Flying Buccaneer
Sep 22, 10, 9:54 am
Mr. FB and I spent one night at the Crowne Plaza in Christchurch, arriving on Wednesday, September 15. I had been able to get the room for 5000 points, because the CP was one of the PointBreaks participating properties.
We arrived in Christchurch by car a little after 2:00 p.m. This was 11 days after the major quake that hit the area, and there were some signs of damage in the vicinity of the hotel. However, the hotel itself had no apparent damage. We missed the automobile entrance driving west on Kilmore Street the first time we passed it, so he had to drive around the block again. When we pulled up to the front doors, we were greeted by two friendly people who helped us with our bags and parked our car. Check in was also friendly. The man behind the front desk acknowledged my Platinum status and said that we had been upgraded to a room with a park view. He said it would be much quieter than a room facing the street.
We were in Room 830, and the room was very nice. We only had three issues with the hotel. The first was a bump in the floor just as we exited one of the elevator cars on the 8th floor. It was not marked, and I almost fell when I tripped over it the afternoon we arrived. The next morning, we saw a lady do the same thing. We mentioned it at check out and were assured that it would be marked with tape. The second issue was that our room had a stale smell. We noticed it slightly when we arrived, but it didn't become a problem for me until I awoke early the next morning and thought I smelled cigarette smoke. I mentioned it at check out, just because I didn't want them to think we had been smoking in the room. The final issue was the lack of electrical outlets near the bed. All of the outlets in our room were on the opposite wall. This is probably a function of the hotel's age. Incidentally, we did feel a couple of aftershocks in the early morning hours, but the hotel obviously withstood a 7.1 quake, so these shocks just caused the building to sway a little.
Internet is available, but runs about NZ$30 for 24 hours with a limit of 500 MB or 1 GB of data, depending on the plan you choose. This is the standard charge in most chain hotels in NZ. A two-hour plan (continuous from time of purchase) is also available for NZ$10 with a limit of 30 MB. After the 30 MB are used, you have the option of continuing until the two hours are over with a slower connection at no additional cost or a fast connection at 10 cents per additional MB used.
Overall, this is a nice hotel located on the northern edge of the city's CBD. It is within walking distance to Cathedral Square, the Botanic Gardens, and Christchurch's other central attractions. It's not as centrally located as the Holiday Inn City Centre, but the location is much more peaceful. My last stay at the HI was in 2005, so I can't really make a valid comparison of the rooms. I seem to remember that it had the same issue with electrical outlets.
The CP is showing its age, but the people who work there were very welcoming and helpful. It was a steal for 5000 PC points.
We arrived in Christchurch by car a little after 2:00 p.m. This was 11 days after the major quake that hit the area, and there were some signs of damage in the vicinity of the hotel. However, the hotel itself had no apparent damage. We missed the automobile entrance driving west on Kilmore Street the first time we passed it, so he had to drive around the block again. When we pulled up to the front doors, we were greeted by two friendly people who helped us with our bags and parked our car. Check in was also friendly. The man behind the front desk acknowledged my Platinum status and said that we had been upgraded to a room with a park view. He said it would be much quieter than a room facing the street.
We were in Room 830, and the room was very nice. We only had three issues with the hotel. The first was a bump in the floor just as we exited one of the elevator cars on the 8th floor. It was not marked, and I almost fell when I tripped over it the afternoon we arrived. The next morning, we saw a lady do the same thing. We mentioned it at check out and were assured that it would be marked with tape. The second issue was that our room had a stale smell. We noticed it slightly when we arrived, but it didn't become a problem for me until I awoke early the next morning and thought I smelled cigarette smoke. I mentioned it at check out, just because I didn't want them to think we had been smoking in the room. The final issue was the lack of electrical outlets near the bed. All of the outlets in our room were on the opposite wall. This is probably a function of the hotel's age. Incidentally, we did feel a couple of aftershocks in the early morning hours, but the hotel obviously withstood a 7.1 quake, so these shocks just caused the building to sway a little.
Internet is available, but runs about NZ$30 for 24 hours with a limit of 500 MB or 1 GB of data, depending on the plan you choose. This is the standard charge in most chain hotels in NZ. A two-hour plan (continuous from time of purchase) is also available for NZ$10 with a limit of 30 MB. After the 30 MB are used, you have the option of continuing until the two hours are over with a slower connection at no additional cost or a fast connection at 10 cents per additional MB used.
Overall, this is a nice hotel located on the northern edge of the city's CBD. It is within walking distance to Cathedral Square, the Botanic Gardens, and Christchurch's other central attractions. It's not as centrally located as the Holiday Inn City Centre, but the location is much more peaceful. My last stay at the HI was in 2005, so I can't really make a valid comparison of the rooms. I seem to remember that it had the same issue with electrical outlets.
The CP is showing its age, but the people who work there were very welcoming and helpful. It was a steal for 5000 PC points.