I stayed here Feb 27, 2025 before boarding Princess Cruise. This hotel is 10 min walking distance…read morefrom Princess dock. My room 711 was quiet and clean with big cheerful windows and view of the City. But the door to room was the heaviest and hardest to open door I ever experienced in my life. I had two breakfasts here. My comments are the bacon isn't cooked enough leaving lots of fat on it and it is not crispy, served wimpy in liquid of water or fat with the lid steaming the bacon. The congee was extremely boring. No minced Chinese preserved mustard greens and pork sung that the Chinese eat congee with. What looks like soy sauce didn't add flavor or salt to the congee. Some people thought the scrambled eggs were too runny, but I like it like custard This was so runny you have to drain the liquid out of the spoon before putting in your plate. The breakfast selection was not large, but gets the job done. The Wi-Fi was so slow. But on the day I checked out and had to wait in the lobby till 2 pm to board the ship, I told the front desk how slow THE CUT wifi was, that my email would not send. She put my phone on a different wifi and the email sent right away and wifi was no longer a problem. Location is two blocks from shopping and eating places, but mostly takeout food , pub stuff, I did not see really nice sit down restaurants.

Horrible stay recently compounded by customer service completely unwilling to be reasonable. We…read morewere given a room directly under the event space and subjected to incessant noise during setup, loud bass thumping through the ceiling for 2 hours past the time we were promised it would end, and then another 2 hours of loud cleanup. No apology was offered and our request for a discount due to the inconvenience was denied. We checked out 2 days early and were initially denied a refund for those days. Folow up with corporate office resulted in an offer for a discount for a future stay. Are they kidding?

Location is great. Walking distance to shopping and restaurants. Room itself: moldy, dirty, not…read morewell kept, no plug in the bathroom for the hair dryer, no mirror in the room where the hair dryer was able to be plugged in and no hot water. The breakfast was the same every morning, however, there are many options so you can change it up. The breakfast staff was lovely. The front desk staff, not so lovely; mostly rude. There was one working the front desk over the week that was pleasant. They did have taxis readily available, which was great. The room had a kitchenette, toaster, tea service, microwave and refrigerator. So, would I recommend this to a friend? No. 3 stars for the bed being comfortable and the location was great.

This was my first visit to New Zealand and I was very excited to see the country I had heard so…read moremuch about! Our room at the Amora was chosen mainly for location as it is near a bus route and downtown is walkable from this area, a big plus. Our room was not quickly accessed though. There was only one small elevator, as the other one needed to be repaired, which meant long waits to go up or down. Our room contained a nice kitchenette and was very comfortable. The bathroom, however, was inconveniently arranged as there was no electrical outlet for a hair dryer. We had to find one somewhere else in the room, but of course there was no mirror there. The fitness room did not feel safe to me. It was located in the underground parking garage in a room the size of a large closet. It was dark in there even with the light on and the equipment was very outdated. A big disappointment. Overall, the convenience of the location still made our stay a happy one!

We were going to take a cruise and chose to stay here. It was lovely. Nice and clean. Great…read morebreakfast with lots of variety. Unfortunately I left some items in my room. They were willing to ship them to at an extremely reasonable price. Extremely quick to respond to any communications. Friendly staff.

Pros: Location in City Centre and walking distance to Federal St which has several good restaurants…read morelike The Depot. Also less than 10 minute walk to The City Work Depot more yummy eats and drinks. It's about a 15-20 minute walk to The Viaduct down queen street which is a busy shopping area. The room felt clean. It was cozy not small. Also the heater has been updated see pictures. Beds were as comfy as you could expect for the price. The staff is incredibly helpful and friendly. Good recommendations on food and things to do. On site laundry room for $3/wash and $3/dry. It's convenient for someone whose been traveling for several days. Yeah free wifi for an 1hr/day/user. Better than no wifi at all. This review is courtesy of said wifi. Cons: I would update the shower and make it less plasticy type feel. Yes I know plasticy isn't a real world but it's the best way to describe it at the moment. Parking per night is $25 but I am not complaining since parking in Auckland is a pain and you pay for this everywhere like San Francisco. It's also a small and tight squeeze but maneuverable. Gym is provided but it's offsite about a 10 minute walk. Conclusion: I would come back and recommend this place to friends who aren't overally picky and don't want to break the bank for a place to sleep and rest.

