This hotel stood out for us in our New Zealand tour as the only place in 3 weeks where we met rude and unhelpful receptionists. When we booked in she chatted on the phone, barely spoke to us as she gave us keys etc and when we asked for two keys said that there wasn't two for that room as they don't always get them back and there was nothing she could do. Great staying in a room where you are not sure if someone else has a key to it! When we tried to book a taxi to the train station the next day, we asked for advise on how long it would take to get there so we could estimate a pick up time - this receptionist thought is was funny that she didn't know where the station was, then said we had better allow 1/2 hour and when she booked the taxi didn't even ask them to confirm how long it would take. We were at the station very early as it only takes 10 minutes!!! The room was basic but clean. Parking is terrible there especially at busy times which it was. Glad we only had to park one night as we returned the hire car the next day. I would stay there again as its close enough to the city centre to walk in, in about 20 mins but it would be despite the staff.

Bealey's Hotel was booked as accommodation as part of our New Zealand tour and we stayed there a total of three nights (2 nights before and one night during). Unfortunately it was also the least pleasant hotels we stayed at.

The hallways smelled funny and were unheated and rooms didn't have built in heaters either. We were given two tiny space heaters to use although one of ours was broken. Since it was middle of winter this made for some cold nights. The window in our bathroom didn't close all the way so we made do by keeping the bathroom door closed and putting towels at the base of the door to block the cold air.

The rooms themselves resemble college dorm rooms and are generally in poor repair with damaged furniture, peeling linoleum and musty bedding. We also ran into issues with the room keys not working in the lock. Staff were generally pleasant, but the property itself is not in good shape. The hotel is located a good 15 - 20 minute walk from Cathedral Square, although we were able to catch the free Christchurch shuttle bus from half way.

Would not recommend this for a stay in Christchurch. We spoke to other people on our tour who booked their own hotel before the tour and were able to find better hotel in a better location for only a slightly higher cost.

This is a great find at a good price.Its been around a while but has been recently upgraded.Nice garden setting and plenty of parking.
About a 10 minute walk to city.
Fabulous food and ales in Speights Ale House on premises run by ex All Blacks.Try the great steaks.

Thankfully, we only stayed at this place for one night on our way back to Wellington from Queensland. We were two couples travelling from the UK, although one of us was a Kiwi and he was totally horrified too.

The photo's of the hotel and rooms (that were available on the website where we booked this accommodation) painted a pretty picture, but in reality everything was on the opposite scale.

It reminded me of those cheesy motels that you see in the movies, although the bedroom block looked more like student accommodation (no disrespect to students, I was once one myself).

The windows didn't close properly in our room therefore you could hear all of the road noise, and although it was February it was quite cold in Christchurch at the time so we were REALLY cold going to bed.

It worked out to about £40 for the room for two people per night, but I've stayed in Travel-Inns before, for around the same price, that had a bit more pride in their appearance. It just felt really 'icky'!

We took taxi's during our (12 hour) stay in Christchurch and I don't remember them being particularly expensive, but I'm sure that you could find somewhere closer to the centre for a little bit more money.

To be honest I feel that my visit to Christchurch was ruined by the choice of hotel. It just goes to show that we should have checked with TripAdvisor before booking.