Penthouse Suites in New Zealand

[michelej1]

[So, there were only 2 penthouse suites, right? How many Fleetwood Mac members were staying in them? Did they bunk together or what? What kind of noises did he hear through the hotel room walls? I'm so afraid.]

From the Waikato Times, 12-30-09 by Lisa Lewis

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times...n-New-Plymouth

I always enjoy my visits to New Plymouth, but my latest stop-over there, on the weekend before Christmas, was particularly memorable on several fronts.

I'd booked one of three penthouse suites at The Waterfront - perhaps Taranaki's most luxurious hotel, where you can watch the waves rolling in off the Tasman Sea - ahead of my stage shows at Crave Club on Friday and Saturday night.

"You're not the only celebrity in town this weekend," confided the bell hop as I made myself at home. He revealed the other two penthouse suites were occupied by Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and the other members of Fleetwood Mac, who were in town for a sold-out show which was estimated to have pulled in over 18,000 people to New Plymouth. Like myself, Fleetwood Mac are obviously used to the late-night lifestyle, because at the end of my working "day" as I was winding down at about 4.30am, I could quite clearly hear them through the hotel walls.

While their stage craft is obviously a little different to mine as a dancer, I know just how they feel at the end of a big night.

You can't just simply switch off and go to sleep after everything has been all go, the adrenalin has been pumping hard, and you are still full of life.

In my case, it requires a shower, hot chocolate, and often a spell of reading to wind down. So while we didn't directly interact as the hotel's penthouse guests, we shared a common bond as Taranaki night owls enjoying one of New Plymouth's finest venues. Though I must say it's not often that I'm the quietest one on a hotel floor, when it's getting close to sunrise.