Waikato Herald<\/a> that receiving a Michelin Key is an \u201coutstanding milestone\u201d. <\/p>\nHe congratulated owners Gerry Westenberg and Jo Pannell on behalf of the Waip\u0101 District. <\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The basement speakeasy bar 1866 at The Clements Hotel in Cambridge is based on Chicago’s Prohibition-era haunts.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo receive international recognition so soon after opening speaks to the quality of the experience being offered in Cambridge,\u201d Pettit said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of recognition helps showcase Waikato to both domestic and international visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Cambridge has long been known for its heritage, its equine industry and a strong sense of community, with this international recognition further elevating the town\u2019s profile.<\/p>\n
Pettit believes the Michelin win shows Cambridge continuing to grow its reputation as \u201cone of New Zealand\u2019s premier visitor destinations\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt exemplifies our slogan \u2018Waip\u0101 Home of Champions\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton and Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell said the organisation knew \u201cThe Clements was something special\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been proud … throughout its development; watching an important historic building transformed into a sophisticated luxury hotel,\u201d Greenwell said.<\/p>\n
She said The Clements complements \u201cpremier\u201d tourist activities in the area, such as Hobbiton and Hamilton Gardens.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Michelin Key puts another international spotlight on Cambridge, benefiting not only the hotel but the town\u2019s wider hospitality, retail and visitor sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Huka]()
Huka Lodge in Taup\u014d. Photo \/ George Apostolidis<\/p>\n
Two 2026 Michelin wins <\/p>\n
Capstone Hotel Management manages The Clements Hotel under agreements with the Marsden Group.<\/p>\n
It has also received a Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Business Award and a 5-Star Boutique rating on its first evaluation.<\/p>\n
The Marsden Group is celebrating two big wins, as its Delamore Lodge on Waiheke Island was promoted from one Michelin Key to two this year.<\/p>\n
Marsden Group\u2019s chief operating officer Clare Davies said The Clements receiving a Michelin Key in \u201csuch quick succession\u201d to its opening is thrilling.<\/p>\n
Davies believes The Clements has already made a \u201cpositive\u201d impact on regional tourism and the Michelin Key places Cambridge and Waikato on the map for luxury and boutique travellers both nationally and internationally.<\/p>\n
![\"A]()
A view from a pool at the Delamore Lodge on Waiheke Island.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichelin\u2019s standards are exceptionally high,\u201d Davies said, with one key resembling a special stay at a unique, character-filled property with high-quality service and an authentic local feel.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir assessors are looking at every detail of the guest experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be recognised so early in our journey was a wonderful surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davies said the recognition belongs to their teams on site who \u201cdeeply\u201d care about their guests and properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cDelamore and The Clements show what is possible when a management approach is built around each property\u2019s individual strengths and we are proud of the teams and owners behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there are no three-key hotels in New Zealand, there are 10 two-key hotels \u2013 seven retained their two-key status from last year, while three were newly crowned two-key hotels.<\/p>\n
There are now 18 one-key hotels in New Zealand: 10 hotels retained their one-key status from last year and eight new hotels were recognised for the first time.<\/p>\n
New Zealand\u2019s 10 two-key hotels compare strongly with Australia, which had nine hotels score a two-key status and three achieve three keys.<\/p>\n
Globally, 155 hotels achieved a three-key status.<\/p>\n
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakat\u0101ne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One key is for a very special stay, two keys are for an exceptional stay and three keys…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[304243,190061,74,304242,194360,156,8993,6735,5511,4277,54677,111,139,69,5270,10521,19764,1858,1524,6202,379],"class_list":["post-617740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-304243","tag-accolade","tag-after","tag-cambridges","tag-clements","tag-entertainment","tag-heritage","tag-hotel","tag-just","tag-key","tag-michelin","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-one","tag-opening","tag-received","tag-restored","tag-waikato","tag-wins","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}