Getting off the Holland America cruise ship in Auckland I was sooo sick, not sea sick, multiple…read moreupper respiratory infection sick. I hailed a cab which wisked me and my luggage to this lovely location with the nicest front desk staff who worked diligently to get me to a room as quickly as possible. Let me add here I was at the hotel at 9:30 AM and the room availability was 3:00 PM. Yes, I actually planned to check in and leave my luggage to tour the city....best made plans, I didn't plan on getting ill. It did take a couple of hours but I ate a great breakfast, drank several cups of coffee, a liter of sparkling water and tried my best to remain in an upright position in the lounge. The concierge tracked me down and escorted me to my lovely room before noon. I was pleasantly surprised by the furnishings and quality of the hotel, don't get me wrong I don't do cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but I assumed the first available room wouldn't be the one I reserved. Great king bed, soft pillows, huge TV that I never used, desk, bar, refrigerator, hot water pot....bathroom with a huge soaker tub, separate shower, double sink...I was impressed. Then I started reading the room service menu....oh yeah I was thinking I could camp here and never leave. Since everything converted to NZD from USD the prices were cheap by Hawaii standards. The restaurants and room service were top shelf. The staff from concierge to bellman were fantastic. The check-in staff were awesome. This hotel is five star all the way.

Decided to escape the summer heat in Hawaii for a beautiful winter wonderland in Auckland. We were…read moreonly visiting for a few days. Decided to stay at Grand Millennium because of the price and location. Everything was very easy to walk to and convenient. The staff here was very friendly. I loved how comfortable the bed was. My all-time favorite thing about this hotel was the bathroom. Because it was so cold outside, it felt amazing to come back and soak in a nice hot bath. I did have an issue at the end when checking out. The billing they provided me was incorrect. But after contacting the hotel the bill was corrected.

This hostel is ranked as one of the best in new zealand for good reason…read more I stayed in the mixed dorm. What i liked: - great location (on k-road) - clean - friendly staff - comfortable beds - nice vibe where you can easily meet fellow travellers - good price/quality Definitely good spot. Tip: book early in high season.

The room was clean and the location was good but the service ws unkind. We didn't experience…read morefriendly kind service that we were told we could expect in New Zealand. We spent ,$647 for 3 nights to get grilled by the front desk on why my wife needed an extra towel to dry her hair and why extra nespresso pods were needed because one pod wouldn't fill the cup up to even half full. When given the opportunity to remedy the situation, the front office declined to send up 2 extra espresso pods. Do yourself a favor and stay at a place that you will be treated like a guest . It will make your vacation more enjoyable.

It's located in a very convenient location to a bunch of shopping and the viaduct. No one was by…read morethe hotel door to help us with luggage and when we checked in, the staff members seemed distracted while checking us in. The room is clean and bright. The gym is quite small and had one broken treadmill that didn't have a sign so I'm not sure if staff are aware of it. Our rooms didn't include breakfast, but we were excited to try it. We ended up disappointed because the hostess gave us two menus and told us to sit anywhere. There's prices for a la carte and buffet and we opted for the buffet and just went up to get food. A staff member stopped us and asked if we were doing the buffet and then told us she'd bring us the bill so we could sign our room. It felt like maybe a staff member should have brought us to our seat and asked us what we wanted to prevent being stopped at the food counter and having guest and staff play a guessing game. The breakfast selection is mediocre. Another table was sat and the staff member who stopped us was quick to go to their table and explain the menu choices to them so I'm not sure if it's a lack of consistency or if they need more staff during the breakfast shift because it seemed like it was just her and the hostess working. Staff was also slow to clear tables.

