I stayed at Colombo in the City on three occasions over a period of six weeks between tours. Everything about this motel is great and I didn't have a single complaint throughout my stay. The motel is modern and clean with ample parking. The owners are very helpful and very nice people. I will always return to this motel and leave with very fond memories of a great time there. Home from home. Strongly recommended.

Poor Christchurch has many demolished (or about to be) buildings these days, but Colombo in the City is in perfect shape and a joy to stay in. Rusell, at the front desk, is very helpful in knowing what is now open and what is great to see. I'd recommend the Botanical Gardens and the Canterbury Museum as two "must dos".

We arrived at Colombo in the City at 1am on Christmas Day 2011. Although the motel was closed we had very clear instructions of where to find our key and we got it with no trouble. There is plenty of parking and although there are a few stairs to the upper level rooms we had no problems getting to ours. The hotel owner had kindly left us milk, bread, yogurt, orange juice and cereal for Christmas morning as he knew there would be few places open with food available. The rooms were spacious and clean and there was no visable earthquake damage so we felt very safe. Although much of the center of Christchurch was still closed the motel is perfectly situated for walking around the city and the botanical gardens. We were only in Christchurch 2 days but we had a lovely time and the motel owners were very friendly and helpful.

After taking the city bus from the Christchurch Airport to just south of the Central Business District, we decided to walk the 20 minutes or so to the motel. The CBD is cordoned off as buildings damaged by the Feb 2011 earthquake are being demolished. Some buildings are piles of rubble; others show some damage but are unsafe. It was a terrible sight.

However, this motel was spared, except for the parking lot which they have replaced. Furthermore, the rooms are lovely! Though they have no elevator, our second story (US; first story for any Europeans) unit was a clean, crisp one bedroom loft apartment. The main floor had the living room, a breakfast table, desk, TV and other audio/video electronics, a small kitchen with two electric burners, refrigerator, toaster, electric kettle, microwave, and full set of dishes and pots and pans. The modern bathroom, with hair dryer, was behind the kitchen. Upstairs was a loft bedroom with a queen and a twin bed. After seeing the devastation in the city, this was an oasis. We were shown to our room, as were the other guests checking in at the same time. (Very nice touch from earlier years/decades.) Our hostess was most welcoming. The bed was comfortable, the street quiet, and our stay was relaxing. (Note: We stayed again 6 nights later after touring South Island and were again pleased. This time we had a regular motel room with a king bed and spa tub.)