JerseySlime

I rented a car at the airport and parked at the hotel. Valet only at the hotel. And not cheap either. 30NZD per day. Since I've stayed there several times before on awards, I considered the parking and the internet (before Golds and Diamonds got it for free) my only major expenses at the hotel. I wasn't paying for the room, so it softened the blow of the parking expense.

worldiswide

We've stayed on awards before but never with a car. I remember it's a pretty expensive an ride to the airport so maybe it's a wash for a couple of days with parking. Thanks for all your advice

kmandrew

Any suggestions on which Hilton property would work best to see the island for a general tourist on points? Would like to save some points by using an Axon if it makes sense to stay in one place for 4 days; probably 6 days total in New Zealand. Thanks

JDiver

One advantage about Hilton Auckland is you can take a ferry out to the islands, including the picturesque and wine-growing Waiheke, and there is lots to see and do in Auckland itself.

worldiswide

While there is a bunch to do in and around Auckland including other islands like Rangotito Auckland does not give you the "feel" for the beauty of New Zealand. 4 nights is a long time to be in one place in NZ, but if you are set on doing that, I would suggest the other two properties, taupo north island or queenstown south island. You wouldnt have any trouble with 4 days of activities and sight seeing in and around queenstown, and you can fly into there from auckland. Taupo is quieter, but there is a bunch to do, and especially if you like the geothermal activity (we did that last year and loved it!)

We just returned from New Zealand last week, and I cant really recommend the Hilton Auckland for anything other than ability to use Hilton points, which is big and why we stay there even with its shortcomings. We have stayed there every year for the last four years, and come away with the same feeling, especially in comparision to the generally high level of accomodation and service in even the most basic New Zealand properties. The hotel bills itself as a boutique and consistently rates as one of the city's best, but the bar is pretty low. The service is awful, in every area from bellhops to front desk, concierge, breakfast service and housekeeping. They just do not have their act together and have very poorly trained staff who like to stay behind the door and have as little interaction with guests as possible. They werent helpful with restaurant recommendations. There is no executive lounge, and even if you are upgraded to a harbour view, many times there is a cruise ship in port, and you are looking into the windows of the cruise ship. Weve been to New Zealand many times so as you plan, feel free to ask for advice.

We did after advice here rent a car this time, since the price for parking for 2 days was about the same as taxi to and from the airport, and this gave us much more freedom around the city and the opportunity to see some off the beaten path places.

So long answer to your short questions.. 4 nights in either taupo or queenstown and 2 in auckland.

awa fae hame again

Mrs AFHA and I have just completed our second stay this month. We were not overly impressed with the hotel, bar or breakfast.
we paid for a harbour view room, based on reviews extolling the "stunning harbour and bay views". Forget it! There were no cruise ships during our stays, but the "stunning" view we got was of the ferry terminal and container yard. As a diamond HH member, no upgrade was offered as the hotel was "fully booked". This despite the fact that there were suites available on our first stay. The second stay confused us. There were suites and deluxe plus rooms available the night before our stay. Lo and behold, neither were available when we checked in. We did get a bottle of cheap plonk as compensation, though
We like to have an external door open during the night, so opened the verandah doors. We had to shut them again due to diesel exhaust fumes and noise from the adjacent ferry terminal.
The hotel's major asset, in our opinion, is the staff. We found them all, other than check-in, to be extremely friendly and helpful.
The choice of music played in all public areas was unusual, not the normal jazz type, and was at an unacceptably high volume.
In all, I cannot see how this hotel is deserving of a Hilton category 7.

worldiswide

Its always interesting to read opinions of others about the same hotels. The staff was the worst asset of this hotel IMO if you could find them, and we found them most unhelpful and disinterested. It is clearly a management and training issue, as we tried to talk to the general manager before we left, and of course, like all other staff he was unavailable. We have never had the problem of diesel fumes or noise however. The location is good base to get to town, the ferry terminals, britomart, and viaduct harbor, and location has a lot to do with the cat 7 designation.

holtju2

I had a stay here back in February. It seems that I forgot to post my review. You can find the photos and the video of the suite I had here.

Getting to the hotel from the airport

The best way if you have plenty of luggage and more than one person is probably take a cab. It should cost around 90 NZD. As I was just traveling with my carry on and I had never tried the very frequent airport bus before, decided that now it was the time. Bought a ticket to the bus using a credit card for 16 NZD. The schedule is very frequent – every ten minutes or so. The last stop, which is the ferry building, is less than a ten minute walk from the hotel. Not difficult at all. There are only about five six stops altogether.

