Great family getaway over the hill
By the time youve settled in and crammed in a day trip, its time to leave.
But for two nights and three heavenly days during the Christmas holidays, Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park Wairarapa had every base covered for our family getaway.
With the triple threat of Caleb, 7, Olivia, 5, and Brad, 1, we had plenty of ammunition to dull the best attempts of any resort to make us relax, but we left lighter on stress if a bit thicker around the bellies and likely to return.
The plan was to make the one- hour drive over the Rimutaka Ranges from Wellington, settle into our room and let our noses, and tourist pamphlets, guide us.
From the outside, the hotel will not win any awards for its architecture. There is a formality to the entranceway that says conference rather than holiday, and the room fronts are concrete bunkers.
But its a misleading entree to a 102-bedroom resort that started a $4.5 million refurbishment in 2006 and is now reaping the benefits.
Our double suite was spacious, tasteful and well thought out, with two rooms in one a blessing for families. The smaller room for the kids had two single beds and there were separate flat-screen TVs, both with Sky, meaning no crack-of-dawn cartoons for mum and dad. The interior of the main hotel is user friendly, with the restaurant, bar, conference facilities and games room linked in an open-plan format.
One of the nicest things about Solway Park is the space. The 10-hectare grounds include an old- school confidence course for kids (and adults), a golf driving range and cafe from which they can be safely watched from afar.
Within minutes of arrival, Caleb and Olivia were expending the pent- up energy of the car trip while their parents made plans over an undisturbed flat white.
Cafe Solway is a good spot for a family lunch, or an afternoon beer or wine, and an affordable alternative to the classy, but more expensive, Grill Solway Park restaurant.
We didnt leave the hotel grounds during our first afternoon, and the only headache was deciding what to do the next day.
We decided on making the 30-kilometre drive to Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre for breeding threatened species. The kids protests began when they heard the word educational, but were quashed with the promise that we would go to the local swimming pool later. The brochure said close encounters with threatened wildlife and it proved exactly that, with a kaka swooping close to our heads on the first corner of the nature walk.
Kaka were introduced into the wild at Mt Bruce in 1996 and have thrived, with about 80 terrorising the area, including an aviary dubbed the bomb site, where the destructive force of their talons and beaks can be seen close up.
Spotting fat black eels in the river proved popular with Caleb, if a little scary for Olivia, and the towering rimu and broad redwoods imported from California in the 1930s were inspiring for their sheer size.
Mt Bruce proved a highlight of our trip. The walk is easy, you see the wildlife advertised, and the native bush is stunning. Its all for $8 an adult, with kids educated and entertained for free, bar mandatory icecreams at Cafe Takahe.
Mastertons Genesis Recreation Centre was a hit. Hydroslides are old hat, but dragging the kids out of the current pool was tough and the Kids Own Playground designed, funded and built by school children and their parents across the road at Queen Elizabeth Park, rounded out a perfect afternoon.
With energy levels running low from a day in the sun, we ate at The Grill Solway Park. Restaurants attached to hotels arent always all theyre cracked up to be and can make the family vacation much harder on the credit card, but The Grill is worth every cent. The a la carte restaurant stood out for both the quality of food and wine and for its service.
How you eat a 500-gram rib-eye with a Yorkshire pudding, Im not sure, but on the evidence of my 300g sirloin it is probably worth a try. We may have been swayed by the waiters impromptu rendition of Happy Birthday and a one-candle chocolate mousse for our bewildered baby Brad during dessert, but by then The Grills chef had won us over with a near-perfect meal.
What: Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park WairarapaWhere: High St, MastertonTel: 06 3700 500Website: millenniumhotels.co.nz/copthornewairarapaBasics: 102-room hotel with restaurant, cafe, swimming pools, golf driving rangeCost: From $125 for a standard single room to $205 for a double suite
Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park Wairarapa hosted Toby Robson.
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Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 am under