In 2021, just one year after opening, The Hotel Britomart in Auckland, New Zealand, won awards in three categories: Commercial Architecture, Hospitality and Interior Architecture. It also won a Resene Color Award for its interior. These awards are an annual celebration of Auckland and Northland architecture, a peer-reviewed selection of projects by a jury from the Auckland branch of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects.

© The Hotel Britomart

The jury called the conversion of two late-19^th-century buildings, the Masonic and Buckland buildings, into The Hotel Britomart “magical.” The Hotel Britomart, named after the revitalized Auckland waterfront district where it sits, has attracted many domestic and international business and leisure travelers who love the property’s location and the beautiful, yet understated architecture and design created by New Zealand-based Cheshire Architects. The property, which won many additional awards in the past four years, most recently Best Hotel Award at Hospitality New Zealand Business Awards 2024, offers 99 rooms and five luxurious Landing Suites. It is also New Zealand’s first 5 Green Star hotel, certified by New Zealand Green Building Council.

The complex conversion included rooftop pavilion hotel suites, offices from levels one to three, and vibrant and colorful laneways (narrow streets) at ground level part of the Britomart district.

© The Hotel Britomart

“We’re incredibly proud of the hotel and the response from our guests shows how deeply they appreciate Cheshire Architects’ attention to detail and the efforts of our development team and Bracewell Construction,” said Clinton Farley, general manager, The Hotel Britomart. “It was designed to be a hotel that feels like a special addition to its neighborhood.”

One of the two hotel buildings is 10 floors, constructed of handmade clay bricks and punctuated by beautifully glazed windows overlooking the historic Britomart district with its narrow cobblestone lanes, original dockside warehouses and Auckland Waterfront. Guestrooms contain custom-designed wooden furniture and lighting by the Cheshire team, and the rooftop Landing Suites are described as like “softly lit timber cabins, based on each suite’s orientation to the sunlight.” All rooms feature views of Auckland’s downtown skyline or Auckland Waterfront, with amenities that include tiled bathrooms, 100 percent organic cotton sheets and WiFi.

© The Hotel Britomart

The hotel offers three wonderful meals every day at kingi, the hotel’s signature restaurant that provides large breakfasts with cold-pressed juices, coffee, teas and on-site-made pastries. The restaurant also celebrates line-caught seafood, a raw bar, and fresh New Zealand produce for lunch and dinner. During aperitivo hours (3–5 p.m.) complimentary bites from the chef will be served with cocktails, wine or beer. Within the nine-block Britomart district are also a number of excellent dining and drinking venues.

A five-minute walk from the hotel is the Downtown Ferry Terminal, where ferries are available to the Auckland suburbs, as well as to the islands in the Hauraki Gulf and to popular Waiheke Island.

© The Hotel Britomart