It was a birthday to remember for both The Hotel Britomart and the winner of its recent $5000 giveaway.

To celebrate five years of operation on 1 October 2025, The Hotel Britomart marked the milestone with five special offers and giveaways, culminating in a $5,000 stay-and-dine package for whoever best guessed how many guests had visited The Hotel Britomart, kingi and The Libraries over the past five years.

Although nobody pinpointed the exact number – 602,836 – the competition winner Megan from Christchurch was within 315, with a guess of 602,524. She was delighted to receive notification that she had won $5000 to spend however she likes at the hotel and restaurant – not least because the good news came on her own birthday.

In Megan's own words: “Thank you so much, this is epic. I am so excited and so grateful... what an amazing prize! It's actually my birthday today so feels like an amazing surprise birthday present!” Megan says she and her husband are planning to use the credit to plan a long weekend getaway, and to enjoy dining at kingi with friends while they're there. “I am so looking forward to the experience, I have stayed before and it was divine!”

The other events in The Hotel Britomart's fifth birthday celebrations included 20 percent off bookings made in October, a Celebration Staycation package offer, and a giveaway slices of kingi chocolate banana tahini loaf in Tuawhiti Lane, where visitors could try to crack the code on a suitcase to win the case and its contents.

One lucky winner did guess the code: 095 representing the 95 team members employed by the hotel as at 1 October 2025.

In other news to celebrate, in the first week of November, The Hotel Britomart was named the number one hotel in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on Tripadvisor, following hot on the heels of the hotel's awarding of a prestigious Michelin Key.

“It's been an honour to see The Hotel Britomart grow into one of New Zealand's most recognised hotels over the past five years,” says General Manager Clinton Farley. “Our success is really a reflection of the people - the passionate team who bring our values to life every day, the loyal guests who continue to stay and dine with us, and the incredible New Zealand suppliers and artisans who help shape our story. Being awarded a MICHELIN Key this year, alongside so many other accolades in our story to date, is an incredible way to mark this milestone and celebrate how far we've come.”

In the five years since opening, The Hotel Britomart has become one of New Zealand's most awarded hotels, taking home, to date, 43 awards, including:

 — 5 Gold Pins at the Best Design Awards

— 5 food and beverage awards

— 9 industry tourism and hospitality awards including 6 Best Hotel awards and 7 Sustainability awards

— 6 architecture and design awards

— 2 TripAdvisor #1 Hotel in New Zealand

 —Inclusion on the Word's 50 Best hotels list

— Inclusion on the Conde Nast international Hot List

— One MICHELIN GUIDE Key