This is a neat place to go to for an after-work drink…read more The Oakroom has recently had a facelift and has a cosy feel. Rohini and Corey are great hosts and the small team of staff are always friendly, chatty and sincere. There's a gastropub style menu; food and drinks are good value. It's also a good spot for a private function with good catering options.

My friend held her 21st party here last night and when I arrived I instantly wanted to have mine…read morehere. It's a lovely looking bar I think it must be quite new because all the furniture looked that way. Not the place itself though, it was really classy but rustic with mood lighting and lots of seats which I love, too many places don't offer enough seating and everyone just has to stand around. Their outside deck area was where we spent most of our night, they had outdoor tables and stools as well as a more comfy option...the outdoor sofa. They had two tv screens which she used to display pictures all evening. The bartender was pleasant and friendly and everyone looked like they had the best night.

Went here over a holiday weekend for a nice lunch with a view out towards the water. Ambiance was…read morereally lovely with both indoor seating with lots of natural light as well as outdoor seating with picnic tables and umbrellas. Menu was good, covering most food allergens. However, it took forever to get food. We arrived with kids already hungry, and we definitely reached hangery - from when we placed our order until when we got our food was over an hour and 15 minutes!

Been here a few times very sporadically…read more Awesome place. Live music and fairly decent price alcohol, and good food. Really relaxed vibe, and New Years the place goes off. Definitely recommend!!! And Devilskin here on the 21st of January... Yayahhh!!

Kokako Lodge is a really fantastic facility. Tidy bunk-style cabins, a large dining hall, spacious…read moreablutions and all in a serene forest setting just by Hunua Falls. It is often booked by organisations running camps which utilise their ropes course and real-rock abseil wall (to be run by trained staff only). There is also an amazing glow worm walk. Really really cool. As a venue they offer plenty of options including catering, cleaning services (because who wants to clean up afterwards, anyway?) and assistance designing your programme or event. Cool! Nothing like making your job easier, right? Would be awesome for a wedding. The staff I have dealt with are friendly and approachable, and happy to answer any questions you have about the place or the surrounding area. If you're here and have the opportunity, Hunua is one of the few places left in New Zealand with a kokako population so you should try and head up into the bush to see if you can hear their dawn call. Words cannot describe this amazingly beautiful sound.

Cute, cute, cute. This hall is the epitome of the shabby chic wedding trend that's hitting millions…read moreof Pinterest pages. I went to a wedding here and it was the best venue I've ever seen a wedding it. It's not too big and not too small which is great because there's nothing worse than an over or under-crowded wedding! The inside is painted white with awesome wooden floors that make it have a really relaxed vibe. There's a big stage at the front for the bridal party to stand on and the whole hall is fully stocked with spotlights and flashing party lights so if you wanted to you could carry the reception on at the same venue. Puhoi is a really cute village only half an hour from the CBD and would be a great way to get people out of the city and exploring a different part of Auckland. Be sure to check out the Puhoi Pub while you're out there too!

The Floating Pavillion is an event space which literally floats just off the Hobson West Marina in…read morethe Viaduct - you walk along the waterfront towards Te Wero Island/the Wynyard Crossing and the pavillion is the floating grey building on the left. It's aimed at the business launch/wedding/ball crowd, so it's well kitted out to deal with a crowd of around 300. There's two levels so space for sit down dinners on the ground floor, as well as a large dance floor up top. For our inaugural UoA Architecture/Planning ball we hired out the Floating Pavillion, and can report the night went off without a hitch - food wasn't amazing, but the space was perfectly sized and well kitted out for the occasion.

This place right here it the place to have all your events, from your wedding to your engagement…read moreparty, a meeting or even a birthday party. Everything you need is there, all you have to do is call the business, arrange a tour then let them know exactly what you want. After that you can either send them pictures of your ideas or just leave it to them and their creativity. It is a great place for any events as it is located on the waterfront, guaranteeing great views and amazing pictures to upload on to instagram hash tagging aboutthatlife!

