The 'beyond five-star' Queenstown hotel where the toilet can give you a massage
When Kevin Carlin first came to Queenstown he was advised to park his BMW in a shed and drive a ute around town.
“I was told to not be too flash, as people in New Zealand call it.”
More than 30 years after moving from the United States to the country he chose for its lifestyle and security, he has opened one of the flashiest hotels ever built in Queenstown.
The “more than five-star” 14-suite Carlin Boutique Hotel stretches seven stories above the central town.
Each of the interconnected suites has its own outdoor fire and spa pool, and a kitchen where private chefs can whip up a meal.
“We don’t expect our guests are ever going to buy eggs and cook,” Carlin said.
The toilets have remote controls that do everything from lift the seat to provide a massage.
The walls are marble and oak, the waste baskets and tissue holders are leather and embossed with the newly-developed Carlin crest.
If you are unfortunate enough to have one of the few bedrooms without a view over Queenstown, you will instead have a 65-inch television linked to a rooftop camera that provides a live feed of the outlook.
Guests who walk into central Queenstown but want a lift uphill home can choose to be picked up in a Bentley, Porsche or Maserati – or grab an e-bike from the available fleet.
A night in a one-bedroom suite starts at $1750 plus GST, while the three-storey penthouse goes for about $25,000 a night for seven bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms, four spas, four backyards and four lounge rooms over about 510 square metres.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️