First look inside new Auckland 5-star Horizon by SkyCity hotel: knockout art, architecture, interior design
Walls of back-lighted 2cm-thick honey-coloured onyx tiles glowing gold in public areas and 2.4m pōhutukawa leaf shapes made of anodised aluminium floating to the glass atrium 12 levels above the cocktail bar are two of the unusual features of Auckland’s newest five-star hotel.
The visually striking curved 303-room Horizon by SkyCity built by Fletcher Construction at 85 Hobson St is due to open on Thursday.
Glenn Hallam, SkyCity director of development and integration and Michael Anderson, SkyCity Hotels Group director of hotel operations, took the Herald on a tour of the property which showcases some of our best artists and their new artwork, commissioned for the property.
Moller Architects and Warren and Mahoney designed the hotel and the hard fit-out including walls, reception, chef’s bar, Onxy Bar, flooring, ceilings, panelling and lift lobbies which are clad in Nordic brass.
Sophie Beever, design principal at Furnz Group, led the soft interior fitout including furniture and bedding design.
Natural stones, marble, wood and locally commissioned art are the main themes in this striking curvey building with such a sad history.
Hallam said the ground-floor reception-neighbouring Onyx Bar, which opens onto the exterior laneway, has a Waitākere Ranges theme: tropical upholstery fabrics, many large plants and wood feature strongly.
SkyCity Hotels is now New Zealand’s largest single-site accommodation provider: 938 rooms in three interconnected hotels on three street blocks.
Opening the 13-level Horizon behind TVNZ and between Nelson St and Hobson St was delayed for around five years because the hotel’s services were damaged in the devastating 2019 fire at the NZ International Convention Centre.
A glass airbridge (nicknamed Goliath) over Hobson St connects the hotel to SkyCity’s other properties. A second glass airbridge on the hotel’s upper level connects it to the NZICC.
The hotel’s porte cochere is on the lower ground floor beneath the Hobson-Nelson public laneway connecting the hotel to the NZICC. Vehicles enter that porte cochere off the one-way Nelson St near TVNZ 1, near the Victoria St intersection.
Three unusual porte cochere features:
Onyx Bar has relaxed and formal table seating. The new 140-seat The Grill restaurant has a public-facing galley-style kitchen and Hallam said the entire hotel could take up to 700 guests.
Features include an outdoor seating area with a waterfall wall, a loggia hearth and 12-seat marble-top table in its private dining with its own powder room and audiovisual screen.
Circular art by Jane Downes is on The Grill’s back wall: sculptural oxidised forms made from recycled steel sheets. Matteo Ugolini’s Moby Dick floating white lights take inspiration from the “land of the long white cloud” and are a reference to whales breaching.
The Grill by Sean Connolly was the now-shut restaurant fronting Federal St beneath the SkyCity Grand Hotel. Now, modern Indian restaurant Cassia headed by chef Sid Sahrawat trades from that space.
In what would appear to be somewhat of a homage to Connolly’s restaurant - also the subject of a television programme - SkyCity used part of the old name in its new hotel restaurant.
The hotel has a 24-hour reception and 24-hour gym.
Hallam says room rates range from $300/night up to around $1200/night.
Beds were manufactured on special commission by Auckland’s A. H. Beard of Wiri “and if you love the bed, you can have one delivered to your house”, Hallam said, citing a link between the hotel to the bed manufacturer, designed for appreciative guests.
Room 1230 is 59sq m and asking $300/night.
New Zealand goods in the minibar include Mrs Higgins Choc Chew, Mother Earth roasted and lightly salted cashews, Whittaker’s Super Peanut Slab, Whittaker’s Hokey Pokey Crunch and Serious Popcorn Sweet & Salty.
Drinks include Antipodes water, Absolute Vodka Panhead Supercharger, Heineken, Monteiths Cider and Peregrine Pinot Noir. Various flavours of Zealong tea are offered.
Elite harbour room 1202 looks towards the Auckland Harbour Bridge, is 29sq m with a king-sized bed, asking $500/night.
Horizon suite 1201 is 60sq m, has a reception entry area with a powder room, a lounge seating area, a California king bed and doors which open fully onto the bathroom with a stand-alone feature bath. The bed’s headboard fills the entire wall and is panelled in American oak ash with inserted cream leather panels.
Room service all-night dining menu (10pm-6am) offers pumpkin and maple soup with garlic bread ($25), 15 pieces of Szechuan chicken dumplings with coriander and pickled chillis ($37), truffle and parmesan fries with aioli ($16.50), a caesar salad ($29), club sandwich ($39), butter chicken ($36).
Dessert and cheese choices are also on offer.
Antipodes’ Glow Daily with Vitamin C, Kakadu Plum and Kiwi Seed Oil hand and body lotion is on offer in bathrooms along with its hand and body wash and Glow Daily soap. Black titanium marble features in bathrooms.
Craig Potton New Zealand, Te Hei Tiki by Dougal Austin, Across the Evening Sky by Bill Hammond, Mountains, Volcanoes, Coasts and Caves - origins of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Natural Wonders by Bruce W. Hayward and The Makers by Monique Hemmingson are books in rooms for guests to read while staying.
Tricks within hotel
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.