"Ivy Cottage and the Enchanted Garden" is exactly that!…read more This is certainly a remote, isolated location for townies, however local for Northshore folk. Never spent anytime in Greenhithe, it's a 30 min drive from Central city, traffic dependant. On arrival, you need to park on the road outside, past the venue due to yellow lines. When entering, you are lead down a fairy path to a small cottage to meet and greet everyone (including the fairies), before the festivities begin. The children have the option of changing into a fairy costume or pirates outfit, if desired. The fairies then take the children around the enchanted forest, looking at all the magical places. The birthday celebrations take place inside the cottage, that is heavily themed as a grotto or fairies den: beautifully captivating. The storytelling continues with biscuit decorating session in the fairy craft room and the children are given a small drawstring bag of fairy dust to take home. This is the only fairy garden in Auckland, definitely a special place to celebrate birthdays and other noteworthy events! Cute!!

It's brilliant having such a wicked music venue right here on the door step. Since it opened a few…read moreyears ago there have been some top quality acts at Matakana Country Park; Highlife, America + Pat Benatar, Six60, Shihad....among many. I went to Shapeshifter and Kora and had a brilliant night. The venue itself is easily accessed; plenty of room for parking and has a good drop off zone. Security was efficient (although we did encounter one 'job smith') and it didn't take us long to get through the gates. The stage was inside a marquee and was a good size; it created a pretty intimate setting for an outdoor concert. I can't even complain about the Portaloos - I don't think we lined up for over 5mins, which is pretty good in concert terms. My only grumble would be the drink prices (but I guess you get that everywhere) we expected this though and stocked up before we came.

Self contained motel accommodation with great sea views. Excellent lawn and gravel area for parking…read morecaravan or motor home. Costs $20 per night for a self contained van which includes water, power and free wifi. For $40 per van you can also use all the bathroom amenities. Nice views of the sea. Very clean and well laid out. Friendly welcome. Highly recommend!! Close to lots of interesting sights, wineries and small towns like smart Matakana. We stayed on a windy wet night and it was a perfect place to recharge!

One of the best creative spaces in town with over 20 different business working out of one floor in…read morethe heart of the CBD. Matt Knight to helps run the loft is the man to contact if you are looking at getting into a shared office.

If you are a small business, or a team of one and you're looking for somewhere to work, even for a…read moreshort time, check out Loft503. Had a meeting there the other day and it's a cool place! This is a great shared work space in the restored Archilles House, next to Sals Pizza - so you get an awesome work space plus great lunch options! The deal is that you can rent a desk for a set length of time, giving you and your startup business the opportunity to have office space without the risk and outlay of renting your own whole office. Includes handy and flash facilities like kitchen and meeting rooms. Plus you get to work in an environment with other like minded people!

Alberton was definitely in the running when I was choosing a wedding venue as it is just so…read morebeautiful. It's one of those places that is constantly used for fashion, film and even music video shoots because its historic character is so well preserved. It is grand, old and beautiful but there are some rules and regulations that apply to keeping it that way so keep that in mind if you are thinking of using it for an event. The great thing is that it's open to the public so all you have to do is wander on in and explore all its nooks and crannies at your leisure. You will have to pay for the pleasure but that's as it should be in order to keep preserve places like this for future generations. The grounds are stunning as well and a visit here can take you back in time for some romantic day-dreaming. Great for kids too - history is so much more interesting when it's tangible.

Auckland's got a bad track record of hanging on to our historic buildings. Noteworthy architecture?…read moreImportant cultural heritage? Nah, let's tear it down and put up a featureless grey box full of leaky apartments. Sigh. At least we've got it right here though. Alberton House is from the mid 1800s, and it's a pretty neat place. It's a good venue for events (I was here for a wedding), but even without that it's cool just to have a wander around looking at the building itself, with its rabbit-warren servants' quarters and wooden everything. Also if you go upstairs (I say stairs, it's more like a ladder built for elves), they've got a few rooms set up with period furniture, and some of the creepiest dolls I've seen in a long time. This place is worth a visit, especially if the weather is good.