Best Western Annabelle Court Motel
Hotel Class: 
4.5 Stars - 29 Opinions
42 Riccarton Road, Christchurch, Christchurch-Canterbury, 00000, New Zealand
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Amenities
84%
of people enjoy staying here
29 Opinions
- Excellent
- 15
- Very Good
- 6
- Average
- 4
- Poor
- 3
- Terrible
- 1
More about Christchurch
Photos
Burgled bus in Colombo St, near Cathedral Square.
Kiwis love their sausages ;-)
Akaroa from the other side of the harbour
No night under $350 at the Charlotte Jane.
Forum Posts
renting or buying a car
by Bombasti
i intend to start my trip in NZ from Christchurch.
i am going to travel all over the south and north islands, for 2 months (March-May).
is it better to rent a car or to buy one for this period of time?
Re: renting or buying a car
by Kakapo2
If you are lucky and get a cheap AND good car buying would save you money. But I know of several people who were not very lucky with their cars and lost time and money by doing so.
Some budget companies sell their cars and buy them back. But this is only an option if you drop it off at the same location.
I think you can be rather relaxed about the issue as you will travel in the off peak season, so you could wait and see what is available in Christchurch. Often backpackers advertise their cars at the hostels and internet cafés, and there are several dealers with really great offers. At the moment it is a buyers market, so you might be lucky.
But I must really say, personally I would not bother buying a car for two months only because you might cut your holiday short by a week just to sell your car at the end of the trip. Or consider to drop the car off in Chch and make a deal with a rental company or dealer who would buy it back. The rental companies do so because it saves them the insurance payments. But dropping it off down here again would mean you have to pay for the ferry twice...
Re: renting or buying a car
by julienz
Most cars are from NZ $1,500-$2,500 to buy, so I guess you need to do some number crunching comparing that to hiring. The two (probably) cheapest and biggest companies for hiring cheap cars in NZ are Jucy and Backpackers. If I were you I would get quotes from both and then make the comparison. (Note that there are a lot of other small companies, but these are big companies, so have the backup you need if you have a breakdown).
The biggie to add on then is insurance. You can now buy third party insurance in NZ (covers just the other driver if you hit them) through places like BBH (Budget Backpackers Hostels). If you buy insurance through the hire company it really ups the price.
If you can afford to hire, I'd say go with that because you won't have any breakdown worries. If you decide to buy, go for something like a TOYOTA - reliable and easy to get fixed in NZ. Often in hostels you see advertisments offering lifts to other backpackers, and sharing costs, so you could maybe do that too.
Re: renting or buying a car
by sufr54
Last month I booked a car rental with Scotties, Rent a Car, 189 Blenheim Rd. in Christchurch.
They treated us very well.
They had cars for hire and for sale on the same lot.
You can contact them at: cars@scotties.co.nz
I dealt with Kate Grant.
Travel Tips for Christchurch
Lots of charm
by TheWanderingCamel
Christchurch is full of architectural gems - small ones admittedly, you won't find any of the "Great Buildings of the World" here, but what you will find is a harmonious collection of mostly Victorian buildings, built from local materials and in sympathy with each other and the community at large. There's lots of grey stone neo-Gothic - the Arts Centre, Cathedral, Provincial Council Buildings, Canterbury Museum, Victoria Street Clock Tower, Christ's College are all good examples, but some attractive red brick can be found too, often finished with white quoins and ornamentation of varying degrees of elaborateness - the old Central Post Office and The Press buildings on Cathedral Square and the former Municipal Chambers by the Worcester Street Bridge are particularly notable.
Smaller in scale but favourites of mine are The Antigua Street Boatsheds, which make a very pretty picture with their striped paintwork and colourful boats nestling under the willows by the river, and the cute llittle (wee in Kiwi-speak) Shands Emporium in Hereford Street - a tiny little green wooden building that has been doing business here since 1860.
Looking up brings rewards too - there are some lovely towers to be seen atop some of the city's buildings, as well as coats of arms and other features.
Good modern buildings are harder to find though the new art Gallery's a stunning addition to the city.
Show Week
by fishandchips
The 2nd Tuesday in November is the annual horse race - the NZ Trotting Cup. The Friday of that week is Canterbury Anniversary Day (it's actually 16 December but who cares) aka Show Day. Both events are held at Addington Raceway.
The Tuesday is the big racing day with many people more interested in their sexy new outfits than the horses. Friday is family day with many family picnics held in the car park and lots of kids running free.
