Suspended 10 metres up a giant redwood tree and struggling to cope with a flood of bookings, New Zealand’s world-first Yellow Treehouse restaurant opened for business today (9 Jan 2009).
Diners wanting to check out the latest in haute cuisine have been quick to reserve tables in the ‘billion-star restaurant’ - an architectural whimsy resembling a cocoon wrapped around the tree trunk - with spectacular views from its forest perch just north of Auckland.
The online booking service was overloaded when it opened. There were no vacancies for the first weekend, and evenings were booked out for the month with a few lunch-time vacancies remaining, a spokesman said.
Limited season
While the tree house restaurant is open for a limited season - 9 January to 9 February - an extended opening period is under consideration.
The restaurant offers a banquet-style lunch and dinner daily for groups of four to six diners. Diners are advised to bring warm clothes as "it can get a bit chilly up there".
Marketing campaign
First conceived as a marketing campaign, the restaurant was completed in just 66 days, using the Yellow Pages to find and contact all those involved in the project.
Since construction began, the project has attracted huge interest, with visitors including school classes and architecture students. Online viewers following progress on the website blog have made enquiries and booking requests from all over the world.