The was an interesting little motel. It is a bit hard to get to if you are coming in from the…read moreopposite side of the street because of the roundabouts, but doable. The parking is a bit cramped and limited, but I didn't have any issue finding a spot. The manager was very nice and accommodating! My room was clean, and though small, did not feel restrictive. It was functional and well-appointed. Excellent wifi. My only complaint was theroom was very hot when I got in there and w/no A/C it took a while to cool down w/the open window and included fan. The shared bath was right next to my room and was very clean and roomy and had nice provisions, including a hair dryer. There was an included continental breakfast, nothing fancy, toast & coffee and cereal, so it was adequate. Check out was a breeze. For the price point, a nice place to stay in Auckland, especially since it was pretty on/off the highway to downtown.

Black Sands Lodge is a little sanctuary of a Bed and Breakfast out at Piha Beach. Run by two…read morewonderful women - Bobbie and Julia - this place has three separate dwellings for people staying over and Bobbie and Julia have done a great job of making them all beautiful. I stayed in the more bargain room - a twin room with two single beds - and loved every minute of it. Bobbie and Julia were really accommodating and made wonderful food. We also shared a few wines and talked politics in the evening, which was great! Black Sands is only a stone's throw from the beach, so if you stay over, make sure you pack your jandals for the short walk to the beach. The Piha Café around the corner is also great for meals.

I chose this hotel based on the price, the location, and the availability (room-wise). We were a…read morecouple on our first trip to NZ. We planned our stay from March 26th to April 9th (14 nights). The "Premium" King Room was available without an increase to our original package. We also looked at the restaurants, shopping, things to see and do, transportation, and walkability within the hotel and its surrounding area. Our flight arrived early in the morning (5 am), so our room wasn't available when we got to the hotel, but they checked us in, offered to store our luggage, and took our cell number just in case it was ready earlier than scheduled. We knew there were restaurants in the hotel, so we walked around to get some breakfast. We also stopped by a couple of gift shops on the way to and from breakfast. After a while, we went back to the hotel lobby, and we were informed that our room was ready (early) and that they already had a porter deliver our luggage inside our room. The lobby, elevator, halls, and rooms were all clean. In fact, we constantly saw workers cleaning during our entire stay. They were always checking in on us as we passed by, asking if we needed anything. We asked for toilet paper and new towels twice, and had them change the bedding and vacuum once during our stay. We were in Rotorua for five days, but still had this room in our name as a home base because we were coming back. The room was large, again, with a king-sized bed, a small "L" shaped couch, a nightstand on one side of the bed, a desk, a credenza under the TV, a fixed luggage rack, a coffee/tea station, several drawers, shelves, and a closet. The bathroom had plenty of room to move, ample counter space, and a shower that could fit two. We couldn't ask for anything more. Well, maybe one. A microwave. But we understand. They have several restaurants attached to this hotel. They would rather have you spend the money eating out than in the room. There's a gambling casino in the hotel, too. It includes both machines and tables. We have casinos all over the place where we live, so it wasn't a selling point for us, but it was a nice pastime and something to do when we wanted to vape/smoke and didn't want to stand outside the hotel. There are several smoking balconies with machines to keep you occupied. You do have to sign up for membership here, but you can do that on their website before you even arrive. They regulate gambling and have guidelines in place to (hopefully) avoid gambling addictions. Anyhow, we had two concierges that brighten every day that we saw them, Dicky, and TaoBao (sorry if that's misspelled). We met Dicky first. He talked to us like family, giving us tips on what to do, where to go, where to eat, and what not to. He always had a huge smile on his face, greeted us with hugs, and got genuinely excited to see us. We felt the same. TaoBao was also very friendly towards us, gave us great tips, and booked a private tour for us with an unexpected discount. We were down the hall from the elevator, so the noise level was very minimal. We would occasionally hear a door or soft chatter, but other than that, the only other noise was from housekeeping, and they weren't noisy at all. Overall, we were pleased with our stay and everything (except a microwave) that they had to offer. Oh! I almost forgot, to our surprise, this hotel is also the bus hub. If you take the bus from the airport to the City Center, this is where you will be dropped off. As well as if you want to go back to the airport. There are lockers (some large) available at the Bus Office here, too. If you're just visiting on a day trip, these are so handy! They also have the InterCity Bus (website is helpful), where you can go to other, long-distance areas of NZ. We took the bus to Rotorua. It took about five hours with a rest stop mid-point. In front of the hotel by the Tower, there's a Hop-on, Hop-off Bus that will take you to several tourist stops. This was really nice to have. There's an auto-tour guide that tells you about the area along the way and announces what stop is coming up and what there is to do there. *Pro-tip 1: Get the two-day pass. Take a photo of your receipt. If you want to purchase it again over the next week, they will give you a discount. *Pro-tip 2: If you go to the Hop-on, Hop-off Bus website, you can get the map and stop locations marked directly onto Google Maps. It was very helpful when it came to finding where to get back on the bus!

