All 220 employees at Grand Millennium Auckland had the chance to showcase their artistic talent when the hotel held a competition to redesign its guest amenities card. These cards are the first point of contact that welcomes a special guest into their room, and are issued by the Guest Relations Manager with a customised message inside.

The new guest amenities card now features the painting titled ‘A Window To The Isthmus Of A Thousand Lovers’, proudly painted by Ms Nardos Tilahun, who is a part of the Front Office Team. Her inspiration for the painting came from the indigenous Māori name for Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau. It refers to the hotel’s geographical location on the narrowest part of the isthmus, making it a great starting point for exploring the Auckland region. An isthmus is a narrow piece of land that connects two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated.

The runner-up Mr Brian Lee, Chef de Partie – Banquets Kitchen has his specially created logo on the back of the card. He used the letters ‘G’ and ‘M’, which stand for Grand Millennium to create a kiwi, the iconic and national bird of New Zealand.