Best 5 star hotel in Auckland? Sofitel Auckland Viaduct

Most of the year 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, I wasn't able to travel and stay in an ALL group hotel, which means my points accumulated from 2019 will expire by December 2020. While I wish ALL would extend points expiry, I thought this is an opportunity to showcase some of the top hotels here in my home city Auckland, while coinciding it with a party I will be attending on the same night, making it a nice little getaway weekend for a year that hasn't really been smooth sailing.

I got in touch with Sofitel to see whether I can make use of this opportunity to showcase their hotel, and I manage to book a Luxury Room (complimentary 1 category upgrade from Superior Room). This is not a sponsorship, I have paid for this stay and any of my opinions will be unbias as I want my audience to be able to visit this property without an altered expectation.

Sofitel is one of 11 ALL's Luxury brands, while they do have a sister property in the same category located in central Auckland, this property is located by the viaduct. Auckland is also known as the city of sails, with one of the highest boats per capita in the world. While Auckland is not a stranger to 5 star hotels, the competition has just heated up with 2 brand new 5 star hotels opening late 2020. The first is Park Hyatt, with a slightly more unobstructed view of the viaduct and city skyline, while the second QT is located further inland without a fully clear view of the viaduct but you'll be able to if you're staying in their upper levels. Both hotels are fierce competitors, they have made a name for themselves with their own loyal customers, so when it comes to tourist who may be decisive, every detail count. Not to mention America's Cup will be hosting here in Auckland during March 2021, they will be expecting a large number of events, tourist and income. While the Covid pandemic is going to cause a large disruption for overseas tourist expecting to attend, domestic tourist and possibly Australian tourists will be heading here in big numbers since the beginning of the pandemic.

Sofitel Auckland isn't short of awards, since 2014 they have racked up an impressive 30 awards, from Hotels.com Top 100, to 3 near consecutive years of HM Best Hotel in New Zealand Award. As I start my journey for my 18 hours stay, I am expecting some exceptional services.

RENOVATION/DESIGN

The Sofitel Auckland Viaduct has undergone a major renovation in 2020, while they may not have predicted the Covid pandemic hitting and impacting their sales, their refurbishment will definitely be something that will make a difference between choosing their property or a competitor.

CLUB

Design with a taste of French, you will experience it from the moment you step through the entrance. If you are staying in a privilege room, you will be heading into their CLUB MILLÉSIME lounge to check in, and this is also where they serve their breakfast, afternoon tea and hor d'oeuvre (pre-dinner). Staying in one of their club room will grant you up to 2pm late check out as well (based on availability).

If you are an ALL Platinum or above member, you will be given access to the club automatically for any room category plus suite room upgrade (subject to availability).

RESTAURANT

LA MARÉE BY MARC DE PASSORIO restaurant is helmed by Michelin-starred chef Marc de Passorio, you can expect a true and exceptional French cuisine half way across the world.

FRENCH PRESS CAFE, as the name suggests, is where you can get your serve of pastries, baguettes, croquet-monsieur, crêpes and of course French coffee.

SABRAGE CHAMPAGNE BAR will be a stop for a social drink before or after dinner (or both). While I am not a big champagne drinker (nor can I afford it), I would highly assume that you can taste some of the top French champagne within this room.

SPA

SOFITEL SPA can help you relax with their high end French amenities and treatment options. While they have completed their renovations for a few months now, their spa is still undergoing some finalisation according to their website, however I have seen staff and customers inside so they may be open, you can call to check if you are interested.

PRE-ARRIVAL UPGRADE

I got an email from ALL a few days before arrival with the option of a discounted standby upgrade for the room, floor or/and breakfast.

You can get a confirmed upgrade to high floor room (level 6 is the highest) by paying an additional $26. While this may be worthwhile if you're staying during a busy season, at other time you may be able to score the high floor room without needing to pay.

Breakfast can be bought for $32, and you have a choice of going to the French Press Cafe or the La Maree restaurant. You can look at the breakfast menu I have posted in my breakfast section and decide whether it may be worth paying $32 or you can just walk in on the day and pay the price listed on the menu.

