before Mr Smith and I retire to the bedroom to explore the theory of relativity.
Price per night from $322.20