Location and views alone are 5-stars. Booked my trip back in December. To gain more airline points,…read moreI booked the hotel through the airline portal. After reviewing the map of the Auckland central business district (CBD) and where the Sky Tower was, I knew I wanted to stay by the harbor, with a view and reasonably priced. That's when I came across M Social Viaduct Harbor. From Google Maps and looking at YouTube videos, the hotel was in the midst of it all. My first encounter with them was a few weeks earlier when I learned that M Socials last check-in time was midnight. Unfortunately, because my flight was schedule to land at 9:45 pm, having to get through customs and waiting for Uber, we'd be cutting it close. So I emailed M Social and they assured me that we could check-in after midnight, no rush since they knew how long customs could take. What a relief. When we got there, a little after 11 pm, I was told our room was upgraded to the 12th floor which is the highest floor. I was told "The harbor view is great up there." And it is!!! All the rooms face the harbor and all rooms have a view!!! The higher you are the better the view. And when we got to our room, we had a signed card from the employees along with Easter candy because I didn't realize it was Easter weekend when I booked our flights. The room was clean with modern and youthful aesthetic. And the price? I can't believe it is one of the least expensive hotels along the harbor. It was between $129 - $189/night. Of course, Weekends are higher price. And, laundry is free. We just had to pay for laundry detergent. No dryer sheets in Auckland, though. People in NZ said I had an American accent. But they're the ones with accents... lol. Auckland is also a melting pot. The front staff were mainly Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese. So they had their native accent along with the English accent. But everyone was so kind to us. And they have a restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night socializing. Although we only had apps and drinks, the food was really good and non-alcoholic drinks were refreshing. As much as I want to gatekeep M Social, I also want to praise the staff members and hope everyone can enjoy your time staying at this wonderful establishment.

We loved our stay here. The location was perfect to walking to great restaurants and catching…read moreferries to other amazing places. Our room had a huge patio overlooking the harbor. The bed and pillows were very comfy. Cleaning service visited daily. Our room was clean and had ample space for our luggage. The shower was super hot. We loved the staff. I'm not sure I have the name right, but it might be Yoso, he was the main desk person - he was amazing. So welcoming. He gave great tips on local places. When we forgot our key, he quickly got us access to our room. Fantastic service. We ate breakfast each day in the Fish restaurant. Excellent food and service. Great stay.

We have such mixed feelings on this hotel. We stayed for four nights…read more The hotel itself is very nice - clean, modern and beautifully appointed. The rooms are also very modern, well appointed, well maintained and spacious. Then, there is the location. It couldn't be more perfect, with great nightlife and the cruise ship harbor RIGHT THERE. And the views! The views of the harbor are spectacular! The staff at the hotel is so polite, anxious to please and cheerful. You like them instantly. The problem is that none of them communicate very well in English, (surprising, given that this is an English speaking country), and they are just not very good at their jobs. We had requested an early check-in and, when we arrived, they noted that, told us our room was ready and "just needed inspection" and to have a seat. They would text us when the room was ready. Great news! We had not really expected that they could accommodate our request. Well, we sat for over 4 hours. We checked in, several times, but tried not to be pests. In the end, it turned out our room WAS ready, but the desk forgot to text us . . . giggle, giggle. Then, there was the completely incompetent concierge. We asked about dinner spots nearby. We were a short walk from the major harbor nightlife area . . . as we found out later . . . and he never told us that! We'd just arrived. How were we supposed to know? We asked about a restaurant we had seen as we entered the wharf. He didn't know about it, but told us he would make a reservation for us and to please let him know what we thought about it. When we arrived that evening, they were closed for a private event and had no record of a reservation. He clearly never called. We often enjoyed cocktails or beverages in the beautiful hotel lobby. You had to point out what you wanted from a menu . . . and forget about extra requests like "a lime" . . . because the very pleasant cocktail staff did not understand what you were asking for and had no idea about normal cocktails. Having made these observations, I have to say that we had a wonderful stay and were pleased with our hotel choice. You just have to have the right expectations. And, the "Opera in the Lobby" was a really nice touch!

This Apartment-Hotel in Karangahape Road in Auckland really exceeded our expectations…read more The room that were given to us was overlooking the harbor and came with a receiving room and a spacious balcony to enjoy the view with either coffee or wine. It's conveniently situated near Auckland attractions, the neighborhood itself is abundant with restaurants and shops and K-road (as the locals call it) is also the center of LGBT life in Auckland. The hotel staff are genuinely friendly and made our stay truly memorable, I would definitely stay again at this hotel and recommend it to my family and friends who may be visiting.

