gvdIAD

I agree with the favorable reviews others have given this property. I completed a 2-night stay on 4 July and was impressed with the service I received, the room size and condition, and (especially) the location. I did find the arrangement of the room a little awkward, with a long, fairly blah, built-in desk area along the wall opposite the bed (perpendicular to the floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass door to the balcony), a three-door closet opposite the balcony (also containing the TV) that had to be closed a certain way in order (not intuitive, at least to me) to turn the closet light off, and light switches (especially for the bathroom) that weren't where I'd expect.

As a gold, I was also fortunate to be upgraded to a harbour view room. The balcony is a good size and had 2 deck chairs and a table. The views from the balcony take in much of the downtown core as well as the ferry terminal and harbour. The complimentary continental breakfast was very substantial with many varieties of juice, cereals, breads and rolls, fresh fruit, meats and cheeses, and Japanese-style selections. The hotel is very well located for activities in central Auckland and couldn't be much closer to the ferry terminal. As Kiwi Flyer mentioned, it's not cheap (though I wonder whether there might be weekend specials), but I found it to be a good value overall.

jan_az

this was my first Hilton stay since I dropped from Diamond to Gold ( earned) - so I was curious to see what would occur.

I had booked two reservations. One for one nite on 3 July and one for 2 nites on 8 July. On 3 July was given a harbour view room, drink certs and told breakies was free. When checking out on 4 July I mentioned that we would be back in a few days and would love a "great room". On our return we were given the bow suite ( xx4) rooms. These are really really nice. Full wrap around the hotel balcony - large room , etc.

Must note that these were both award stays. Fully recommend this hotel.

turing

I've neither been to NZ before nor ever stayed at a Hilton using an HHonors award, so advice is appreciated.

I'm a Hilton Gold member who has reserved a 3-night stay at the Hilton Auckland (using award points) at the end of this month, for my and my wife's honeymoon. So, for those familiar with this property -- what sort of room should I ask for? (Particularly since the view and room quality are a bit more important to me than my normal business trip. ) Can I call about this in advance, or should I ask upon check-in?

Also, will we get breakfast included? I've never been particularly clear on exactly what my perks are as a Gold VIP.

Thanks for any help!

guybaxy

I have never been upgraded to a bow suite, a;though I have prob stayed there 10 times. I e-mailed the manager and they had my profile in the system as a 'blue card". It pays to check each individual card as to what your 'status' is, I guess.

JDiver

Honeymoon? I'd certainly e-mail the GM or other manager and make the statement you are staying on an award on your honeymoon, and would highly appreciate blah blah blah. One place to start would be sal_auckland@hilt
on.com (the Hilton UK site has hotel e-mail contacts.) If that doesn't seem to generate a reply, I'd call (their weekday daylight time zone) and ask for the HHonors or Guest Manager, and be very nice explaining how you want this time to be special for your new bride, etc.

I may have mentioned it previously - for a nice seafood dinner / lunch with decent wines and great views, the Harbourside Restaurant on Quay Street is good - second floor by the ferry building / tower, a very short walk. "I'll have the John Dory and the Marlborough Sauvignon Blan, please."

ckccan

I just returned from four nights there.
As a Diamond, I booked the "basic" room, and was upgraded to Deluxed which I still found small.
Since I was with my wife, I asked about a Bow suite, and was given the option of uprading for an additional ~$150 a night. It seemed somewhat reasonable.
I was also given the free continental breakfast and a welcome drink coupon (which I did not use).

Pros
Great location, gorgeous view all the way around the harbour, good breakfast spread.
Bow Suite was very oddly shaped, spacious, I loved the Lavazza espresso maker and the thoughtfulness of milk in the mini bar fridge, and lots of pods. I probably used six a day - I kept the machine clean. I think it would be a challenge for houskeeping. If the steam nozzle isn't cleaned right after use, it's a real pain.
Concierges were fantastic - it was easily the most effortless car hire I've ever done - delivered to the hotel for me, very little paperwork, and "returned" at the hotel.

