The trip to Wellington was an unexpected side-trip, all courtesy of an earthquake in Christchurch. Being stressed out over our unexpected side trip and travel plans being thrown into disarray, the staff at the hotel were excellent.

The room was great, nice king sized bed, wonderful bath, great buffet service, and a nice peaceful atmosphere. The staff were great, they directed me the banking facilities and were helpful in recommendations for clubs/pubs around the Wellington area. Being the day before Christmas Eve I thought that Wellington would be a bit more lively, I was wrong, the place was dead. Despite the unexpected detour, I did like this Hotel, it was central to everything and you can walk around the city with no problems.

Attempted to have a shower on Saturday at 10am and got scalded by 65-70 degree water. Apparently the cold water was turned off for planned maintenance, however despite checking in the night before nobody had let me know. I was assured the cold water would be back by 4pm, however I had to attend a wedding without having had a shower.

At 4pm the cold water was back on, but brown sludge was coming out of the taps. I went down to reception to complain, and was told that guests were informed via a letter in their rooms, which I hadn't received. I was annoyed that nobody told me at check in the previous night. Then I was offered free breakfast for my troubles, and when I said that wasn't good enough and I wanted the night free I was told because I booked through a third party they couldn't change the room rate.

I was told to run the tap for 20 minutes to clear the pipes, and then told that if I waited a few hours the water would be sorted out. I was unimpressed at being fobbed off, and told to wait rather than offered a room with clean water as I heard another guest being offered.

I packed up my belongings and approached reception to tell them I was checking out, and I wasn't going to pay for the night's accommodation. I was told that they couldn't promise I wouldn't be charged, but the manager wasn't available for me to talk to. I left the hotel with my contact details so they could discuss my stay with me if they felt the need to charge my credit card.

It wasn't the staff on the desks' fault, but it was a serious water problem and I don't think the hotel realises how dangerous it was. Having only boiling water coming out of the tap is a health and safety hazard - if that was my elderly grandmother using that bathroom she would have been seriously injured. Brown liquid in the taps is a public health issue, and the hotel should have been far more proactive contacting guests and organising alternate accommodation if they couldn't fix the problem in a timely manner.

I won't be staying there again, and would encourage other people not to do so either. Probably would be an ok place to stay if everything went well, but in case of crisis their focus is certainly not on customer service.

Stayed here over Christmas period; booked through wotif and got a good deal...description and other reviews made us think it would be fairly average.

However - the room looked like it had been recenty refurbished; generous size, good bathroom and clean.

Gym facilities were ok - nothing brilliant but sufficient.

Excellent locale right in centre of town and easy access straight off motorway into carpark.

The only downside was the service - very junior and a bit clueless...

Our family of four stayed at the hotel for one night, taking advantage of a special rate they had going that included parking and breakfast for two. First, this is really more of a business hotel (in my view) than a family hotel, so the way the hotel worked out is a bit off because we are not its normal clientele, I suspect. Checking in was reasonably quick, and the bellhop was quite game to help. (On the downside, they use old-style electronic room keys, not the newer ones that are more disposable, so they charge if you lose one.) The room was a typical in-city business hotel room with two double beds and very little additional room: comfortable enough, but a bit cramped for four, even if the two kids are small. The fridge was full of mini-bar items so there was little room for anything else.

The best thing about the hotel is the location. It is very convenient to the center of the city, the university, botanical gardens, wharf and the government buildings, so it worked very well as a place to go walk around the city (in the rain), and come back to warm up and dry off.

The breakfast was very good with a good selection.

Overall, the hotel would likely suit either a business traveler very well, or a family in the city pretty well, and you would likely find the stay comfortable, just not "very good". (I put it just above average.)