Abstract Hotel

Tucked away just off Karangahape Road is a boutique hotel known as Abstract. As its name suggests, Abstract brings a fresh perspective to the local hotel scene (and staycays) standing out from the crowd not least due to its tasteful theatre-inspired aesthetic. Abstract is both polished and cosy with a series of thoughtfully designed spaces to keep you entertained on-site while giving you prime access to one of the city’s most humming, creative streets should you wish to explore. 

Start your stay right with a blissful massage, jacuzzi or herbal sauna (or all of the above and more) at Sa-Ni Spa—Abstract’s inner sanctuary. Choose your oil from a selection of darling bottles then revel in an aromatherapy treatment, or opt for their Deep Sleep Therapy, Sa-ni Signature Healing to relieve chronic tension and fatigue using essential oils and hot stones, a coconut body salt scrub or a Sa-ni body mask with thermal mud from Rotorua, among others. 

You'll experience a flowing journey, being gently ushered from room to room, from massage prep to treatment to post-treatment relaxation with butterfly pea flower tea. You might just want to stay here forever—we sure did. Better still, at just $125 for a one-hour aromatherapy massage, you can absolutely afford the indulgence.

Next, unwind in your room with the champagne upgrade you sagely added when you booked (yes, you absolutely deserve it) then head downstairs to an exquisite dinner at on-site Italian restaurant, Alla Prossima which, as Founder and Director of Templeton Group and owner of Abstract Hotel Nigel McKenna aptly puts it isn't a hotel restaurant but rather an amazing Italian restaurant that just happens to be in a hotel.

We were immediately enamoured with the aesthetics—warm green velvet seating and dark yellow tiling. Then there’s the team’s warmth and conviviality, easily on par with what you’d expect in Italia.  As for the food, you’ll do best to arrive hungry. 

Led by Executive Chef, Gabriele Marangoni, and specialising in Emiliano-Romagnola cuisine, you'll delight in juicy olives, spongy focaccia with whipped tomato butter, and truffle-mushroom arancino with a taleggio cheese core (yes siree, they’re not messing around). Other standouts include their rich chianti-braised beef cheeks and an eggplant caponata side that’s so good you can order it as a main, or even as breakfast the next day. The cocktails and wine list are equally sensational and you shouldn’t leave until you’ve tried their twice-cooked panna cotta with raspberry coulis. It’s a showstopper.

Happily fed head out to Karangahape to roam or retire to their snug bar for a nightcap. 

Book your next staycay here. 

Main image credit: Abstract Hotel | supplied. 

---