You can also see that they have an option to pay for a room upgrade. This room upgrade price is worth it especially when they charge more than $100 per night for the full rate. Do note that at times they do charge roughly the same price listed on their full rate, so you can decide whether the upgrade is worth paying for or not.

If you are an elite member of ALL (Gold or above), you may want to skip the high floor and room upgrade as you would have already gotten a complimentary upgrade (subject to availability).

CHECK IN

Walking in through the front door, you are in the centre of the property with front, left and right corridor. There is no visible signage to guide me (at least I didn't see any), so it took me a while to find their reception. They have cubicles throughout the left and right corridor, one of which houses their reception and the rest are lounge area. The design of the reception is very modern and luxurious, giving you a unique experience from the beginning. They have 3 separate desks with a small tablet for the staff to use, which I have never seen a hotel utilising modern technology as such. One of the desks is reserved for priority welcome which would be handy when there's a queue.

I asked the receptionist about their booking load, and apparently they are fairly busy during the weekend. This is a sign that many New Zealanders are travelling domestically to either utilise the cheap airfares that have been happening over the last couple of months or they are road tripping around the country to explore. Either way, this is a very positive sign of a good recovery from the lockdown and tourism industry is getting a decent boost from domestic tourists. While this is nowhere near pre-Covid levels, the lesser impact on the economy and jobs means people will be willing to spend more as well.

LUXURY ROOM

The Luxury Room is 45sqm in size, fairly decent given their Superior room (lowest category) is an industry standard 32sqm in size. The Superior and Luxury rooms are the only hotel rooms within the property, as the other 3 higher categories Junior, Deluxe and Opera are suites that feature a separate living room and bigger floor space.

Once you get through the door, there's a large mirror attached to the closet on the right side (or left depending on the room layout). The closet space is massive, even bigger than my own closet so you can unpack everything in there if you like to. On the opposite side (left side) is a bar area, a decent size bench where a small sink is attached, along with a coffee machine and plenty of cabinet space where they store their cups and glasses. A mini fridge is also in one of the cabinets, but there's only a few bottles of water in there and a box of long shelve milk. I am not sure if the water is free, so I didn't use those.

Continue into the room, you can find a decent size couch, which can comfortably fit 2 people, 3 with a tighter fit. A work desk can also be found here, equipped with an external international adapter for overseas plugs but unfortunately if you need more you will need to bring your own.

While the work desk is facing the balcony, the permanent wooden blind has obstructed the view to the outside. A glass sliding door next to it gives you access to the balcony, but there is no furniture placed outside so there are not many reasons to be out there apart from getting some fresh air and a limited view of the city skyline (you can get a better city view if your room is on the other side). The view of this room is towards the centre part of the property, as the property is built in a square layout with a large water feature in the centre. The ground floor (2nd level) units have some furniture placed on their balcony, I am assuming that may be one of their suites.

Further into the room, you can find the King size bed, which is large and comfortable for 2 people. There is a nightstand on each side, one house a phone and the other side a USB hub for charging electronics (they are not fast charging unfortunately), so they are better for overnight use.

Of course, they don't stop short of the French theme when it comes to the bathroom. Spoil yourself with Balmain French luxury amenities, bury your body in their deep soaking bathtub, or shower in a separate shower room. The extra large mirror right in front of the sink gives the bathroom a sense of spaciousness. There are several storage areas under and around the sink, where you can find a makeup mirror, bin, tissues, hair dryer and toiletries placed.

While I had a browse through their several categories of rooms, they all have the same design bathroom which is rather surprising as most hotels will opt for something a little more different for each category of room. Standardising the bathroom will not only save money for their renovation and designing, but you can experience the best even when staying at the lowest category room (or you can see it the other way, you are getting the worst in the best room). Nonetheless, even the worst is some of the best you are going to get in Auckland as floor space is golden.

They provide a Dyson hair dryer on all of their rooms, I have not used a Dyson product before but I do know how much hype the brand has (and how expensive they are). The hairdryer is definitely something much different to what I have ever used, and it is very quiet in comparison to a traditional hair dryer. It comes in a luxurious storage box and a manual inside for anyone who doesn't know how to operate it. A separate bag has additional accessories for the hair dryer if you need them.

