Albie E.
Yelp
This hotel is a pretty trendy, hip place to stay at in Auckland. It's centrally located in the central business district and close to many tourist attractions.
The space itself is very nice, cleans and staff are nice and helpful.
The rooms are very nice, modern and very trendy. I understand this hotel to be a joint venture with Millennium hotels and Social hotels. It's the youthful, trendy division which is clearly visible throughout.
Room rates are reasonable and compared to Hilton rates, which is just down the wharf from here.
I opted for the premium upgrade, which allowed you access to the lounge and happy hour beverages/food. I must say the upgrade was certainly not worth it. The amount to upgrade $150 a night roughly, which you'd expect it to be worth it.
The lounge was a space that had couches, outdoor area and a billiards/game table, television and bar/snack area. The snacks were cheese,crackers and fruit and wine selection was limited to one red or one white to drink from. A full coffee machine was available to gets drinks from. During the week, they did not have red wine available 3 days. Although they have a full bar in lobby and restaurant, they wouldn't/couldn't bring up a bottle of red to drink. Instead I was told I could go down and purchase any red I'd like. I really found it hard to believe a bottle of red couldn't be opened.
The upgrade also included breakfast buffet, which was very good. The food was good and service was good in the restaurant and buffet area. The food tasted good.
Other than the lounge issue, the stay was good, rooms were clean and comfortable. Views were amazing and the location was very centrally located.
I'd stay there again, but not a fan of the "upgrade"
I did mention the issue to management, they did apologise and refunded the full amount of the upgrade. They were very helpful and just wanted to make sure the stay was satisfactory and issues resolved.