Stayed here last November and when we booked I'm pretty sure I asked to stay in the Hotel as it was more conveniently located for where I had to be, however when we arrived we were told we were booked into an apartment in the cbd which was kind of annoying and there was no way of changing as the Hotel was fully booked that weekend, there was no apology or even an offer of taking us there as we had just been dropped by a taxi from the airport, so we walked with our bags and then had a lot of difficulty in finding the apartment as it was above some shops and not very well signed. The other downer was that it was amongst all the pubs so was very noisy, not the scene we were after. However I had stayed at the Hotel on a previous trip and really liked it, nice room and restaurant downstairs - take note this is called The Poplars not Cashel Apartments. Now to a recent booking I made just before the earthquake of Feb 22, the payment was taken from my credit card and we were booked to stay in early March, obviously all that had to change and I have since tried to contact them by email and phone to no avail, I absolutely understand the terrible circumstances they are facing but surely some kind of reassurance either on their website or by email as to what tourists can do to get their money refunded but there is nothing and I have had no reply to any of my emails, I would actually like to donate the money we would of spent to the Christchurch Earthquake Fund but at the moment for all I know it is going to some offshore owner - it would be nice to know! Anyway I have informed our credit card holder and they have had other people making the same complaint about this particular Hotel so they are currently trying to track down the owner. I have still rated this Hotel highly, it's just their lack of communication that seems to let them down.

We stayed here twice - on arrival in Christchurch and after touring the South Island, just before leaving for home. This is not the most elegant place, and the outside does not create a hugely good impression. Inside is another matter.

Travelling with 2 teenagers - we had 2 bedroom apartments - which are huge. One showed more signs of wear in the carpets than the other, but overall both were good. Huge lounge, generous kitchen that we barely even used, good size bedrooms, huge bathroom.

The restaurant downstairs isn't cheap but the food is very good too.

When we arrived - late at night - our airline had lost our luggage. The staff helped out digging out toothbrushes (probably from their personal stash), and kept a lookout for things arriving. Were similarly helpful with internet access, and minding luggage for a few hours for us when we left.

Also a quiet location, very little traffic noise. Could not recommend highly enough. GREAT.

We stayed at the Poplars for 4 nights in early October and very much enjoyed our stay. The building itself is fairly old, would have been built in the 50's probably, and was originally an office block. When they were turned into apartments (not sure of how long ago) they were fitted out nicely. Our apartment was a one-bedroom on the 4th floor. It had a quite spacious lounge/dining area, good sized kitchen, smallish bedroom and quite good bathroom with a spa bath. I thought the apartment was lovely - it was clean and comfortable, and the location was lovely - overlooking the river and quite close to the city centre - however not at the city centre so if you want a more central location there are many other options. The only downsides were the traffic noise from Madras St which was quite heavy, and the parking is not undercover and is actually across the road and up a bit from the apartments. The Oasis Bar and Restaurant downstairs is great - excellent food and the people were terrific. Overall the Poplars Apartments are a great choice when staying in Christchurch. It may not be cutting edge when it comes to modern furnishings and design but if you want something more 'upmarket' there is a price attached! For the tariff I thought the Poplars were excellent value and would happily stay there again.

We stayed at Poplars apartments on 3 separate occasions during our recent NZ trip of the South Island after reading the good reviews on Tripadvisor. We had booked a Deluxe 2 bed, 2 bathroom apartment. We were extremely disappointed with apartment 3A, the second bedroom was so small that to get to the other side of the bed you had to squeeze sideways along the wall to get there and the suitcase had to be lifted over the bed to be placed on the rack. Lift noise kept us awake as it was right next to the bedroom.
The rest of the apartment was O.K., but very outdated and in desperate need of a major refurbishment. The standard of cleaning is O.K., kitchen and bathroom floor tiles felt sticky. Ensure you book a Superior room to avoid our experience of tiny second bedroom. Also traffic noise was an issue.
On our second stay we were allocated 2A, which is the same standard as previous and requested a change to another apartment and were allocated 3C, this was much more comfortable and had a view of the Avon river which was lovely.
Easy 10 minute walk into the City. Excellent restaurant, The Oasis, good food and great service.