Auckland's Hotel Grand Windsor, MGallery by Sofitel has been named as one of the best hotels in the world.
At the Boutique Hotel Awards in London last year, it won best new hotel, and the title of Australasia's most inspired design.
The Boutique Awards are considered one of the most influential in the hospitality industry.
I went to spend an evening at the hotel with the judges' notes in hand. I wanted to compare my experience with their thoughts.
The judges said the hotel had outstanding attention to detail and offered a top-level customer experience.
I have to agree, the staff were fantastic. I was greeted as though I was a familiar face coming to visit. They made sure I knew where things were, and said they'd have a drink ready for me at the bar for when I'd dropped my suitcase in my room.
Despite the quiet and relaxed vibe, the hotel is located on New Zealand's busiest street, Queen Street.
Once you're through the doors and into the lobby, you wouldn't even know it.
The hotels manager Chris Dickinson personifies the hotels mantra.
"A beautiful hotel is empty without service as it's what guests remember the most and it's what we as hoteliers pride ourselves on. Service is not just important to guests, it's the single most important ingredient to a successful hotel as there will always be a newer product that getting more attention," Dickinson told Newshub.
He said providing great service makes sense both as a person and as a business.
"A person who has a great experience will share it over and over again, and they will most likely come back again. A guest also makes up their mind up about your hotel within the first one or two interactions and to recover from this (if bad) is very hard to do."
Hotel Grand Windsor is located in a 10-storey art deco building, some say it was Auckland's first skyscraper.
This is what the judges said of its design: "The design was beautiful, elegant, understated and calming. It felt a world away from the hustle and bustle of the central city, it was amazing how you could just step away from it."
It is definitely unique. The room was a mixture of classy, classic and creative.
It was quite spacious too. It had that "old house" feel to it. Like you're staying in a room that used to be a bedroom one hundred years ago.
That aesthetic continued throughout the hotel with suites named 'Duchess' and 'Windsor.'
MGallery by Sofitel has managed to keep the aesthetic and feel of the original 1920's Art Deco architecture while transforming the property from a three-star to a five-star hotel.
It's one of a kind in Auckland, and given the awards it's received, it may just be one of a kind in the world.
Newshub Travel stayed at Hotel Grand Windsor as a guest of the hotel.
Newshub.
