Hotel d'Urville

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Description

One of the finest landmarks in New Zealand's gourmet province of Marlborough, the historic Public Trust Building, is now transformed into a luxury nine-room hotel for the discerning traveller - the Hotel d'Urville. And this exciting new concept in small hotels has just been awarded tourism's highest accolade - winning the 1996 New Zealand Tourism Awards.

With its grand columned frontage and sweeping staircase, Hotel d'Urville provides exceptional accommodation in the centre of Blenheim township, right in the heart of the wonderful Marlborough wine and food experience.

The hotel is named after the renowned French explorer, Dumont d'Urville, who charted the hauntingly beautiful Marlborough Sounds.

The spacious rooms are all most impressive, with lofty ceilings, wooden floors scattered with Persian rugs and exotic furniture and fitting. Each of the nine bedrooms and suites has been designed and decorated to create its own distinctive character, combined with the modern conveniences the discerning traveller experts.
The original central vault with massive walls and enormous steel doors has been cleverly converted into a location for guest relaxation. The huge doors, embellished with brass plagues and studs, remain as a feature and a link with the past. Guests can begin the evening with complimentary aperitifs within the tranquil confines of the Vault.

Raja Room : The romance of travel in the Far East in days of old is recreated through fiery red walls, rich red and gold sari silks draping the King Size four poster bed, accented by brass ornaments and carved panels. An awkward L-shaped room was cleverly turned to advantage, revealing the stunning antique Javanese daybed with its carved wooden canopy, richly hand embroidered Indian spread, and array of fat cushions covered in oriental kills and antique embroidered fabrics. The room's dimensions precluded any standard wardrobe. Instead, a recess beside a structural pillar was converted with a carved Indian lintel and a curtain of indulgent red and gold sari sild, linking well with the four-poster canopy. Individual brass pieces were converted into bedside lamps. Carved Javanese doors open onto the bathroom, matched by a carved mirror cabinet above the restored pedestal basin. Brass taps, a restored copper cistern and antique chain pull, and mosaic tiled floor complete the scene.

Kuba Room: Adorning the walls of the Kuba Room are 80 year old African ceremonial textiles and tapestries acquired by Julia Knowles in Zaire. An old teak box displays small African carvings and the colourful baskets made of telephone wire by the women of Ndebele. They were careful not to produce an overwhelming cliche of safari Africa but instead a concept of the country outside the tourist zones. Books of glorious photography of the art and beadwork in these villages give the guest a feeling of having visited.

The d'Urville Suite: The classic lines of the dark timber furniture and floors recall colonial days, with a nautical feel in the "sea turtle blue" panelling to the dado line, a brass ship's bell, charts and antique maps. Through an old brass porthole in the timbered bathroom door, one glimpses a small painting of d'Urville's ship, the Astrolabe, at sea. Drawings and lithographies by his artist line the walls of this classic suite.

Merlot Room: A smaller room immediately reminiscent of central city hotels in old Europe. Originally approaching the sparseness of a Shaker theme, the theme was enhanced to hint at the famed wines of the region with abstract barrel shapes in the hand printed bed coverings, burgundy walls, and a gallery of cameo wine photographs.

Angel Room: A dreamy reminiscence of past indulgence, without fussiness. White on white establishes its own drama, softened with accents of teal and lilac chiffon. The fireplace is actually a colonial kauri piece which caught the Knowles' eye long before the hotel was dreamt of. Ceramic vases and artifacts were hand painted white or limewashed, form emphasised by the deliberate absence of colour; a collection of old mirrors and mirrored baubles dapple the lofty ceiling and walls with light in the afternoon. The bathroom indulges in gilt and eggshell blue, the old claw bath in the same gold as the rear wall.

Colours Room: As you enter you're enveloped by a blaze of warm red, alive with the Marlborough sun streaming through the original dappled glass of the bathroom window. This opens on to a bold contrast of high impact colours, clean lines, in an exciting statement of style. Blown glass ornaments pick up the colours of walls and fabrics, capturing the light, with white velvet drapes, silk cushions and a Mambo print couch offer textural contrast.

Venus Room: Named after the Venus de Milo -- it is a little known fact that d'Urville actually discovered the original statue in Greece -- this is the suite for romantic indulgence. Accents such as a gilt sugar and cream set, Spanish gilt edged champagne flutes, and old fine porcelain tea set, gold candlesticks add visual charm. The lamp bases were brushed with gold to link with a diamond frieze handpainted around the room to the dado line. The eggshell blue and gold continue the sense of glamour into the bathroom - the largest in the hotel and originally an archive room -- where guests can linger in the claw bath beneath a made-to-order gilt mirror.
Julia's collection of botanical prints were reframed in gilt for the bedroom walls -- a subtle link with d'Urville who was a noted botanist and gave his name to a native seaweed and a type of tree.

