AUCKLAND HOTEL>>PLEASE ADVICE
 

If you had to select hotel which would you pick? Hilton, StamfordPlaza? Which is nicer and has a good location ?.

They are only a few steps from each other so doesn't make much difference except the Hilton over looks the water and has nice views but so does the Stamford, I have not stayed at eiher because i live here.

Hi Frani:

Last month we spent 2 nights at the Auckland Hilton, using points so my options were the Hilton or the Sheraton with the Hilton 'looking' more downtown.

The Auckland Hilton is a 'boutique' hotel (vs the 'big box business' Hilton's) right on the water - so the NZ Martime Museum is the next building on 1 side, the walf (with ferry to Devenport & all of the boat tours) on the other side, the waterfront bars/resturants start there and its close proximity to everything downtown.

The bedroom area was a little small & nicely decorated, but the washroom was huge (other way around might have been better), and we had a great view from the balcony. The pool was neat as well, with the harbour end being plexiglass so even from underwater you could see the harbour.

If you don't have a vehicle, there are usually a few taxis & its ~2 blocks from the main downtown bus loop, so convient access to get to the outskirts of the city. And we had a rental car (from Hertz) for the rest of our trip, with the Hertz office only being ~5 min walk (they would have dropped the car off but that would have meant knowing exactly when we wanted to leave & we were 'on vacation', so aside from flights we had a fairly flexible schedule).

The only thing I was dissapointed about was that since it was a 'boutique' hotel & not a 'business' one it didn't have an 'executive lounge' (since I'm 'Gold' I get free drinks there).

I don't recall even seeing the Stamford Plaza, but from where it is on the map we must have walked by it several times (the only downtown hotels we the 2 Accor/Mecure's as they were only about a block from each other).

Hope this helps,

Z

where is the Hyatt in comparison to the Hilton and Sheraton? Is the Hyatt closer to the Hilton?

The Hilton is the newest, and perhaps one of the most expensive of our hotels here in Auckland. It is right by the Viaduct Basin where there are many restaurants. It is a busy area during the weekends.

The Stamford Plaza is a beautiful hotel - it used to be The Regent. It is just a block from Queen Street (the main street in the CBD).

The Hyatt is situated near the University and High Court. It's a much older hotel, but still close to the CBD, but on the east of Queen Street.

All three are well located.

Enjoy your visit to our beautiful country.

Why is the Stamford Plaza about half the amount of money than the Hilton.? The Hilton is about 150 USD and The Stamford is 80 dollars.

It could be because the Hilton is the newest of the large hotels.

Hi, frani.
I just got back from Auckland. I would suggest that you give the Crowne Plaza a look. In my opinion, it's in a much better location than the Hilton (essentially across the street from Sky City, and a convenient walk to most downtown locations). The Club Level rooms are very nice, breakfast and evening drinks and hors d'oeuvres included in the Club Lounge, free internet access.
We walked past the Stamford, and it looked nice from outside, and also in a better location than the Hilton.
Hope this helps.

We stayed at the Hyatt & had a great view of the harbor [11th floor]. The location was convenient & the room was nice.

Hyatt Question.... Is it in a good location for walking, shopping, restaurants? Or should we stay at the Crowne Plaza? The Hyatt with breakfast is is 20 dollars cheaper compared to club floor level at Crowne.

Oops... I also forgot The Stamford Plaza I can get for 130 NZ dollars which seems cheap to me. Is this a better location than Hyatt(156 nz dollars) or Crowne 170 NZ dollars)?

I stayed last year in December at the Hilton and LOVED it. It was chic without being pretentious. The staff was incredibly friendly (chalk that up to Kiwis in general being lovely people). And the King and Queen of Belgium were staying there at the time which just added to the fun and didn't inconvenience us at all. The America's Cup ships went out to sea right off the hotel's edge and we could watch Paul Allen's yacht while we were at breakfast. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

We stayed at the Crown Plaza last week which we booked a month in advance using the deals on their own Crowne Plaza site for NZ$105.
For the money it was perfect- large room, good size bathroom. No view to speak of but why would you want to spend time in your room when you can explore the city and go up the SkyTower one block away for the best view ever.
Breakfast - why not walk to one of the many lovely coffee shops instead. A cappuccino is only NZ$3.
Whatever you choose I am sure you'll have a great time.

Blueskies,
I guess you could get a room with a poor view in any hotel, but when we stayed at the Crowne Plaza, on 2 separate occasions, we had a club room on the 28th floor (club rooms are on the top 2 floors - 27th and 28th), and the view was very nice (on the side facing away from the tower).
Why would you want to pay the fee at the tower, get dressed, walk over there, and wait for the elevator each time you wanted a view? I can see going to the top once (we did), but I like to wake up to the view, and go to sleep with the curtains open and a sparkling view at night.
As for other reasons to stay on the club level, there's a lot of pleasure, after a full day of sightseeing and before dinner, to go back to the hotel to freshen up, and enjoy drinks and hors doeuvres just a few doors down from your room. Also the convenience of not having to find someplace to eat breakfast that fits into your sightseeing itinerary. Probably frees up an extra hour each day.
The downside, of course, is that the club rooms are more expensive, but it's been my experience that the cost of breakfast for 2 usually eats up the savings of staying in standard rooms.
Just my opinion.

now that I am back from my trip, I feel the Stamford is def. in a great location. The Hilton might be a 5 star hotel, it was very ecletic and modern, but I would feel a little isolated. After being on my feet all day, I would say the Stamford is in a perfect location. The Crowne only a few blocks away,seems to be in a little seedier area.