The TV is one I have a mix feeling about. The large TV is awesome, as it has a built in Chromecast so you can cast your phone or laptop to the TV. There is just one problem, the placement of the TV is anything but practical/logical. The TV is basically facing a direction that you cannot have a direct view when laying/sitting by the bed or the sofa, so unless you can twist the TV, which I did not try as I do not have enough time to, but to me that is some weird position to put a TV although I do understand that the awkwardness of the room layout is a factor and putting it any other way can also seem to limit the space of the room.

Sitting behind the TV is the air conditioning control panel. While it may seem straightforward to use, there's nothing simple about it. The knob that adjusts the temperature is both cooling and heating combined, which is not an issue if the knob isn't infinitely twistable. Trying to figure out where I need the knob to sit is rather a challenge, and the room ended up being too cold or too warm. The control panel is not a very well thought out design and a poor choice for the hotel to be fitted into. Maybe they can look into upgrading it to a digital panel with a digital temperature display and heating or cooling mode.

When I left my room at about 5:30pm, the housekeeping team came into my room to do a turndown service. They left a chamomile tea packet and a bottle of water on each side of the bedside table. They also place the slippers on top of a towel on each side of the bed. I am not sure what that is meant to do/ is for, but I have not seen anyone doing that before and it seems a little weird that they are wasting towels to put on the floor or for the reason of placing a disposable pair of slippers which isn't a good reason to.

GYM/SPA/POOL

The gym, pool and spa area is located on the 2nd level (ground level) right next to the elevator. The gym gives me a Les Mills vibe, with a giant multi-screen attached to the background while there are several workout machines to choose from. The facility seems clean and empty both times I walked past it.

They have a large indoor pool for you to swim, lapse or if you are not into that, towards the end you'll also find a nice large spa bath to unwind. I went to the spa at 9:30am before my breakfast, there were several people there and the 3 lounge chairs were all occupied, I wish there are more storage space for people to place their bathrobe but I had to place mine on the floor.

BREAKFAST

During check in, I was informed that I have breakfast included, which was not part of the package I was given, so that was a great addition for me to experience what it is like to include breakfast in your room booking and whether it may be worth the extra. Breakfast is on until 11am, however when I got there at 10:30am, there was no table available and many people were waiting for a table. I was told if I couldn't wait, I could go to the French Press cafe but I was more interested in a proper breakfast. Since I've requested a late check out until 12pm, and the serving was extremely fast in comparison to the slower service in other aspects. I was able to finish by 11:10am to go back to the room to pack up.

As standard checkout time is 11am, you will probably want to check out before heading to the restaurant, which will ensure you have plenty of time to eat.

For the starter, I was given a pastry with 3 different variety of pastry. They were soft, crunchy and delicious, followed by my main course of Omelette with 3 fillings, Mushroom, Tomato and Spinach.

FINAL THOUGHT?

The staff are all committed to the French theme. From the moment you walk through the doors, you will be greeted with a Bonjour. This is fairly impressive that they have taken such steps to ensure you get a French treatment every corner within the property.

As I was settling in the room, I got a knock on my door. I was delivered a welcome macaron and a handwritten note from the manager. I am not sure whether they do this to all the rooms or only selected ones. If they do this to every room, it would definitely make your stay much more memorable and personalised, with the feeling of appreciation as they write a note to thank you for your business. This is a smart way to ensure they give the client a good impression to ensure they will make this a preferable accommodation when they do return to Auckland.

Has Sofitel delivered a 5-star service? I would certainly think so, at least as unbiased as I could be if they have decided to provide me with special treatment. All the staff have handled in a professional and friendly manner, which is crucial for a luxury property.

I believe the royal couple (Kate & William) was staying here during their visit to New Zealand (not that they will disclose that information, so it was my best guess with the police guarding the entrance that was a telltale sign) and several high profile celebrities staying in here as well. If it's good enough for them, I'm sure it is good enough for anyone.

There was also an incident earlier in 2021 where gangs fired a weapon inside the lobby when they saw their rival, as unfortunate as that is, it was a case of wrong place wrong time which has nothing to do with how the hotel operates but rather the sign of gang rivalry getting out of hand in this city.

Room rate starts at $300+ a night and could go near $1000 for their suite.

Book now @ all.accor.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lqbNXM77zY