2018 – Part 40 – The County Hotel, Napier NZ

2018 – Part 40 – Relaxing Bliss, The County Hotel, Napier new Zealand

Our home in Napier for two nights was the County Hotel.  Napier, located in the Hawke’s Bay region is home to many wineries, and lots of choices in accommodation.  I selected the County Hotel on the basis that they had a rate that included parking, and breakfast.  We were not disappointed!

Check-in

Napier is not a large city, and we found the hotel without issue.  With on street parking, we quickly parked the car and headed inside to check-in.  Immediately upon entering you can tell that this building has historical value, and the hotel takes pride in it.

After moving the car into their parking lot (it’s directly across the street from the main entrance), and with luggage in tow we returned to the lobby where we were shown to our room.

Being a boutique hotel, instead of numbering each room, the rooms are named after birds found in New Zealand.

Room

This room was generously sized that had bucket seats in addition to a desk to sit at.  As part of the appeal to the hotel are the vintage touches, such as the light switches.  Thankfully, the room was not authentic to the Art Deco period where the HVAC unit worked exactly as we wanted during our stay.

In addition to a luggage shelf, there was a large closet to store items.  Here’s the slideshow of the room:

Bathroom

Just like the HVAC, the bathroom was modern and in great shape.  The water pressure and temperature in the shower was great, the only caveat is that there is one step up to enter the bathroom.  Once you remember that, you won’t be smashing toes into the wall, nor will you trip yourself when leaving the bathroom.

Although the pedestal sink looks awesome it does not afford any storage space.  This is well thought out as, in addition to the glass shelf, there are several smaller shelves to the left of the sink.

Breakfast

Included in the hotel rate was their buffet breakfast. It’s served on the ground floor in the restaurant area.  The restaurant is not large, however with the high ceilings a feeling of space is easily achieved.

On the first morning we woke up late.  I think the buffet was for us as not only we didn’t see any other guests while we enjoyed our breakfast, but also because there were two yogurt parfaits available.  First up was the nicely laid out spread of breads, jams, cereals, and yogurt.  I think this was the first hotel where there were so many water and juice options.  To me though, the most impressive part was a honeycomb to dish your own honey.

After we selected our items from the buffet one of the staff approached us and presented us with a menu to select our hot breakfast items!  The servings were large and tasty.

After a very filling breakfast we did think about returning to our room to have a nap, however ventured out for the day.  On the second morning, a morning nap wasn’t an option as we had to trek across the island.  The food was cooked to order and was excellent.  We made sure to compliment the chef when he appeared from the kitchen on the first morning.

Churchill Bar

Attached to the hotel is a small bar.  Included in our hotel rate were coupons for a drink.  We visited the bar both evenings.  We visited the first evening to enjoy a drink, where the bartender was personable.  He joked that we would go through the Aquarium “in 20 minutes, 30 if you walk slowly.”  We returned on the second night as our experience was much better than that.  As well, on the second evening we ended up talking with a fellow guest.  As a frequent traveller, he relies upon the hotel for its excellent service and hospitality.

Extras

The hotel has some interesting things.  Such as this staircase leading to the 3rd floor, near our room:

The part that I found unique was the library. 

This was an open area that also functioned as a hallway to get from the main staircase or elevator to our room.  The space had no shortage of books, but also some classic typewriters and port.  Yes.  A decanter of port available for hotel guests to sample.  It was a wonderful night cap to sample.

County Hotel Library

County Hotel Library

County Hotel Library

County Hotel Library

Another beautiful touch was the signed personalized note left each morning.  Each note contained the weather forecast, times for sunrise and sunset, as well as a page from a prior copy of the New Zealand Herald.  We received one page from 1944, and the other from 1932.  I was taken in by the advertising on each of the pages.

This was a wonderful hotel to stay.  The buffet breakfast was great, our room was spacious, and clean.  The owners, Ashleigh and Surani truly take pride in this hotel.

Read more about our trip by clicking here.