The Wyndham Club Is Bringing High-End Golf Simulation, Japanese Dining And DJ Nights To The CBD

You could be forgiven for thinking that if you don't play golf then The Wyndham Club isn't for you. Designed by Kirk Bayvel (the man behind Gravity Trampoline Parks and nail salon VALET); Ned Gow who, in addition to being part of No Cigar, works in property; and Matt Ross, owner of much-loved Karangahape Road restaurant Candela and most recently head chef at Sfera in Northcote Point, The Wyndham Club is, at face value, a high-end golf simulator, a Japanese restaurant, and a place for a really good night out. But peel away a few layers, and you'll see this new venue is vying to become a new one-stop-shop for every type of Aucklander. 

"We want as many golfers as non-golfers," Bayvel tells me. "That's really the idea—there's plenty for everyone else too." Of course, there is a lot here for those keen on an inner-city tee time. The Golfzon simulators are some of the best in the world, providing an immersive experience with "different hitting surfaces depending on whether you're in a bunker or the rough, and full sound, so if you're playing Pebble Beach you'll hear the birds and the waves crashing." Newbies can also come in for lessons in the morning to get more confident in their swing before they take it out onto the course. 

Image Credit: The Wyndham Club | Supplied

There will also be darts booths too. "We think guests want more from a night out than food and drink alone," explains Gow. "Younger people aren't drinking as much; instead, people want an experience, so we've set out to touch every sense: food by Matt, music curated by Ned, cocktails by Laura and then something to do, whether that's darts or golf." Laura is Laura Lopez, whose CV includes places formative to Tāmaki Makaurau's ever-changing nightlife scene like The Nightcar and Goblin. She's been brought on to run the bar and floor side of things, curating the cocktail offering and the wider drinks list alongside Leola King who ran Candela alongside Ross. 

For anyone expecting Candela-light on the food side of things, put away hopes for paella or octopus pil pil. Tempo, the restaurant inside the club, is firmly Japanese-leaning, although, there are more overlaps with the Spanish restaurant than you would expect at first glance. "While the flavours may differ, Japanese izakaya and Spanish tapas actually have a lot in common when it comes to the style of dining experience for the guests," Ross tells me. "Both are built around sharing, variety and the hibachi side of the menu at Tempo also draws on my experience grilling over the mibrasa at Candela, so there’s a natural crossover there too."

Image Credit: The Wyndham Club | Supplied

The menu is designed to be "fun and accessible" and will feature hibachi skewers, including a Japanese twist on Candela's iconic lamb belly skewer, katsu sandos, nishiki-style wagyu steak, sashimi, and more. 

If dinner ends up turning into the kind of night where only a few more drinks will do, you can stick around for Late Nights at The Wyndham Club, which will feature a select number of DJs curated by Gow, and, if Lopez's experience is anything to go off, may finally claw back a certain genre of night owl to the city centre.

Image Credit: The Wyndham Club | Supplied 

Despite what the name might suggest, this is not a member's club (at least not in the traditional sense of the word). There will be a select number of memberships, but both The Wyndham Club and Tempo will be open to the public. "We want The Wyndham Club to be a place where people meet, relax and enjoy the music, food and atmosphere, and where they can do a bit of business too, in the spirit of what Soho House was in London 15 years ago," Gow says. "Alongside that, we'll offer a deliberately small number of memberships: just 20 corporate memberships and 50 individual memberships," which will offer further access to the owners and create, by the sounds of it, a sort of social society within the club, rather than focusing on creating exclusive access to the space itself. 

Ultimately, the trio say, they want The Wyndham Club to give Aucklanders "a real reason to come back into the city." There's good food, good drinks, a great fitout, loads to do and, crucially, it will be full of people 'of all walks of life and all ages'. "The best places have a vibe," explains Bayvel. "It doesn't matter where people come from or how old they are when everyone is enjoying the atmosphere together."

The Wyndham Club is set to open in November.