We flew in to Auckland from San Francisco and landed at 6 am. Our room wasn't ready, obviously, but…read morethe staff took our luggage for safe keeping while we explored the city. They had our room ready early which we greatly appreciated after our long flight! We loved how centrally located the hotel was and our room was very clean and comfortable! We will definitely be staying here again when we visit!

It's located in a very convenient location to a bunch of shopping and the viaduct. No one was by…read morethe hotel door to help us with luggage and when we checked in, the staff members seemed distracted while checking us in. The room is clean and bright. The gym is quite small and had one broken treadmill that didn't have a sign so I'm not sure if staff are aware of it. Our rooms didn't include breakfast, but we were excited to try it. We ended up disappointed because the hostess gave us two menus and told us to sit anywhere. There's prices for a la carte and buffet and we opted for the buffet and just went up to get food. A staff member stopped us and asked if we were doing the buffet and then told us she'd bring us the bill so we could sign our room. It felt like maybe a staff member should have brought us to our seat and asked us what we wanted to prevent being stopped at the food counter and having guest and staff play a guessing game. The breakfast selection is mediocre. Another table was sat and the staff member who stopped us was quick to go to their table and explain the menu choices to them so I'm not sure if it's a lack of consistency or if they need more staff during the breakfast shift because it seemed like it was just her and the hostess working. Staff was also slow to clear tables.

Location and views alone are 5-stars. Booked my trip back in December. To gain more airline points,…read moreI booked the hotel through the airline portal. After reviewing the map of the Auckland central business district (CBD) and where the Sky Tower was, I knew I wanted to stay by the harbor, with a view and reasonably priced. That's when I came across M Social Viaduct Harbor. From Google Maps and looking at YouTube videos, the hotel was in the midst of it all. My first encounter with them was a few weeks earlier when I learned that M Socials last check-in time was midnight. Unfortunately, because my flight was schedule to land at 9:45 pm, having to get through customs and waiting for Uber, we'd be cutting it close. So I emailed M Social and they assured me that we could check-in after midnight, no rush since they knew how long customs could take. What a relief. When we got there, a little after 11 pm, I was told our room was upgraded to the 12th floor which is the highest floor. I was told "The harbor view is great up there." And it is!!! All the rooms face the harbor and all rooms have a view!!! The higher you are the better the view. And when we got to our room, we had a signed card from the employees along with Easter candy because I didn't realize it was Easter weekend when I booked our flights. The room was clean with modern and youthful aesthetic. And the price? I can't believe it is one of the least expensive hotels along the harbor. It was between $129 - $189/night. Of course, Weekends are higher price. And, laundry is free. We just had to pay for laundry detergent. No dryer sheets in Auckland, though. People in NZ said I had an American accent. But they're the ones with accents... lol. Auckland is also a melting pot. The front staff were mainly Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese. So they had their native accent along with the English accent. But everyone was so kind to us. And they have a restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night socializing. Although we only had apps and drinks, the food was really good and non-alcoholic drinks were refreshing. As much as I want to gatekeep M Social, I also want to praise the staff members and hope everyone can enjoy your time staying at this wonderful establishment.

"Seedy" is the first adjective that pops into my head when travelling past the dilapidated…read moreEdinburgh Castle. Seedy in a "This-is-an-old-gaming/sports-bar" kind of way and you get what you see. Located on the corner of Newton Rd and Symonds St, I have often passed but never entered. Inside is a clean, if dated, bar which is surprisingly spacious. There is plenty of seating, an outdoor courtyard, a pool table and, the pièce de résistance, a pinball ball machine. Oh, so it's old and sticky and needs to be plugged in via an extension cord to the kitchen. The entire reason this pub exists is to drink cheap booze and get rowdy, not to worry about the decor and Instagramming plates of food. Edinburgh Castle is a pub for sports fiends and pokie players (generally over 40).

I once played at a weird "open mic" type of thing here, except we got paid to play after a couple…read more of punters had a go at singing. The night went well, there ended up with a bit of a fight on stage, and at the end some gang members stood over the guy who was running the whole show and he had to pay them what he was going to pay us to get his gear back. Since then, the Edinburgh castle has got rid of the stage we played on and put in pokie machines, and , oddly enough - introduced a chinese restaurant. I'm not sure whose idea this was - the place doesn't exactly scream "lovely place for a dinner innit?" They have free pool nights on mondays which is pretty cool . Their happy hour specials are great, and it's not a bad place to come and sink a few for a couple of hours. But it's no nightlife hotspot.