You find this hotel at a nearly perfect location, just across the street from the Civic Centre, and main information centre, around the corner from Cuba Street, a short stroll from the Waterfront and Te Papa.
However, the name sounds more promising than the bathrooms are ;-) And you have no views of the waterfront or whatsoever.
It is one of those dated beauties, with magnificent entrance hall where every evening another kind of live music was played, from piano to cello. The receptionists were very friendly, and room service good.
The first time you feel the old age is when you use the slightly rattling slow elevator to your room.
The rooms are refurbished in a nice way. No great furniture though, not bad either, just reminded me of the blue kitchens you get at the DIY stores like Mitre 10. The Mitre 10 look continued into the bathroom – but unfortunately included only the vanity. The basin, shower und toilet were prehistoric, and I disliked it not only for the beige colour and the cheap plastic.
I really hate those two taps, with the hot water so hot that you either have to fill the basin up and mix the water, so you can wash your hands, and waste lots of water. (BTW I have developed a new system, mixing water in a glass and then pouring it over my hands…) And the hot water tap was coughing hot water out at the start.
The shower was surrounded by a frame and had a (clean) curtain. (Ok, ok, in France we were happy when we got a curtain at all 30 years ago…) Still, the water sprayed out at the bottom towards the toilet which was only some centimetres away. And there must have been a leak at the bottom on the side because after a shower the floor was flooded beside the bathroom door, so there was always some cleaning to do - but they provided enough white towels for that ;-)
The room itself had everything you needed, including an extra sofa-bed for Kimi the Travel Bear ;-) Nice carpet, nice framed print on the wall, good curtain and net curtain.
If you think the view into a parking building is a view, we also had a view. But at least you could see the sky and the sunshine, so much better than other places where you look into a courtyard and have to step outside the hotel to find out how the weather is. Oh, and what I really appreciated was that it was possible to open the windows and get fresh air.
Very good heater that heated the room up fast and efficiently (we stayed there in winter).
Carpark costs NZ$ 10 per day.
Although my review reads rather negative I would happily stay there again :-) I just wanted to advise you not to expect luxury accommodation.
Internet rates about $ 160 (as Sept. 2008) but often special deals for weekends and rates about $ 120 on www.wotif.com
They also have a good looking restaurant but we did not eat there.
Photo 2 shows the sofa bed, photo 3 the bathroom, and photo 4 the view.
