Wellington hotel lists as top 10 art stay

Wellington hotel lists as top 10 art stay
19 Mar 2010
If you’re an art lover after a unique hotel stay, a few nights at Wellington’s iconic Museum Hotel should be at the top of your trip list.

The hotel, in New Zealand’s capital, is across the road from Te Papa Tongarewa - the national museum, and has just been listed as one of the world’s "ten best hotels with magnificent artwork" by Hotels.com, an international travel review and accommodation website.

The Museum Hotel is best-known for its stunning, predominantly Kiwi private art collection, lovingly selected by owner and ex-financier Chris Parkin - who also lives in the hotel.

The collection, one of the largest in private ownership in New Zealand, is permanently exhibited throughout the hotel and in a new public gallery area. The Long Gallery was opened by Prime Minister John Key in February, 2010.

Living tribute to art
Parkin is continually adding to the collection which currently stands at 66 pieces, and features works by renowned New Zealand artists such as Robin White, Sir Toss Woollaston, Bill Hammond, Dick Frizzell, Michael Smithers, Raymond Ching and Brent Wong. It also includes a couple of rare limited edition motorcycles.

The hotel has recently produced a full-colour art guide featuring descriptions of each piece and maps for a one-hour self-guided tour of the works.

Artwork is displayed in the hotel lobby, Hippopotamus Restaurant, hallways, fitness centre and in the rooms.

The visual feast continues outside the iconic building where Meredith Parkin is painting a mural called Choice on the car park wall, and Justin Smith’s nearly-completed Henri Rosseau Triptych tribute mural graces the Cable Street entrance.

Wellington fashion designer Alexandra Owen, who has shown at New York Fashion Week, designed the uniforms for staff. Her flagship store is located underneath the hotel.

Hotel on the move
The Museum Hotel’s unique history began in 1993, when Te Papa bought the waterfront site occupied by a five-storey hotel building.

Owner Chris Parkin decided to move the building as it stood, with everything remaining on site, just 120m down the road. The only items removed from the building before the move was the bed linen - even the bottles of alcohol in the bar remained.

The 3500-tonne building was then turned into a railway carriage and wheeled on eight sets of parallel rails to its new permanent home, where it continued operating as a hotel. Fortunately nothing was damaged during the trip and Parkin was awarded Wellingtonian of the Year in 1993 because of the daring project.

Wellington holiday
Wellington has a lively culinary scene - and more eateries per capita than New York.
Wellington café Mojo Old Bank was mentioned in the New York Times online blog, 'the Frugal Traveller' for its innovative use of social networking application Foursquare. It is also internationally-renowned for its house blend coffee beans, Dr Mojo’s Medicine.

The capital of New Zealand, Wellingtonians also pride themselves on being the "creative capital" of the country. The city is home to Te Papa national museum, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. The Treaty of Waitangi - New Zealand’s founding document - is also found there.

Annual large scale international art events are held in Wellington, including the International Arts Festival, and World of WearableArt awards.

ENDS

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