A room fit for a royal visitor
It’s a room fit for a prince, but for Prince Harry the Stewart Island experience was all about just being one of the people.
The prince spent Sunday night at the Stewart Island Lodge, in a $200-per-night room overlooking Halfmoon Bay.
Lodge host Lisa Benson said the flame-haired royal and his entourage were determined to make their stay ‘‘an authentic Stewart Island experience’’.
The only special treatment he received was a snack basket in his room and slightly bigger flowers on the table in the shared living space.
‘‘We didn’t really have to do anything differently – he just wanted a normal experience,’’ Benson said.
‘‘I had the opportunity to welcome him into the lodge and he was just lovely.’’
The prince stayed in one of six almost identical rooms overlooking the bay and had a continental breakfast at the lodge before visiting Halfmoon Bay School on the last leg of his southern travels before heading back to the mainland.
Benson said she gained an insight into Prince Harry’s life behind closed doors.
‘‘One of the things I really enjoyed was watching how he interacted with other people,’’ she said.
‘‘I saw how he was with his crew, with children and with the birdlife, and it was an honour to see him open up and be so generous and playful – he’s got a really good sense of humour.
‘‘I think he has an awareness that his position on the planet s quite serious, but he’s very playful with his crew.’’
Benson said the island experience would be ‘‘very different’’ to anything he would experience for the remainder of his New Zealand tour, which wraps up on May 16. ‘‘I think the fact he was just like another guest was what was particularly delightful for him about being on Stewart Island – he wouldn’t get that in too many places.’’