While international travel is still not an option for most of us, weekends away around New Zealand are hugely popular for Kiwis and not just for those who want to get lost in the wilderness.
If you've ticked off all of Aotearoa's main centres, you might feel there's nothing new left to do when doing "something new, New Zealand".
In that case, why not go somewhere familiar but stay somewhere new?
There are plenty of new hotel experiences opening up across the country. I'm using the word 'experiences' intentionally.
For a few years now, the international trend for hotels has been all about personalisation and experience. Any hotel can offer a bed, but not many of them become the highlight of an entire trip.
An example of an experience hotel would be Naumi Studio Hotel Wellington. I'd not stayed at any Naumi hotel before, but friends had and they had said great things.
Located on the site of the former Comfort Hotel which over a century ago was known as the People's Palace, a temperance hotel run by the Salvation Army.
All these many years later and there is more temptation than temperance at the Naumi.
Upon entering my room, there was a bespoke cocktail waiting, but with a difference. You had to construct it yourself. Again, part of the experience.
The room was pretty big, as was the bathroom, although this was due to the absence of a bathtub which - due to council red tape - hasn't quite happened yet.
The interior decorating style of each and every one of the hotel's 116 rooms is really what makes Naumi unique.
Subtilty is not a word you could use to describe this hotel.
Instead, think visual noise, bold lines and clashing colours. It's all part of the deeply thought out style that is spread across the entire building.
Soon, the hotel's restaurant will be opening. When I visited, the chef served up a selection of the type of cuisine they will be offering, and it was tabled in what is the highlight of the entire building: a New York styled bar, with hints of art deco.
Rates start from around $280 per night and go right up to about $1000. As I've said about many hotels in the past 12 months, you're getting a bargain thanks to the pandemic - if international tourists were in town, those prices would be much higher.
If you're an Aucklander who usually visits Wellington for work, staying somewhere new may mean you experience the city in a wholly different way to how you've done before.
This place is also ideal for any couples living in places such as Hawke's Bay or Wairarapa who may want a quick weekend getaway. It's not far and is affordable for what it's offering.
As autumn begins to steal away the sunlight from us more and more each day, a stay at the Naumi will certainly brighten up your evenings.
Dan Lake had a complimentary night Naumi Studio Hotel Wellington for this review.
