The Grosvenor, a grand old dame of Timaru
March 27th 2010 05:58
The Grosvenor Hotel, in Timaru, New Zealand is one of town’s biggest, oldest and most impressive buildings.
It holds a special place in history and not just in local history either. It hosted the newly wed Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their first royal tour and proudly boasts (in large white letters on a bold black screen in the lobby) that the “Prince of Wales was conceived here”
At present the Grosvenor is mid-stride in a great leap forward. It has a toehold still in the time of that auspicious tour, so there’s a creaking vintage lift (the kind with a grill and peepholes) and a broad staircase with dark red, regal, fifties carpet. But our suite upstairs and the bars below have their feet firmly in the light, space, convenience and indulgence of the 21st century. There’s a vast, reconfigurable functions area and a gaming room full of pinging pokies. Still there’s a nod to good old Kiwi ingenuity in the Number 8 Wired Bar and another to quaint colonial NZ in the wood floors and stone hearths of the Grosvenor Bar.
Legendary Kiwi hospitality is alive and well at the Grosvenor too. It's late when we arrive but that's not a problem for the concierge. He's expecting us. It's close to midnight, the band is packing up and the kitchen is closed by the time we make it down to the Grosvenor Bar. However that’s “not a problem” for the chef. He whips up the roast of the day in a jiffy. Nor is it a problem for the barmaid to put aside her end of night clean up and pour drinks to go with it.
The Grosvenor
It holds a special place in history and not just in local history either. It hosted the newly wed Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their first royal tour and proudly boasts (in large white letters on a bold black screen in the lobby) that the “Prince of Wales was conceived here”
The Grosvenor holds a special place in history
At present the Grosvenor is mid-stride in a great leap forward. It has a toehold still in the time of that auspicious tour, so there’s a creaking vintage lift (the kind with a grill and peepholes) and a broad staircase with dark red, regal, fifties carpet. But our suite upstairs and the bars below have their feet firmly in the light, space, convenience and indulgence of the 21st century. There’s a vast, reconfigurable functions area and a gaming room full of pinging pokies. Still there’s a nod to good old Kiwi ingenuity in the Number 8 Wired Bar and another to quaint colonial NZ in the wood floors and stone hearths of the Grosvenor Bar.
Legendary Kiwi hospitality is alive and well at the Grosvenor too. It's late when we arrive but that's not a problem for the concierge. He's expecting us. It's close to midnight, the band is packing up and the kitchen is closed by the time we make it down to the Grosvenor Bar. However that’s “not a problem” for the chef. He whips up the roast of the day in a jiffy. Nor is it a problem for the barmaid to put aside her end of night clean up and pour drinks to go with it.
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