After a long trip from the Bay of Islands we were looking forward to our stay at the Sebel Suites and had selected this hotel to indulge ourselves in the luxury of a marina view room. What a disappoint after having great experiences with the other 3 accommodations across New Zealand.
Although the location is great with perfect views across the marina the hotel is is need of refurbishment, I would not consider it to be modern compared with the other places we stayed. I read with interest that no other reviews mention this but in our room on the 6th floor we were greeted with peeling laminate on the bathroom cupboards, water stained ceiling, cracked cornices and skirtings, cracked tiles, wardrobe sliding doors coming off the hinges, huge scratches in the coffee and dining table in summary I very tired looking room. I wish I had taken photos to prove that I am not exaggerating. Not what you'd expect for the high end price. We expressed our disappointment to the manager who immediately showed us to another room on the 5th floor. Although it was still 'dated' is was not in such a poor state as the previous room and the manager did take another NZ$10 per night off the room and did not charge us for parking which would cost us NZ$26 per night. With all this we lost an hour resettling which is not what we needed after a long day of driving. As mentioned the location is great as you are right in the heart of the viaduct area close to restaurants, Sky Tower, ferries, Queen Street etc. Yes it is noisy if you have the balcony door open but that adds to the atmosphere of being in the hub of all the activity, it's what you would expect. However once you close the doors we had no problems with sleeping, you could barely hear the noise. A note for those of you requiring parking, yes it is quite expensive at NZ$26 but then again it is the city, and the parking bays are very tight and not many of them so if you come back after 6pm you may well find yourself without a park and having to find something yourself. We would not stay here again, it was overpriced for rooms clearly in need of refurbishment so what you end up paying for is the view and the location but honestly how much time does one really spend on the balcony. When we come back to Auckland we will be staying at the Waldorf Stadium Apartments again which is where we had stayed on our arrival. It's half the price, modern, the apartment is huge with balcony and is also a great location although it is not on the waterfront but really is the view that important.

This is a good hotel with a great location and friendly staff.

The quality of room service was fine but they really need to sort out their internet issues. Good hotels should provide in-room wifi, but the Sebel is behind the times on this. If they don't yet have in-room wifi, good hotels then provide a complimentary wifi service in their lobby, but the Sebel is also behind on this as well. What the Sebel does offer by way of wifi is $5 for 15 minutes in their lobby jacked off the reception line. NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

If and when this issue is improved, this hotel would be deserving of a 4 star hotel rating.

This property exceeded our expectations. Rooms were clean and modern. Big plus was the in-unit washer and dryer. We also enjoyed the lively location right on Viaduct Harbour, and took advantage of being nearby Kermadec restaurant (excellent dinner!). It is convenient to the ferry to the Waiheke Island. We tried to save money by taking the Airbus Express to/from the Auckland airport. The distance from the Airbus stop and Sebel Suites was a longer walk than expected, at least 15-20 minutes - maneuvering through busy Queen street with luggage was a bit inconvenient.

The Sebel Suites was the perfect location for an inner city Auckland stay. Right on the waterfront, walking distance to some of the best restaurants in Auckland and the staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back next time we're in Auckland.