29-05-2025
We checked in to this spanking-new Auckland hotel - here's the verdict
There's a quiet thrill in being among the first to check in to a brand-new hotel. When I stroll into the freshly minted JW Marriott Auckland - guest number 24, thank you very much - it even has that new-hotel scent (which, it turns out, is a calming citrusy signature scent piped into all JW lobbies). This is JW Marriott's 100th global outpost - a NZ$205 million ($190 million) transformation of what was once Auckland's first five-star hotel, the Regent, and then the Stamford Plaza. After a record-breaking NZ$170 million acquisition in 2021 and a NZ$35 million revamp, the building has emerged with its bones intact and its soul rebooted. The result is a hotel that balances heritage with holistic and genuine Kiwi hospitality.