Cons
No exec lounge
Pool was roughly the size of my hot tub (slightly embellishing)
Expensive as previously noted
Hotel currently undergoing major maintenance/renos to many of the rooms including the ones on our floor.
This was only particularly irritating the first day as we tried to sleep in - tough with a jack hammer causing the room to shake. The mgr did make a small adjustment to the rate for one night as compensation. I wish hotels would note when they're doing renos!!!

I found the one manager, Gary Lucas, particularly helpful and you may want to reach out to him regarding special requests.
This property is fairly small/quaint vis-a-vis other Hiltons.

I highly recommend a restaurant called Euro which is a short walk and is on the pier. Fantastic food (chicken and lamb very good, as were the oysters), and great selection of NZ wines by the glass, nice ambience with fireplace in the dining room and bar area, side views of the harbour.

silver springer

I am writing this report from the Hilton Auckland now. I am a diamond and booked a 4 night AXON award for this stay.

I had sent an email to the hotel before my stay asking about the availability of an upgrade, including the possibility of a bow suite. I also asked about one day tours available. I received a nice note back that as a diamond I would receive an upgrade to a deluxe plus room but the bow suite would be at additional cost.(this is similar to a report in this thread) and information on day tours.

My husband and I arrived the afternoon of October 6. As we were checking in, the duty manager met us and escorted us to what he called "a deluxe, plus, plus" room.

Indeed it was. This was room 205--a corner room overlooking both the bay and the water side of the wharf. The room was well laid out--I particularly liked a separate section for wall to wall closets and luggage racks. The bedroom portion had a table, two chairs and a sofa as well as a king sized bed. The bathroom was spacious and had a separate tub and shower. But here is the spectacular aspect--floor to ceiling windows overlooking water (water, water everywhere) and an extra large patio(one of a kind) formed by the bow shape of the hotel that could comfortably accomodate 60 people for cocktails. WOW!!! We absolutely loved hanging out in the chairs on the patio, watching all the vessel traffic. Our first morning found us watching a visiting Chinese battleship arrive with all the pomp and circumstance--all easily visible from our private patio.

I will cover now what I received as a diamond before continuing with the rest of my unusual experience. Diamonds (and golds I think) get a one-class room upgrade, and a continental breakfast. This continental breakfast in the White Restaurant (which would cost AZ$54 for two) included lots of foods on a large marble buffet such as cereals, meats, cheeses, yogurt,breads, fruits, juices, coffee, tea, and other things--way more than I could sample and was wonderful. If you wanted to add eggs or bacon, it would cost a gold or diamond $10 per person.
I also received two bottles of water per night, chocolate truffles on arrival. Diamonds also receive free drink coupons for two in the Bellini bar. My husband and I used them (NZ$8 for a beer and $18 for a bellini cocktail) and ordered fish and chips at the bar for our first dinner. It was very nice--nice food and drink, great service, lovely atmosphere. It was a Saturday night and the bar was very popular with Aucklanders having a night out. We also enjoyed meeting Kiwiflyer at the bar on our second night.

Now back to my unusual experience.... When we were having breakfast our first morning, the duty manager who escorted us to our room the day before, dropped by to talk to us. He sat down with us and had coffee while we had our breakfast. He explained that all duty managers periodically spend a night in the hotel, and experience what guests do--sleeping in the room, ordering room service, eating at the restaurants--to ensure the highest quality. He told me that he looked at the diamonds that were scheduled to arrive on October 6, picked us out, and asked to be called when we arrived. He personally upgraded us to room 205 and asked for our comments on the hotel--how did we like the breakfast, did we get the drink coupons and the bottled water, did our room have a turndown service. We talked about our experiences at this hotel and generally our experiences with Hiltons around the world and what we really liked. He explained that the physical layout of the hotel did not allow for an executive lounge and to help compensate diamonds for that, they decided to give the drink certificates.

We learned that in the hotel layout (like a ship), the rooms on the lower floors were larger than those on the upper floors. The hotel shares the right side of the Prince's wharf with a similar shaped building of condos. So the rooms with a water view, generally end in odd numbers (like our 205), the bow suites are the 04 room on each floor. Some of the rooms ending in low even numbers may have limited water views. We asked about the situation (described in this thread) when cruise ships dock next to the hotel and block all water views. The manager said cruise ships come in the high season (their summer) and said for example in February 2008, ships would be here on 19 of the 29 days. In those cases, they let guests know before the stay about the cruise ship so there are no surprises.


