FOR MY FULL TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE NORTH ISLAND CLICK HERE

While the US prepares for El Nino, summer is emerging in New Zealand and is my favorite vacation spot for getting away this winter. Whether you are in just passing through on your way to your next destination or taking in the sights in New Zealand's North Island, The Langham offers Auckland's best in charm and deluxe accommodations. Located in the heart of downtown and just minutes from the harbor, The Langham Hotel has a reputation for providing guests with premiere dining, a world renown spa and luxurious suites.

first class service in a pink bus

One of my favorite parts of staying at The Langham was the shuttle service that drops guests at the harbor with return service throughout the day. The hotel is within about a 20 minute walk from most of the city's main attractions (not actually that far), but this provides guests with another option on those days where you're either just feeling lazy or rain is in the forecast. The shuttle is in the hotel's signature soft pink and is an incredibly comfortable and convenient way to get around the city and just one more way The Langham serves their guests.

THE CHUAN SPA

The Chuan Day Spa is the perfect oasis for pampering yourself after a long day of sightseeing. Once you are whisked inside, you take part in the tri-bathing process that awakens the senses and calms the body through the sauna, herbal steam room and snail shower and ice experience (if you're brave enough, I could only take the ice for a quick second!). Once you've washed away all of the stress and loosened your muscles, guests with scheduled treatments are brought into a quiet area to read and sip tea as they wait.

The Chuan Spa offers a wide variety of treatment options, specifically tailored to meet your individual needs. I scheduled a 2 hour spa package, which included a full body exfoliation and wrap, followed by a hydrating facial. After so many long weeks of travel, this was exactly what I needed to finish out the trip. The woman who performed my treatment was extremely kind and professional, ensuring that everything from the temperature of the room to the music was to my liking as well as ensuring that I was relaxed and comfortable at all times. The body scrub and wrap was sensational and the facial was exactly what I needed after weeks of sun damage. Following the treatment, I was led to a beautiful room with tea and snacks and given a breakdown of suggestions for future skin care (much appreciated!). I left soft, smooth and glowing from an incredible afternoon treat; definitely a deluxe spa experience and one I would absolutely suggest when in Auckland.

FOR EVEN MORE, REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT MY FULL TRAVEL GUIDE TO THE NORTH ISLAND HERE

The Rooms

At the end of our three week trip through New Zealand, we spent two glorious days indulging in complete relaxation at The Langham before heading back to LA. We had an early flight from Wellington into Auckland, so we arrived at the hotel rather early. Immediately walking into the lobby you are surrounded by elegance and are welcomed home by the staff. Our room was not available when we arrived (I did send an email prior requesting an early check in, if available); however, we were offered the option of upgrading to a suite for an additional cost, which would allow us to check in immediately. I'm not a huge fan of being charged extra for a room that is currently available, but I understand that we were there well before check-in and since we were tired and in need of sleep, we opted for the upgrade. We were directed to our two room suite, which included a spacious living room and separate bedroom with a king bed. The room was comfortable and provided all of the amenities needed for a lazy weekend, including a delivery of complimentary water and fresh fruit. The classic victorian decor is a bit dated for my personal taste, but there's no doubt that everything is of the highest quality from the large flat screen televisions, dark wood details and marble counter tops to the plush bedding and expansive array of Chuan toiletries. I absolutely love all of the light pink details throughout the room; just enough of a delicate touch to soften the darker tones. This is definitely the room you would want for an extended stay in Auckland for complete comfort and pure opulence.

The Langham Club

Suite guests are invited to enjoy the benefits of The Langham Club, which includes additional privileges such as a continental breakfast, afternoon tea, pre dinner drinks and butler service. The breakfast was an especially nice benefit and included a variety of hot and cold delicious options.

Eight Restaurant

I love finding restaurants that try out new concepts for dining and not only was Eight doing just that, it had terrific reviews to match. Eight is a new take on a buffet, where it is all you can eat with eight different kitchen stations with a large variety of delicious choices. Now I'm not a person who enjoys buffets, but here's the twist - each dish is cooked to order to your liking at the various stations and is made of top notch ingredients. We were blown away at the level of quality in the food, especially considering the wide selection of seafood and meat, including sashimi, shrimp, scallops, lamb, venison and top quality beef cuts. The service level also matched that of the food quality; the staff was attentive, informative and did everything they could to ensure that the guests left happy and satisfied with every detail of their meal. The dessert bar was especially exciting as it had everything from fresh made waffles and Nutella to Swiss ice-cream and a chocolate fountain. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Eight truly has something for everyone and provides guests with a high end dining experience unlike any other in the city.

Speaking of dessert, here's a Slade story I wish wasn't true from that night as we were at the dessert bar...

Me: Browsing the options, quietly perusing the scene.

Colin (behind me): "Aims, is this how you do it?"

Me: Turn around to look - Holy crap, he's got a bowl in the side of the fountain filling it with chocolate. "No!!!"

Colin: Chocolate dripping on side of bowl, uses toothpick to grab fruit and drop it in his chocolate soup. "What?"

Me: "Get another bowl and put in under to catch the chocolate! What are you thinking??? Have you seriously never seen a chocolate fountain before? You dip the chocolate in the fountain, not the entire bowl!"

Colin: "Oh shoot, I guess it's been while."

Later on I ask him, what he thought was going to happen to the chocolate that was going to pour over the bowl that he shoved in the fountain? He said, I honestly thought they hadn't thought it through that far, I was being completely logical about it.