We were booked here because the Novotel was full. Street parking was easy, free, and plentiful. (This also applies for the Novotel, so no big advantage here.) The free, unlimited internet in the room was slow, but very appreciated because this service is not standard in the other NZ hotels I stayed. Satellite TV was spotty because of a hailstorm that morning, so that's understandable. Service was professional, but I will focus the review on our room, which did not work for us.
We were placed in #17 aka the Don Stafford room, which faces the Polynesian Spa and Government Gardens. The Polynesian Spa smells of sulfur (think rotten eggs). Therefore, we never had fresh air in our room, which also smelled like chemicals in a hair salon. It was NOT tastefully appointed, and I have no idea how this hotel has a 4.5 star rating. Fortunately, that made us get out of the room and spend as little time in it as possible. However, we still wish we were assigned a better room, since we booked our vacation months in advance and checked in pretty early.
Continental breakfast is until 9:30 am, not 10 am. There was a butler-like waiter who rationed us 1 coffee each. Decent service, but too stuffy and formal for young, casual travelers. read more