Check in

The check in wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t perfect either. I was told that I had been upgraded to a some sort of sea view room. I inquired if a suite upgrade would be possible as I was only staying for the night and would leave rather early the following morning. The clerk told that they have only one suite available and offered it to me as a upsell. I asked if he was aware of the changes to the Hilton HHonors Diamond program on January 18th that would bring the suites also to the pool of possible Diamond upgrades. He went away to the backroom and came back with the positive news. He probably had a word with a rooms controller or manager on duty.

The Relaxation Suite 705

This was a beautiful corner suite on the 7th floor with a wide open view of the Auckland harbor. There was couple of sun chairs on the balcony where you could have relaxed a bit. The only problem with this suite was that there was very little privacy unless you closed the curtains. Also, somebody staying in the next door could have easily “jumped” to your balcony. There was really nothing preventing it.

I think that the style of this suite was “fresh”. I could say almost Scandinavian. The furniture wasn’t heavy. The only think I didn’t like was the rather generic looking bathroom. I also think that they should have higher quality bathroom amenities in their suites.

Fitness center & Pool

The pool itself is very tiny and in an urban atmosphere. Not sure how long and when you get sunlight there. There is a sundeck as well with some chairs around. This is not a right hotel if you like to spend time by the pool, however.

Fitness center was rather compact but could well work for a hotel of this size. I had a nice workout there in the evening.

Breakfast

I was still in a very different time zone and went to breakfast only 10 to 15 minutes later after the restaurant had opened. They were still setting up the displays.

The breakfast spread was one of the better ones that I have come across in the Hilton chain sans few properties in Thailand. You had an egg stations, cold cuts, fruits, hot items etc.

The breakfast was complimentary and I didn’t have to sign anything. I did the waiter my suite number. They probably have a list of guests that have complimentary breakfast included with their rooms.

Conclusion

This is a fine Hilton hotel and I loved the view from the balcony. Depending what you are going to do in Auckland the location may or may not work for you. For my purpose of spending there 0 hours to relax between flights it did work perfectly. If you are Diamond member and have not been upgraded prior to your checking in, it might be worthwhile to ask what they have available.

worldiswide

We have also stayed in the end of the floor suites and they have a nice view. We also had a choice the last time we were there of a larger room on a lower floor or a smaller room on a higher floor. We choose the space and for an urban hotel, the room is pretty spacious. I agree about amenities in the bathroom, but separate shower and tub and large vanity were very nice.

On one of our first stays, we were given the key to an already occupied room, and very much surprised the occupants who were in the shower. Definitely evidence of not enough attention to detail..

sannmann

I had an excellent stay here in May. I was asked to sign a slip at breakfast each morning as if I were paying. The charges, however, never appeared on my folio when I checked out.

As an HHonors Gold, I got free water, free wi-fi internet, free drink vouchers for the bar each night, and the excellent free breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

anabolism

If I were to guess, I'd say maybe 10-12 meters. I wish it were longer, but the glass wall is cool.

m0hamed

Checked in a few days ago for a 5 night stay. As it was longer than my usual 2-3 day work trips, and there were no Hyatt or *wood properties to pick from, I really wanted a suite.

On the night before check in I saw that I had been upgraded to a Deluxe Harbour Room from the base room I had booked. The next day I checked, and I wasn't further upgraded while the hotel was still selling Bow Suites. I called the front desk, and they said "You have been upgraded." I mentioned that suites were now part of the upgrade pool, and I could see availability and he responded with "I shall make that request for you now."

The Bow suite is quite phenomenal, though not technically a suite. No separate living and bedroom, more of a triangular junior suite. The room is really all about the position, the view which is stunning and the balcony.

Others have mentioned the Diamond benefits.

The pool is closed, too cold anyway, and the breakfast is decent with local dishes and fruits, as well as eggs cooked to order.

The doormen are also delightful.

Raynz

We stayed there as gold members in April while on our honeymoon. On checkin they upgraded us two levels to a deluxe harbour view. The room was very nice, with a fantastic view of the harbour. They also left us a plate with a few chocolates and "congratulations" in chocolate on the plate. We got free wifi (really expensive otherwise), free breakfast, bottled water and two free drink vouchers per night. They also comped us two nights of valet parking when we checked out. The breakfast was fantastic. Even though we showed up 10 minutes before it closed they still had everything available, and came round to check if we wanted more before they cleared it away.

Overall a good hotel with friendly and helpful staff.

margarita girl

I also have Gold status. Do you have to choose breakfast as your hotel benefit to get the free breakfast or does the property automatically offer it?

Also, it appears a taxi to the hotel will be quite expensive. Is there an airport shuttle service we can use? There will be 2 of us with one checked bag each.

TIA

maxbluebrosche

http://www.airbus.co.nz/

Downtown Ferry Terminal and a walk of 5-7 minutes