On top of this is the Agricultural & Pastoral (or A&P) show aka the Royal New Zealand Show. There is everything from carnival rides to animal shows and the opportunity to see the latest trade exhibits. On top of all this is a bit of music.
Show Day is typically a hot sunny day (fingers crossed) and a day off work for all Cantabrians.
A Trip with Hot Air in Hot Air
by Kakapo2
Those colourful hot air balloons look magnificent over the green Canterbury Plains and in front of the backdrop of snow-capped or -covered mountains of the Southern Alps.
The wider region of Canterbury is said to be New Zealand's finest ballooning location, especially the area around the wintersport town of Methven and Mt. Hutt. One company says: "There is no other place in the world where it is possible to fly from the centre of the city, in view of the sun rising out of the ocean, toward snow-capped mountains." If this superlative is true is hard to prove - but it sounds great, and at least it is correct that the balloons take off in Christchurch's Hagley Park and then set off to have the perfect over-view of the coastline from the Kaikouras to Banks Peninsula and down to Timaru in the southm and the Southern Alps in the west.
It is best to do ballooning in the early morning when the chance is high to have calm conditions.
All companies say that New Zealand offers the best value balloon flights in the world and is the cheapest place to do it. Let's hope this is also correct ;-)
Some companies in and around Christchurch:
Up Up And Away, Christchurch
Phone (03) 381 4600
www.ballooning.co.nz
Email: info@ballooning.co.nz
Prices (as Jan. 2007): $260pp, children $220, free pick-up service.
Sunrise starts at 5am (Nov-Feb) and later in other months. The whole trip takes about 4hrs.
Aoraki Ballon Safaris, Methven
Freephone (0800) 256 837, Landline (03) 302 8172, Mobile (025) 334 861 www.nzballooning.co.nz
Email: aoraki@nzballooning.com
Prices (as Jan. 2007):
Superior plains flight incl. champagne breakfast: $295pp, standby-fare $245
City flight Christchurch: $250, standby $225 Sturdy shoes, warm clothes, sunglasses, sunscreen
Sign of the Kiwi
by fishandchips
The Sign of the Kiwi is located up Dyers Pass Road on what is known as Coronation Hill ( named after the coronation of King George V in 1911). Coronation Hill was acquired by Henry George 'Harry' Ell with the track under his name running between the Sign of the Takahe and Sign of the Kiwi. The sign itself is on the left front of the photo below.
The Sign of the Kiwi was officially opened on 9 June 1917 and operated as a tearoom and rest house until the 1940's when it was closed to the public by the Department of Lands and Survey. In the 1950's the Council built public toilets and partially restored the building. Today the Sign of the Kiwi serves as a shop providing refreshments.
Also located here is a remnant of the Toll Gate established by Harry Ell in 1922 to raise funds for the construction and maintenance of the road to Kennedys Bush.
The sign of the Kiwi is one of four 'rest houses' situated around the Port Hills with the others being the Sign of the Takahe, Sign of the Bellbird (Kennedys Bush) and Sign of the Packhorse (Kaituna Valley).
Well there are many ways to...
by stephikins
Well there are many ways to get to and from Christchurch. If you are coming from overseas it will have to be by plane but once in New Zealand there are many options. If you don't mind long bus rides the bus trips are a great way to see New Zealand and also on day trips from Christchurch. Of course there is always national flights and for something different you could also try the train.
The best way to get around Christchurch if you don't hire a rental car is by bus. The bus exchange is now a focal point of the city and provides up to date information and a friendly service. Buses are frequent and reliable and a great way to see everything.
A new system has just been introduced for the buses on October 27th 2003 called the metro card. This card costs a minimum of NZD$10 and can be used on all buses. As an example a trip to and from the city to most places will cost only $1.90 using the card for less than 2 hours up to a maximum of $3.80 per day. If you don't have a card it will cost $2.50 per adult and $1.30 per child for 2 hours only. More information is available at the bus exchange on Lichfield Street.
Hotel Helper
Christchurch
Questions and Answers
Q: Hanmer Connection Shuttle stop location? "I've sent an email requesting a booking for the Hanmer Connection shuttle from Christchurch to Hanmer Springs. Their website..."
A: "no reason for them not to leave from Rolleston Ave..there is no traffic disruption on Rolleston Ave
there s a YMCA and a YHA in walking distance, a couple of B&Bs nearby..."
Read 5 Replies »
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Best Western Annabelle Court Motel
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
- Christchurch Best Western
- Best Western Christchurch
- Annabelle Court Hotel
Address: 42 Riccarton Road, Christchurch, Christchurch-Canterbury, 00000, New Zealand
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