Now location, location, location--I loved it. Lots going on near the hotel. Our second night, we followed a recommendation on this thread (and from our tour guide) to try the Waterfront Cafe at the nearby maritime museum. we had a lovely meal overlooking harbor and the extra bonus was that I found it was a participating restaurant in the American Express selects program. We received 15% off our food bill by saying we wanted to get this discount and pay with my (Hilton Honors) american express card. We were close to the viaduct basin with the lovely sailing ships and restaurants and easy walking distance to queen street, skytower, and ferries.

Things to do. As we wanted to make the most of our short visit, we booked two tours ahead of our arrival. While we booked through Viator, we could have saved money(if we were here longer) by booking directly at Great Sights, the local agent, at 180 Quay street, several blocks from the hotel.

We booked one 5 hour tour, 4 great sights including a 1 1/2 hour "coffee cruise" (coffee and muffin while on a 50 ft sailing ship)--this was great fun, skytower admission (great view--you can see the crazy sky jumpers go down the side from the observation deck), maritime museum (part of the cruise ), native animal experience at the Auckland zoo (saw my kiwi!) and my least favorite--Kelly Tarlton underwater/antarctica adventure. We also booked an 8-430 tour of the Waitomo glow worm cave that included lots of commentary while we had a nice drive in the countryside. Also on our agenda is a 10 minute ferry ride and several hours in Davenport and a visit to the hotel pool (a smallish lap pool and good sized deck on the 4th floor with a terrific view!!)

I have really enjoyed my short stay here. I will definitely return to the North Island to explore more sights and I will definitely stay again at the Hilton Auckland where I have received superior service and care.

Cheers--Mary Anne.

LarryU

Cruise ships can arrive in the winter season as well. This ship docked early in the morning on June 30. However, a note was slid under the door on the evening of June 29 warning guests that it might be a good idea to close their curtains.

Robert

Thanks for your review, Mary Anne! Glad you and your husband are having a great time in Auckland! I just made a reservation at the Hilton in December and am looking forward to my stay. I hope to see you at another D.C. area gathering soon. I'm interested in hearing more about your trip!

Cheers,
Robert

JT_BOS

I got a bow suite, 724 I think, two months ago. Even though it was on the wrong side, it was still pretty good.

This hotel treats the Diamond members well. I received all the perks and benefits that silver springer had described.

The location is simply superb. I highly recommend it.

silver springer

I am bumping up this thread to correct information I provided earlier on room numbers. Initially I thought the rooms ending in odd numbers were on the "ferry" or open water side. I relooked at this and there is no way to predict by room number where the room will be other than 04 is the bow suite and 05 is a corner room overlooking both harbor and ferry areas. I would ask about the view from a prospective room when booking. Some rooms have views of the adjacent condo building.

I also went to the gym and found it small but nice. It was raining this afternoon so I did not try the pool.

Things to Do--continued. Our trip to Devenport was great, I would highly recommend a half day there. We took the ferry (5 minutes walk from hotel) fir a 10 minute ride and got info at the tourist info center at 3 Victoria Rd. Then we walked to the former volcano/ armory at North Head, saw a video on its origins and roles it played and enjoyed great views from that vantage point. Very cute shops in the town including the Devenport chocolate shop on 17 Wynyard. Had great seafood chowder for lunch at Mecca cafe, 1 Victoria Rd and an ice cream cone for dessert at nearby tip top ice cream a few doors down. Nice homey feel to the town with interesting victorian looking buildings.

SanDiego1K

We were at the hotel last night. Did anyone mentioned that you can use the computer in the "business center" behind the front desk free if you are gold or diamond? 24 hours in the room costs 30NZD.

We took a taxi to the hotel from the airport, and it cost 72NZD. An FT friend had mentioned a company Discount Taxis as being half the price, but we couldn't figure out how to book it. Today, the hotel called Discount Taxi for us. It was 30NZD cash back to the airport.

You have to call for Discount Taxi on arrival; it does not have a rank at the airport. However, they have cars parked about 5 minutes from the airport.

Phone: 529-1000

tegwj

I'd been meaning to post a mini report on this property. My better half and I spent a week there recently on an award booking.

