new zealand travel

A Night At The Museum...Hotel

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art

Upon my arrival in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, I was met by the Corporate Cab driver. After he picked up my luggage, he said, " You are going to The Museum Hotel?" I said that was correct. He then asked, " Have you been there before?" I said I hadn't. He then said, " Well, you will have in interesting time with all that ART."

It was the way he said ART that made me ask, " What do you mean?"

" Well' he said as we drove, " It is a unusual collection. Not ART as usually defined by many people. You'll see what I mean. Like, for example, he has a MOTORCYCLE in the lobby!"

Oh well, I thought, should I tell the Corporate Cab driver about a young entrepreneur I interviewed last year who had a 1950s Porsche lifted onto the mantelpiece of his new condo because he so enjoyed the clean lines of this great work of art? No, I figured I would just remain circumspect, and contemplate the hotel's history.

The Museum Hotel, owned by Chris Parkin, is one of the top ten art hotels in the world, according to Yahoo. It lies near the harbor in Wellington, NZ, and is across the street from the world renowned Te Papa Museum, dedicated to the history, art, and life of the Maori people. But the Museum Hotel was named prior to the Te Papa Museum being built. It was, in fact on the exact spot that the Te Papa was built. In 1993-4, Chris had the Museum Hotel MOVED across the street, a major engineering project, so the Te Papa could be built where it is today. But, where it was and where it is now, The Museum Hotel is a living repository for Chris's evolving and growing art collection.

Gallery: The Museum Hotel, New Zealand

Tags: museum hotel, new zealand, new zealand art, new zealand travel

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In Harmony: New Zealand And Emerging Luxury Travel Trends, Part 1

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

In my recent Luxist articles,The Dawn Of A New Economy, and Is The Recession Over?, I have discussed a multiplicity of luxury trends, derived from the Luxury Summit discussions and research, and from the American Affluence Center Research, Spring 2010. These new trends suggest changes in high end spending and saving, redefining what is newly important to consumers. Such changes have been enhanced by the recession that has at best lightly touched and at worst deeply affected both the aspirational and inspirational high net worth populations. Much of this research suggests changes in purchasing attitudes that range from a more conspicuous to a more conscious consumption, allowing for less artifice and more authenticity, less presumption and more purpose, less spending and more investing – all in material and experience that mean more than just acquiring more stuff.

Within the past year also, a greater interest has emerged in high end, authentic adventure travel, multi -generational family travel, and all with a greater eco-sensitive outlook. These luxury travel trends correspond, and indeed harmonize with high end travel offerings found in New Zealand, the youngest, least populated (still more sheep than people, 16 million sheep, 4 million people), and arguably one of the most unspoiled, green, eco-sensitive and adventurous and adventuresome country left in the world.

Tags: adventure travel, adventuretravel, air new zealand, christchurch, george hotel, laffluent reserach, maori, new zealand, New Zealand affluent travel, new zealand travel, remarkables mountain, treetops, TreetopsLodge