ROYAL TREATMENT

The beauty of an urban escape to New Plymouth’s King & Queen Hotel Suites is that everything is right on your doorstep

An urban escape to New Plymouth’s King & Queen Hotel Suites.

Left, right or straight ahead? The toughest part of a stay at the King & Queen Hotel Suites, smack-bang in the cultural and arts centre of New Plymouth, is deciding in which direction to head when leaving the hotel. Regardless of what you decide, you’ll find attractions and activities to keep you amused for hours. You’ll also find fantastic dining, top-notch tipples, great shopping and gorgeous scenery all within walking or cycling distance of the hotel, so you can easily make the most of what this gem of a city has to offer.

But first the digs. The King & Queen is a luxurious boutique hotel with eight styles of room from studios to wellappointed suites. Depending on your room type, facilities on offer include deep French bath tubs, fireplaces and balconies. All rooms have fully equipped kitchens or kitchenettes, not that you’ll need them because adjoining the hotel and encompassing the surrounding streets is one of New Plymouth’s dining hot spots, the West End Precinct.

Much of the precinct occupies the ground floor of the cleverly redeveloped White Hart Hotel. Here you’ll find craft beer and pizza at Mrs White, and Japanese yakitori at Snug Lounge, among others. There are more cafes, bars and restaurants within walking distance including the excellent Social Kitchen. The friendly folk at reception will give you a handy book of vouchers for these eateries and more.

Look across the street from the hotel and you’ll see... yourself, reflected in the distinctive rippled mirror facade of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre. As well as a rotation of works by the pioneering film-maker and kinetic sculptor, it displays pieces from its own collection and guest exhibitors.

You’ll see more Len Lye out in the wild if you follow your nose towards the ocean to the 13.2km-long Coastal Walkway which stretches from Pioneer Park to the eastern side of Bell Block Beach, and includes the magnificent Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. The largely seafront path encompasses Lye’s 48m-tall Wind Wand bending and bouncing in the breeze. Locals and visitors alike are enthusiastic users of the walkway including me – during my three-day stay I borrowed one of the hotel’s loan bikes to cycle it, and I managed to walk and run on it too.

Left, right or straight ahead? You can’t go wrong with any of these options.

For more see kingandqueen.co.nz