Upon checkin (on a Saturday night, with a big wedding party at the hotel) we were advised, apologetically, that no upgrade was available. Mr. Nakazato (who checked us in, and looked after us for much of the week) was very concerned that the hotel resolve the situation to my satisfaction. I inquired if the hotel had received my email or been able to accommodate the requests I'd made by phone (after I didn't hear back via email). This provoked much more of a reaction than I expected -- the fellow checking us in was very concerned that they may not have responded to an inquiry from a guest with a pending reservation. He went into the office and emerged shortly afterwards confirming that they had a record of my phone call, no record of my email, and he was seeing what he could do to try and accommodate an upgrade for me. I had requested room 205 but that wasn't available.

After a little bit of too-ing and fro-ing, we ended up in 505 for the first night, but they had to move us for the remainder of the stay. We ended up in 509, which was still on the good side, but its balcony wasn't as large as 505, and it had a big structural column running right through the middle of the patio. Ah well, beggars and choosers. They were obviously very fully booked and I wasn't going to make a fuss over it. They also provided us with 2 bottles of Deutz champagne (one blanc de blanc, and one rose) in further apology for the trouble.

For the rest of the stay we found that both the front desk staff and the concierge were very accommodating, and made repeated efforts to ensure we were having a nice time. Their recommendations for activities, destinations, and modes of transport were always just right. The staff at the restaurant were also very pleasant, though the first 3 mornings were punctuated by a recurring issue: we asked for Earl Grey tea with lemon, and were brought English Breakfast with no citrus. Upon asking for lemon (3 days in a row, remember) we were offered a plate of lime wedges instead. After that they obviously sorted it out and our tea order was correct the rest of the stay.

The location is outstanding. We made regular use not only of the ferries, but also the transit station to catch various area buses and broaden our explorations. We also walked around the marinas frequently and admired the yachts (ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous) and fancy cars obviously belonging to the local skippers.

We never ate dinner at the hotel, but the concierge hooked us up with some excellent meals: the French Cafe and Sails were particular standouts, but we also ended up eating twice at Ariake, a Japanese place within easy walking distance.

In our whole week it only rained a little bit -- otherwise the weather was fine, if not always terribly warm. The hotel provides umbrellas in the rooms, as well as in the lobby. We enjoyed watching the sunsets over the harbour, and we timed our return ferry journey from Waiheke Island to catch sunset over the city skyline as we came into the terminal. Gorgeous!

I commented to the Assistant Manager when we were checking out that I'd had one of my best stays ever at the Auckland Hilton. The hotel itself is nicely equipped and comfortable, but it's certainly not as grand as some others. The staff really made the difference for me, because of their consistency and eagerness to help. Roberto, one of the concierge guys who had helped us frequently, even came out to say goodbye as we walked down the steps after checking out.

Highly recommended.

twj

daveinsf

I stayed at the Auckland Hilton for three stays during December. As a Diamond I was upgraded to a deluxe harbor view room twice and on the last stay received an upgrade to a Bow Suite looking out over Waitemata harbor. The suites are amazing with a long wall of glass and the show of boats really demonstrates why Auckland's nickname is City of Sails. And the balcony must be 100 feet long. Plus this isn't a shared balcony, you have it all to yourself. I'm not usually one to do room service but we did just to enjoy the amazing view.

On all three stays the staff was excellent and the breakfast we were given in White was delicious with a huge assortment of choices.

Overall I'd give this hotel a big thumbs up.

silver springer

I posted a long report when Mr Silver Springer and I stayed at the Auckland Hilton for four nights in October 2007. We also stayed there again for one night on December 5. For that stay we were upgraded to a bow suite which was just terrific--despite the very rainy day, we enjoyed watching sailing races Wednesday afternoon from the vast expanse of glass in the suite. We again enjoyed the great breakfast, coupons for free beer or wine in the Bellini, and great attentive service.

I appreciated the updates on this thread about the computer for use of gold and diamonds and the post on Discount Taxis which was very helpful--the Auckland airport is quite far from the city and the discount taxis saved us money.

We don't have any immediate plans to return to Auckland but when we do, we will definitely stay at the Hilton!