Sofitel Wellington

Sofitel Wellington opened on 17 August 2016 inside a stripped-back and extended office block on Bolton Street, the first new luxury hotel to open in the New Zealand capital in over fifteen years. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key opened the NZD 51 million, 129-room property — the third Sofitel to open in the country, after Auckland and Queenstown.

The place

Sofitel Wellington sits at 11 Bolton Street, at the point where the capital's Lambton Quay business district gives way to the Parliamentary precinct and the start of Tinakori Road into Thorndon. The Wellington Cable Car terminus and the Botanic Garden sit a short walk uphill, while Parliament, the Beehive and the government ministries clustered around Pipitea are within a few minutes on foot in the other direction — a location that trades the harbour frontage of the CBD's waterfront hotels for proximity to the seat of government and one of the city's better green spaces.

The concept

The hotel occupies a former office building that local developer C.P. Group stripped back to its structure and extended with additional floors, as part of a NZD 51 million redevelopment. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key opened the finished hotel on 17 August 2016, which Accor billed at the time as the first new luxury hotel to open in Wellington in more than fifteen years and the group's third Sofitel in the country, after Auckland and Queenstown. Interior designer Brett Taylor of CDA Architects, who had also worked on Sofitel Queenstown, fitted out the 129 rooms and suites in a monochrome palette accented with yellow, aiming at a French-inflected five-star register rather than the corporate international style that otherwise dominates Wellington's upper hotel tier. Rooms carry Sofitel's standard MyBed bedding; the top tiers include a Prestige Suite and an Opera Suite with Club Sofitel lounge access.

Dining & wellness

Dining centres on Jardin Grill, an open-kitchen restaurant serving Manuka- and apple-wood-grilled dishes, paired with La Serre, a lounge bar built around New Zealand gins, wines and craft beer. A landscaped courtyard with a fire pit adds outdoor space that is rare among the city's central hotels, and Club Sofitel guests get a dedicated lounge with all-day refreshments, afternoon tea and evening canapés. A gym and three function rooms round out the amenities; there is no spa or pool.