I have to say I LOVED this hotel! It was my second stay in Auckland, and while my first hotel was…read moreOK, this one was so much better. These are actually "serviced apartments" -- basically an apartment building with a reception area and maid service! You get a full kitchen with a minifridge, and larger rooms (other than studio suites) get a washer and dryer! The bed was one of the most comfortable I've come across in a long, long time, and the wifi was steady and FREE! The 24/7 reception was nice -- not all locations in Auckland have that. I had a late flight, and my room was waiting for me. I have a love/hate relationship with the location. It's not terribly far from the city center (maybe a 15 to 20 minute walk?). But you're going to deal with a lot of hills in that walk. It's not super close to the airport bus stop (a 10-minute walk, 15 with lots of luggage?). If you have a car, though, this location would be great, since it's right at the junction of a major road and a major motorway. The major street (Karagahape Road or "K' Road") has some good stops and some seedier elements. It's got a number of restaurants (Turkish? Thai? They've got it) along with some minor shopping. It's also home to many bars and "adult" stores. This isn't the best location for starting off your first trip to Auckland. With that said, it's a great place to resume it, or if you're looking for value. This is a fairly new property as of this writing, and I was really happy with the newness" of it. One last minor, minor irritant -- Day Street is on a steep hill, and the hotel is at the bottom. The reception area is just below the ground floor entry. So you can check in, but then to get your bags to your room, you have to get to the ground floor to get the lift (elevator). There are only steps available, unless you go back outside and go in the ground floor entrance, which is separate. A ramp would be a nice adjustment.

"Seedy" is the first adjective that pops into my head when travelling past the dilapidated…read moreEdinburgh Castle. Seedy in a "This-is-an-old-gaming/sports-bar" kind of way and you get what you see. Located on the corner of Newton Rd and Symonds St, I have often passed but never entered. Inside is a clean, if dated, bar which is surprisingly spacious. There is plenty of seating, an outdoor courtyard, a pool table and, the pièce de résistance, a pinball ball machine. Oh, so it's old and sticky and needs to be plugged in via an extension cord to the kitchen. The entire reason this pub exists is to drink cheap booze and get rowdy, not to worry about the decor and Instagramming plates of food. Edinburgh Castle is a pub for sports fiends and pokie players (generally over 40).

I once played at a weird "open mic" type of thing here, except we got paid to play after a couple…read more of punters had a go at singing. The night went well, there ended up with a bit of a fight on stage, and at the end some gang members stood over the guy who was running the whole show and he had to pay them what he was going to pay us to get his gear back. Since then, the Edinburgh castle has got rid of the stage we played on and put in pokie machines, and , oddly enough - introduced a chinese restaurant. I'm not sure whose idea this was - the place doesn't exactly scream "lovely place for a dinner innit?" They have free pool nights on mondays which is pretty cool . Their happy hour specials are great, and it's not a bad place to come and sink a few for a couple of hours. But it's no nightlife hotspot.

This stay was a reminder that you don't need over-the-top luxury to get everything right…read more The location is spot-on, just off Queen Street, close enough to walk everywhere but far enough to escape the constant buzz. Sky Tower, great food, shopping, and transport are all within easy reach. The room was immaculate, modern, and incredibly comfortable. The bed deserves special mention, excellent sleep every night. The room was impressively quiet given the central location. Everything felt thoughtfully designed and well maintained. Service really stood out. Staff were consistently friendly, professional, and genuinely helpful, from check-in to checkout. It felt welcoming rather than transactional, which makes a big difference. This hotel excels at the fundamentals: comfort, cleanliness, location, and service. No gimmicks, just a well-run operation that delivers exactly what travelers want. A flawless city stay. Comfortable, calm, and perfectly located. I wouldn't hesitate to stay and again and would confidently recommend it to anyone!

I generally stay at Marriotts when I travel due to the points and status, but generally even the…read morebad ones are a decent place to stay at. I try to find a Marriott that is closer to where I am going (i.e. to a client or convention) or walking distance from things to do (shops, restaurants or general activities.. when I'm on vacation and can do that.. mainly cause I don't want to drive when on vacation). Well this Marriott did not disappoint. Not only was the room great (they did upgrade me due to status, but in the US when they say that you don't really notice a difference). The room was amazing at a high floor as requested on my profile. Couldn't exactly view the skytower from our room (it was at a corner where you had to stick your head to the window to just about see it :)), nevertheless the view was still great. It offers two exits (you can use the second exit/entrance as an entrance after you have your room keycard) great location to walk to the stores, but just away from the stores so it feels a bit more private. 5 to 20 minutes max walking from most places (12-15 minutes to sky tower), employees were very helpful when asked something, a fridge, safe, iron and coffee maker in the room and some parking for those looking for that (I would check with hotel though as it seems limited so you would have to make sure they have spots available when you are going). I would recommend this place and stay there again.