KEY POINTS:
The jelly beans were my downfall. Isn't it funny how it's so often the smallest things that make a stay memorable?
Yes there was the super-king bed, the big blue view over Little Oneroa Beach, the full-body massages and the divine four-course dinner. But what sticks in my mind was the beach bag with mat, sunscreen and beach radio (a bit ambitious for June but a nice touch), the fresh tulips - and the jar of jelly beans.
I've never been able to resist jelly beans.
So, when we were shown to our suite in Waiheke Island's The Boatshed, my husband went straight out to the little deck to breathe in the view while I - shamefully - went straight for the lolly jar sitting on the ottoman.
Throughout our two-night stay - a "romantic retreat" package - I found myself dipping into the cheerful colours whenever I passed by. And there was always an excuse to pass by.
It was like going to a function at which the champagne keeps getting refilled and you're never sure how much you've had - I have no idea how many jelly beans I got through because the Boatshed staff kept surreptitiously topping up the jar.
The family-owned boutique luxury hotel has plenty more to recommend it.
The three elegant suites are designed to feel like a seaside cottage, with interior weatherboards, subtle lighting, nautical touches and teak loungers on the deck, but cosied up for winter with a gas fire and cuddly throws.
The gourmet breakfasts cooked by chef, Jonathan Scott, made getting out of the comfortable beds well worthwhile and scuppered our plans for a long lunch at a winery - we waddled back to our rooms instead. After all, why leave a place like this when you've spent so much on it?
We were splashing out for our babymoon - that last-ditch holiday the two of you have before there are three of you. So we made a point of staying put, putting up our feet, reading, napping, listening to CDs and wandering into Oneroa village whenever we felt like a little something.
The Boatshed, which also has two more expensive suites, looks appealing in daytime, with its simple wooden architecture, spiky native plants and crunchy paths of small white stones.
But it was when we stepped into the dining room from the chilly night air after a trip into the village that we truly appreciated the place's ambience. The room was lit by candles and warmed by a huge open fire; there was jazz in the air, the clink of cutlery and the murmur of low voices as a few couples dined in the corners.
We immediately regretted our decision to dine out - we'd eaten in the previous night and had short-sightedly decided to ventured out to a disappointing restaurant for the second night. Still, at least there was breakfast to look forward to the next day.
And while our Boatshed stay was awash in lovely decadence, there were a couple of quibbles - things we'd forgive if we had not been paying $1600 for the weekend; things like about a dozen dark hairs on the floor of the tiled bathroom when we arrived; the absence of the promised "welcome wine on arrival" (not that pregnancy rules would have allowed me to drink it); the fact our suite was beautifully turned down on our first night but not our second; the fact the hot tap over the bathroom sink ran cold and that the shampoo and body wash looked suspiciously like the same blue concoction, in shabby-looking refillable bottles.
I know there are bigger problems in the world but, after all, it's the little things you remember.
Still, we'll always have the jelly beans.
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Need to know
The Boatshed's Romantic Retreat package includes two nights' accommodation in a Boatshed suite, two breakfasts, four-course dining one evening, wine on arrival and full-body massages for two.
Winter price: $845 per person.
Contact: The Boatshed, corner Tawa and Huia Sts, Little Oneroa, Waiheke Island.
Phone: 09 372 3242
www.boatshed.co.nz or email: enquiries@boatshed.co.nz
- Detours, HoS
