Ebb Dunedin

Style

Biophilic bolthole

Setting

Central but secluded

The architectural tide is turning in New Zealand’s southerly city with the arrival of Ebb Dunedin, a contemporary stay that’s a cleverly designed eco retreat from the land, with rooms dressed à la mode, light-filled lounges on every floor, centred around an atrium garden, and crowned by a retractable roof. But there’s flow as well as ebb at this boutique bolthole: the city’s influence washes ashore in interior-design nods to its fin-de-siècle architecture; a reverence for sustainable organic produce at the hotel’s café; and a hyper-local supply chain bringing Otago charm to everything from minibars to the hotel’s art-printed façade.

Facilities

Rooms

27, including one suite.

Checkout

11am, but flexible, subject to availability and a NZ$40 fee. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates are room-only but you can buy breakfast at Ebb-Cafe.

Also

The ground-floor reception, café and atrium garden make all communal areas accessible, with an elevator to reach the upper floors, and two adapted Universal rooms, suitable for wheelchair-users.

Free Internet Access

Laundry

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

At the Hotel

Café; mezzanine lounges; and free WiFi. In rooms: underfloor heating, air-conditioning, Art Series HD TV, minibar stocked with local snacks, Otago wines and pre-mixed cocktails; free coffee- and tea-making kit, bathrobes, and Ashley & Co bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Sydney-based Indyk Architects (who’ve also kitted out some of the QT hotels) were inspired by the city’s fin-de-siècle architecture to create contemporary interiors featuring natural stone, and oak joinery: colour palettes are largely monochrome, but incorporate soft-green accents (inspired by Dunedin’s verdigris rooves) and flashes of brick-red. In size, all rooms are equal, but we love the upgraded fabrics and finishes you’ll find in the Superior rooms on the top floor. The Suite is a two-bedroom beauty with striking gold-and-black bathrooms, a kitchenette, and fashionably dressed living space.

Spa

There are no spa facilities directly at the hotel, but Ebb Dunedin partners with Well + Being – a neutral-hued spa set over three floors that’s a three-minute walk away – for massages, yoga and holistic health coaching: check into the infrared sauna, take a mineral-infused soak in the float tank, or join a studio class.

Packing Tips

With as many natural wonders on your doorstep as there are urban pleasures, a Dunedin trip is no place for formality: pack city threads at their most casual.

Also

You get free access to neighbouring 24-hour gym, Jetts, putting its cardio machines, free weights and pin-loaded equipment at your disposal.

Children

Ebb Dunedin is an adults-only stay.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

This is a light-filled but compact space where all tables are equal, but you may prefer your flat white amid the plants at an atrium table.

Dress Code

The ambience at Ebb-Cafe is to come as you are – no fashion steers are needed.

Hotel Restaurant

There’s no restaurant at Ebb Dunedin, but casual dining is available at Ebb-Cafe – a glass-walled space off the atrium and the street that attracts locals as well as guests. A wall of glossy-green tiles behind the counter provides colourful contrast against monochrome concrete-top tables and black chairs, with further tables in the atrium’s garden. Breakfast is an à la carte affair featuring overnight oats, eggs on toasted sourdough, yoghurt and granola, and a full fry-up (meat or veggie). There’s a strong tradition of doing cafés well in New Zealand – and writer and chef Alison Lambert’s offering at Ebb is no exception: expertly brewed coffee; a surfeit of savoury plates from avo on toast to bacon butties to Turkish eggs. Light lunches include seed-flecked salads, potato rosti with pine-smoked salmon, beetroot and miso hollandaise, and jackfruit-topped arepas (corn cakes).

Hotel Bar

By day at Ebb-Cafe, Kokako coffee, house chai, and a consummate selection of teas are served alongside a rainbow-choice of smoothies, and posh pop (Karma Cola, Kombucha, house sodas). You can also order a G&T, beer or spritzer; and the café’s wine list is a constantly evolving curation. After hours, take a pre-mixed cocktail or glass of Otago wine from your minibar to your storey’s mezzanine lounge – there’s one on every floor and all overlook the atrium.

Last Orders

The café closes at 3pm daily.

Room Service

You can order from the Ebb-Cafe menu between 7am and 3pm.

Planes

Dunedin airport has regional connections to Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland and is a 30-minute drive from the hotel, who can arrange private transfers at extra cost. Christchurch, four-and-a-half hours north by road, is the nearest international airport.

Automobiles

The hotel has a private carpark: book in advance from NZ$25 a day.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

South Island’s second city has grown up on the hillsides at the head of Otago harbour, with wide tree-dotted avenues, low-rise buildings, and lamp-post-edged greens and parks. As well as laying claim to the award-winning modern architecture of Ebb Dunedin, the city is a rich trove of well-preserved Victorian and Edwardian buildings: decorative examples include Larnach Castle, the turreted Municipal Chambers, and ornately gabled mansion, Olveston Historic Home. Dunedin’s long-established Botanic Gardens date from the end of the century, too. Documenting the nature, culture and scientific heritage of the region, the Otago Museum comes with an indoor butterfly-filled tropical forest. A trip to Toitu Otago Settlers Museum explores the area’s cultural history through curious objects, from Victorian bank desks, to Sixties TV sets, to vintage cars. The city’s compact layout lends itself to cycling, or head out to Signal Hill, where the mountain-biking trails are rated island-wide. Downtown offers the expected cluster of cafés, restaurants and shops (and Ebb Dunedin is just behind Meridian Mall), but this city is as much a gateway to Otago as a destination in itself. The coastline this far south is wind-sculpted and dramatic: surfers beanie-tip St Clair, Aramoana, Karitane and (hopefully not) Murdering Bay. For swimming, try Brighton Beach, a 20-minute drive out of town. Caves and rocks abound at Long Beach; or time your visit for low tide to check out the sandstone arch at photogenic Tunnel Beach. You’ll want to pack binoculars, too: various penguins, seals and sea lions make the peninsula their home, and you can take a tour of a nesting seabird colony at the Royal Albatross Centre.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .