Kelly Bertrand and her fiancé have a wild night at the QT Auckland and live out some true rock star fantasies (and if you’re after a more mild experience or even a solo staycay, check out our stories on those!)
This story is proudly brought to you with the support of QT Auckland
There’s just something freeing about staying at a hotel. You do things you normally wouldn’t do at home (like eating something crumbly in bed, get your minds out of the gutter) and a perfectly made-up room is an invitation to shed your normal life and dive into a bit of hedonism.
Well it is for me in any case. My partner and I are big on staycations – they’re chances to get away from the distractions and never-ending to do lists of home and spend some quality time together. They’re our little glimmers of freedom in our adult(ish) lives and when we get the opportunity to indulge, my God, do we indulge.
Here’s what it’s like at the QT Auckland, where we booked the ‘WILD’ staycation package:
The room:
A QT Junior Suite, complete with huuuge bathtub, a great view and a super-king bed we didn’t want to leave behind. The room itself is always essential to a staycation – when you’re travelling for holidays, perhaps you’re looking at the hotel’s central location or other amenities. But for us the room needed to be the star of the show, and she was bloody glorious.
With a bottle of Champagne already chilling in ice and the thoughtful gift of a Polaroid camera to use to snap cute pics of our staycation vibes, we were already off to the races. We cranked up the provided Bluetooth speaker (yes before you ask, the rooms are soundproofed, we checked) and played our favourite hotel stay playlist (which, for some weird reason, is the soundtrack to Inventing Anna).
We danced. We drank. We even jumped on the bed, which was a bold call for a 42-year-old and a 33-year-old with two very dicey knees. We had pure, unadulterated FUN.
Of course room service plays a huge part in the wild staycation experience, and QT’s Champagne and Fried Chicken delivery service was the perfect addition. If you haven’t had bubbles and chicken while luxuriating in a bubble bath, I just don’t think you’ve lived.
The hotel:
Before we retired to our room for the aforementioned bath, bubbles and chicken (what a sentence) we also took advantage of QT’s in-house food and beverage offerings. For my fiancé and I, a trip to Esther’s little bar is always mandatory as it’s where we had our first date (cute, I know) and we also indulged in a stunning, fancy lunch at Esther itself. Check with the QT as to what’s happening the day you’re there – we enjoyed a St Tropez-themed lunch, and they always have special activations and themed events.
Of course, we couldn’t not head up to Auckland’s original rooftop bar (funnily enough, named Rooftop at QT) for a few cocktails (trust me and have the Sip and Sin – a rosemary-infused gin, strawberry oregat and ruby red grapefruit spritz) as well as some patatas bravas because, well, carbs again. If you’re around on a Sunday, check out The Sunday Club – $2 oysters and $99 bottles of Mumm, if you’re feeling fancy.
The vibe: We left feeling like we’d escaped our every day, had some time to properly catch up, and time to let our hair down without worrying about the minutiae of normal life.
Oh, and dusty. Veeeery dusty. But hell, that’s what a wild night will do!