New voco adds to Queenstown's myriad hotel options

 

Queenstown’s hotel scene has a new option with opening of voco Queenstown. 

The new hotel is billed as "a warm alpine escape with a Mediterranean kitchen, fireside cocktails and a welcome that feels more like arriving at a friend's place than checking into a hotel".

The 227-room voco Queenstown hotel opened its doors last month, marking a complete revamp of the former Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown into IHG Hotels & Resorts' premium voco brand, led by owner, developer and asset manager Pro-invest Group.

“We’re excited to offer visitors to Queenstown a hotel experience that is consistently thoughtful and distinct," says Jason Sabin, Connect Hospitality Portfolio general manager. 

"From the moment guests step inside the redesigned lobby, they will feel the voco difference. Our guest experience is built around the distinctive hallmarks of the voco brand – 'Come on in', 'Me time', and 'voco life,' brought to life through the resident host.” 

The voco Queenstown resident host will act as personal concierge, local guide and seamless connector, handling everything from ski locker logistics to dinner reservations. 

Great ideas - but hard to deliver. 

Anchoring the lobby of voco Queenstown is Mīharo, an artwork by Māori artist Cheree Te Orangaroa Downes. 

voco’s new restaurant and bar, Mozzarella & Co. aims to combine "a Mediterranean heart with a strong nod to the South Island". 

The show kitchen is open and centred around the all-day pizza oven while two outdoor lounge and terrace spaces draw guests outside to gather round the fire pits for a drink under the stars. 

The hotel's 227 rooms and suites have been refreshed by New Zealand interior design company Space Studios. 

Guests can expect plush bedding, aerated rain showers, plant-based Antipodes bathroom amenities, smart TVs with Chromecast, high-speed wifi, complimentary filtered water and a 24/7 room service menu. 

Eighteen suites feature high-tech Dyson hair dryers and hair straighteners, Marshall Bluetooth speakers, and a premium minibar offering of cocktail mixers and pod coffee. 

To celebrate the opening, voco Queenstown has partnered with The Bathhouse Group Queenstown to launch a two-night ‘Rest & Restore’ Opening Special package. 

The package includes a Mountain View Room with Sleep Glow pillow mist and pulse point essential oil amenities, a bottle of prosecco, daily breakfast at Mozzarella & Co. and a 90-minute Bathhouse session. from $NZ494 per night, minimum two-night stay. 

You can book directly at ihg.com or via the IHG One Rewards app. 

Dual hotels to open in downtown Melbourne

 

Melbourne is get a new dual hotel property over the next few months with the arrival of Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins and Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall.

The project has been eight years in the making and is part of a revitalisation of downtown Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall precinct and surrounding laneways.

The dual hotels will blend modern design with Melbourne's cultural heritage, incorporating the preserved historic Art Deco facades of Diamond House, Public Benefit Bootery, Allan's, and the York Building. 

Together, the new buildings will rise 10 storeys behind these façades above Bourke Street Mall, anchoring two distinctly different hotels.

Part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo is a boutique lifestyle brand inspired by the neighbourhoods it inhabits. 

"This project has been an opportunity to reimagine the way hotels activate the city," says Scott Hamilton, general manager of both properties. 

"By building upon heritage and layering in art, laneway references and design – the result is something that feels authentically Melbourne.”

Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins and Holiday Inn Bourke Street Mall will sit atop a newly designed Melbourne Walk retail precinct. 

Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins will have 179 rooms, while Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall will have 273 rooms with "a clean Scandinavian aesthetic". 

“This is more than just two hotels, it is a new chapter for Melbourne's city centre – one that reflects where the city is heading and celebrates where it's come from,” says Hamilton.

Bookings open now for stays from October 1. Holiday Inn rooms sill start from $239 per night and Hotel Indigo from $269. 

See Hotelindigo.com/melbourne and Holidayinn.com/melbourne