Havana Room: Antique American matching sleigh beds with a walnut inlay are an old touch in a modern room for simpler country tastes. A huge mirror expands the space in this narrow room, broad corduroy blind reflects the proportions of the central panel of sisal laid into the rimu floor. The past re-enters with a 65-year-old medicine cabinet and colonial copper milk cooler as conversation pieces, and modernism rules the bathroom with its purpose designed mirror and vanity.

The New Zealand Room: Finds a balance between celebrating the essence of New Zealand and the kitch of Kiwiana, but having a little fun along the way. The calf skin brings boldness to the theme, as does the hand printed leaf motif in the bedcoverings. Quirky touches include a beautiful kina vase and a cabbage tree shell planter from Avid Design, manuka twig mats, starfish, river stones and driftwood. Stones and glass pieces gleam from the polished concrete bathroom floor -- more memories of beachcombing days. A collection of miniature flax kits is framed on the wall, as is the icon of New Zealand travel -- town flags.

Guests will find at Hotel d'Urville an atmosphere of international hospitality with considerable local New Zealand style. It offers a unique blend of originality, classic charm and European quality, within imposing and elegant surroundings. Being a small hotel affords us the luxury of conferring upon our guests personal and attentive service tailored to the needs and pleasures of the discerning individual. And of course, the d'Urville Wine Bar and Brasserie on the ground floor offers exquisite cuisine prepared with the freshest regional produce and seafood - including the province's renowned green lip mussels and salmon - matched by Marlborough's famous wines. This restaurant has won the prestigious regional Restaurant of the Year Award.

The second best thing about the Marlborough regional, after the wines, is the Hotel d'Urville, an idiosyncratic establishment in a converted neoclassic bank building in Blenheim. After 20 peripatetic years in the Persian Gulf, Switzerland, Singapore and South Africa, Chris and Julia Knowles returned home to give Blenheim just what it needed: a classy restaurant with comfortable rooms.

Our digs, No.7, were deliciously quirky, painted pale blue and gold, with 12 foot ceilings, a four-poster and a statuette of Venus de Milo.

Julia is a glorious hostess, brassy and high-spirited. The restaurant, where she presides, is the area's best, capitalizing on local produce like kumera, the local yam, pureed in soup, beautifully plump green-lip mussels, served with chilli paste, tomato and garlic, succulent clawless lobsters called crayfish, and peppery lamb in three guises - sausages, roasted loin and tempura-fried sweetbreads.

Jason Dell, the young chef, turns out the best and most dietetically disastrous version of sticky toffee pudding, a stream confection with butterscotch sauce, that I know.

At night, the big, curving bar yields all sorts of vinous delights, including a breathtaking Te Whare Ra dessert wine made from riesling and gewurztraminer grapes attacked by the "noble rot" of botrytis. In the morning, it serves a breakfast buffet, with a spread of tropical fruits and a variety of home-baked breads.
The d'Urville is a winemakers' hangout and a wine drinkers paradise, where it is hard to spend more than NZ$35.00 a bottle for even the rarest and finest of New Zealand's vintages.
Comments by the New York Times - Wednesday 15th 1997.

Hotel d'Urville: Gateway To All That Marlborough Offers
- World famous and boutique vineyards
- Succulent seafood including mussels, scallops and fresh salmon
- Fine dining and winery meals
- Fishing in rivers, ocean and the Sounds
- Sailing, windsurfing, boat charters
- Golf in scenic surroundings (click for Golf Getaway)
- Jet boating
- Kayaking
- Horse riding
- Hunting
- Scenic flights
- Whale watching, dolphin and seal observation
- Glow worm caves
- Skiing at Rainbow Valley or Mt Lyford skifields
- Hiking and easy walk in native forests
- Mountaineering (for the more energetic)
- Festivals
- Garden Tours - several outstanding gardens open to the public
- Quality craft trails - painters, sculptors, jewellers, potters and
galleries

Hotel d'Urville also owns an award winning private residence situated right above the water in stunning surroundings in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. We can arrange day/night excursions to this delightful retreat which will include personalised service, and gourmet meals. This is total relaxation in a magnificent setting. For the more adventurous, pig or deer hunting and fishing excursions can be professionally arranged with prior notice. Access to this retreat is by road, boat or float plane.

Lofty ceilings, polished wooden floors and stylish bathrooms add an air of elegance to the Hotel d'Urville. This nine-room boutique hotel offers exceptional accommodation for those who enjoy tradition without stuffiness. No two rooms are alike and the individual flavour of each is captured in an eclectic mix of four-poster beds, fabrics and antiques. Being at the very heart of marvellous Marlborough, there is no better haven from which to savour the delights and splendid wines of this remarkable region. The d'Urville Wine Bar and Brasserie, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, enjoys an international reputation for its superb food and excellent value, in a delightful setting. Personal fax and comprehensive business facilities are available upon request.

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