Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - AKL Hotel Question

I will be in Auckland in August and need some advice on threee hotels. There are two Mecure, which seem pretty central. Are they good places, or run down? There is also the Rydges Auckland which has a good rate and seems nice (better then the Mecure?) but it seems to be up a hill from the main area/waterfront. I will be traveling with someone who has difficulty walking, and was wondering if it is as centrally located as the Mecure's or if there is a real hill involved?

Thank you

I've stayed at the Mercure that used to be a Novotel (the one on Customs St, opposite all the strip clubs) - it was a dump, likely still is.

Most CBD hotels in Auckland are crap - the Crowne Plaza, that Mercure, etc. I'd go straight for the Hilton down on the harbour. It's souless, but at least it's quality (and clean). Not directly opposite strip club row, but within walking distance if that's your thing. :)

The Novotel Ellerslie is WAAAAAAY out of town near the racecourse. OK hotel if you're just there to meet somebody at the hotel, useless otherwise.

I've stayed at the Mercure that used to be a Novotel (the one on Customs St, opposite all the strip clubs) - it was a dump, likely still is.

Most CBD hotels in Auckland are crap - the Crowne Plaza, that Mercure, etc. I'd go straight for the Hilton down on the harbour. ...


If you're wealthy, the Hilton is certainly a good choice. I see rooms start at ~280 NZD (advance purchase). Personally I had no problems staying recently at the Mercure Hotel Windsor (Queen Street), which I note can be as little as $119 NZD. :)

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I stayed at the Westin in AKL for something like 200 NZD/night back in December. I wasn't blown away but would stay there again.

Rydges is by Skycity - it is up a hill (Queen St is on a hill) from the waterfront. The city starts to go up pretty much from Custom St so not too many flat places around. The better hotels by the harbour would be Hilton and Westin and the two Mercure's would be at the cheaper end of the market.

I've stayed at the Mercure on Queen St - it's not flash but is clean and a good location.

One option if you were looking for somewhere nice would be the Langham, it's at the top of the hill (cnr Karangahape Rd and Symonds St) but they have a free shuttle to various places in the city which would avoid lots of walking up and down hills.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I stayed at the Westin in AKL for something like 200 NZD/night back in December. I wasn't blown away but would stay there again.

I was blown away - great Starwood hotel, and nice addition to the waterfront area in AKL.

For all the talk of hills people might think Auckland is hilly like Wellington or San Francisco. It is not - inclines are gentle. Further, there are free buses around the inner city centre (doesn't go as far as the Langham but the AUT stop is most of the way uphill).

Thank you for the input, it has been very helpful.

Who knows: Are there any good hotels in Airport Auckland ?

lugaluga Welcome to FT ^

Who knows: Are there any good hotels in Airport Auckland ?No. This question has been asked frequently. The search function can help, but does not allow 3 letter searches :(.
Some other threads on the same subject
AKL Auckland airport hotel motel accommodation (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=863538)
Auckland (AKL) Airport Hotel (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=748506)