It ultimately opened the last week of January, just in time for the Wellington 7's. Albeit not totally open (there are still floors under construction), and it shows: elevators with exposed wiring, the conference area was still under construction and hidden behind drop sheets, etc.

I stayed there over Wellington 7's weekend so it was chaos for them with 100% occupancy (or near to it). Their average rate for that weekend was $193/night, according to the manager.

It's a very nice property, and convenient for the Cake Tin and for most CBD locations (in particular the Lambton quarter). I ended up on the 6th floor with a corner room - 605. These rooms have balconies and are very nice. However, it was a (little) let down by simple things like a bulb being out in the bathroom, there being no soap dish in the shower, and most confusingly, the hot and cold reversed in the shower mixer. I did speak to the manager about it, who apologised and did investigate the problems. Presumably the soap dishes will appear eventually.

The room/bathroom itself was nice, breakfast was OK. Inexperienced staff but keen and willing to help where they could. I would stay there again - and it will probably become my regular since it's cheaper than the InterContinental.

I was the first person in my room, and the manager didn't mind me turning it blue with the 7's costume involving bodypaint. Also, she happily gave ~15 smurfs two free pints of beer each when they turned up to collect me on our way to the Saturday games.