In what is a huge step for one of Australia’s most unique and treasured hotel groups, QT Hotels & Resorts have officially made their way across the ditch, expanding to New Zealand with the opening of QT Museum Wellington, and the forthcoming arrival of QT Queenstown.
QT has become widely known in and outside of Australia as an alternative approach to classic hospitality, successfully pulling together a design philosophy that shapes the hotel according to it’s location, with a colourful and eccentric culture distinguished from that of traditional accommodation. From bright and breezy iterations like QT Gold Coast (review HERE) and QT Bondi to the famously proactive QT Sydney (review HERE), the group has consistently transposed some of Australia’s most iconic locations into artful, dynamic destinations for both locals and hotel guests.
It’s exciting to see them use New Zealand’s hip and happening capital in very much the same fashion, drawing on its unique charm (and a $12-million makeover) to transition what once was Chris Parkin’s highly regarded Museum Art Hotel into a QT debut.
The hotel has also maintained the property’s French-focused Hippopotamus Restaurant & Bar, planning to also introduce their Japanese-Korean concept bar Hot Sauce, with which visitors to QT Melbourne will be familiar, later this year.
Location should also be playing a bit part as QT Museum Wellington grows and settles into its first year, no doubt helped along by having the famous Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum, at its doorstep as well as the city’s picturesque waterfront.
“In acquiring this iconic hotel brimming with personality which has become a favourite for visitors and locals alike, we wanted to evolve and build on its unique character”, offered QT Managing Director Dave Seargeant, acknowledging the building’s history. “We have developed this by highlighting the eclectic feel while ensuring the quirky character of the QT brand features strongly”.
The hotel’s design-driven rooms have been shaped by architect and designer Shelley Indyk, who has kept the property’s quirky art displays as an inspiration, blended with a touch of “Hollywood glamour”. Of course, this also means a few consistencies should be observed for QT which should mean guests can expect to find emergency bow-ties and other quirks around an ornamental though comfortable space. Public spaces should also be looking quite spectacular with the hotel’s eclectic art collection personally selected by QT Hotels Art Curator Amanda Love.
QT Queenstown, which is set to open somewhere within the third quarter of this year, will be the famous alpine town’s first five star design-driven hotel, continuing the group’s push into the New Zealand market. It will consist of 69 large boutique suites and a strong emphasis on the hotel dining experience, helped by QT’s “interactive marketplace” concept Bazaar and Reds Bar, both of which are currently open to the public ahead of the hotel’s accommodation.
Rooms at QT Museum Wellington start around around $249 AUD. For more information head to qthotelsandresorts.com.
Images supplied and credited to Babiche Martens.
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