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Art History
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By: Erin O’Dwyer, Issue 36 – Spring 2008
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(Museum Hotel – Wellington, New Zealand)
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THIS WELLINGTON MUSEUM HOTEL IS A WORK OF ART STORY.
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WE ARE USED to seeing fine art in fabulous hotels. But a mannequin clad in a sheer catsuit ‘tattooed’ with sequined spirals? Or a rare Italian motorcycle in racing red? Wellington’s Museum Hotel is certainly eclectic. The hotel boasts 150 artworks – the largest collection of New Zealand art outside an institution. And its owner – entrepreneur, arts patron and biker fanatic Chris Parkin – just keeps filling up the empty corners.
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The adventure begins the moment you pull up. The harbourside hotel has a black stucco exterior and a footpath full of steel sculpture. In the foyer, an enormous glass chandelier hangs over velvet settees. Framed originals grace every wall and Chinese ceramics sit atop antique dressers. For those interested in the finer details, the tattooed catsuit was created by fa’afafine fashionita Lindah Lepou, and the motorbike is an Agusta F4 Senna designed by Massimo Tamburini. Other notable work is a series of Art Deco mirrors by local artist Jane Brimblecombe.
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Upstairs, the artisan theme continues. One- and two-bedroom suites are decadently done in six different designer flock wallpapers. There are leather lounges, chocolate brown curtains and a gleaming bathroom with oversized tub and rain shower.
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There is no art in the rooms. But a large limited edition print will be hung above each king bed when refurbishment of the hotel’s older section begins later this year. For those planning a longer stay, each suite has a sleek galley-style kitchenette in black marble and stainless steel complete with hideaway washer and dryer.
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The hotel is a favourite of executive guests, with five meeting rooms, an impressive gym and an indoor glassroofed lap pool. Travellers will enjoy affordable rates and walking-distance proximity to the harbour and the acclaimed Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa (Our Place). The Museum Hotel once occupied the Te Papa site. It faced demolition until Parkin bought it in 1993 and moved it – intact and on railway tracks – 120m across the road. It was big news in New Zealand at the time. Even now, bathroom products bear the emblem, Hotel de Wheels.
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Te Papa is well worth a visit. The museum is tasked to preserve Maori treasures and the highlight is a hand-carved marae (meeting place) from 1842. I am in Wellington for Matariki – the Maori New Year and start of month-long celebrations across the country. We rise before dawn to watch Maori elders herald the Matariki star, which rises in the East each June. Afterwards, there is a breakfast feast – native mutton bird (traditionally cooked in coals), pacific oysters, pork belly and kumara.
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There is fine dining aplenty in Wellington. The emphasis, as always in New Zealand, is on local produce. At Citron, Air Zealand consultant chef Rex Morgan serves up a delightfully light degustation menu. Down the road at Logan Brown, celebrity chef Alister Brown is known for simple but elegant meals. New kid on the block is The Ambeli, which offers nouveau Mediterranean in a charming old shophouse with scarlet walls and open fires.
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Details:
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Museum Hotel
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