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Thread: Visiting Austrailia/New Zealand

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Default Visiting Austrailia/New Zealand

    Hi, I am California Girl. My husband and I are taking a 3 week trip to Aust/.New Zealand in December. We are concerned a little about the hotels. I understand their standards or not quite the same as the US. Their 4 star hotels are about the same as our 2 1/1 to 3 star hotels. So far in Melbourn we think we are staying at the Citigate Hotel. Any comments on this hotel for cleaniness??aSO N aUCKLAND, How is the Copthorne Hotel Harbour city compared to the Mercure Auckland Hotel? We will be there for 3 nights. How much time do you think we need for our own sight seeing around town. We would like to go on the all day Discover the Bay Cape Brett, but do not know if we have enough time to spend all day on one tour.
    Any input will be appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by california girl View Post
    Hi, I am California Girl. My husband and I are taking a 3 week trip to Aust/.New Zealand in December. We are concerned a little about the hotels. I understand their standards or not quite the same as the US. Their 4 star hotels are about the same as our 2 1/1 to 3 star hotels. So far in Melbourn we think we are staying at the Citigate Hotel. Any comments on this hotel for cleaniness??aSO N aUCKLAND, How is the Copthorne Hotel Harbour city compared to the Mercure Auckland Hotel? We will be there for 3 nights. How much time do you think we need for our own sight seeing around town. We would like to go on the all day Discover the Bay Cape Brett, but do not know if we have enough time to spend all day on one tour.
    Any input will be appreciated.
    Thank you

  3. #3
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    Default

    By "their" remember you actually mean "your".

    NZ hotel standards are just fine, I'm sure you won't feel like you're roughing it at the citigate or any of the others you mention.

  4. #4
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    Whilst only being a lowly Brit, and therefore not aware of the amazing hotels in the USA, then I'e found the hotels at the uipper end of the NZ market to be more than adequate. In Aukland, then I personally rate the Rendezvous over the Heritage. In Wellington the Hotel Meuseum was excellent. Suites in both are very good value (compared to European hotels). Can't fault the cleanliness of either.

    Look at tripadvisor and wotif for reviews/rates.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncan74 View Post
    Whilst only being a lowly Brit, and therefore not aware of the amazing hotels in the USA, then I'e found the hotels at the uipper end of the NZ market to be more than adequate. In Aukland, then I personally rate the Rendezvous over the Heritage. In Wellington the Hotel Meuseum was excellent. Suites in both are very good value (compared to European hotels). Can't fault the cleanliness of either.

    Look at tripadvisor and wotif for reviews/rates.
    Museum in Wellington is great provided you get one of the new rooms (in the apartments) rather than the old rooms which can be a bit hit and miss.

    To be honest I find 90% of the American 4/5 star hotels that I've stayed in a little bit rubbish. They seem to be very dull and samey with no real character or life to them.

    Asian 4/5/6 & 7 star hotels on the other hand are excellent (although haven't stayed in the 7 star - my parents did for my Dad's birthday and when we went to their room they surprised us with a 4 piece jazz band playing happy birthday and "free" champagne for everyone).

    NZ hotels are somewhere in between US and Asian; some are a bit samey (i.e. Sky City), some are great and some are in between. Your best bet is to use Trip Advisor and if you want something special then avoid the big international chains.

  6. #6
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    Cheers James good to know, only stayed in suites in the new bit, so have noted for the future.

  7. #7
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    I don't have any experience with hotels in OZ and NZ, but when I have travelled overseas, I've definately used the tripadvisor, or I google the hotel and add the word 'review'.

    I love Oz & NZ, but don't be too disappointed if you come across poor service - compared to the US. I'm always disappointed by service here.

  8. #8
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    The hotels in NZ are fine. Not quite as up market as Asia but perfectly clean. The Museum in Wellington is a must if only for the art on display.

    Australian top hotels I have stayed in are of Asian standard.

    ...but to be honest the best hotels have their own uniqueness. Give me quirky over 5 star any day.

  9. #9
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    Feb 2011
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    Yes I agree with Wooly Cow.

    We stayed at Fur And Feathers - just outside of Cairns. It was a treehouse in the forest and rated 3 or 4 star - awful name in my opinion, but it was stunning. It was sooo much better and cleaner than the 5 star joint we stayed in while holidaying in Cairns.

    Have you tried looking at Bed & breakfasts?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by James 1077 View Post
    To be honest I find 90% of the American 4/5 star hotels that I've stayed in a little bit rubbish. They seem to be very dull and samey with no real character or life to them.
    Depends on who is doing the ratings. AAA (which actually uses diamonds, not stars) tend to be much little stricter with their stars than Expedia (and others). A 5 diamond hotel (AAA) has specific requirements (like a 24 hour door man); these are typically Ritz/Four Seasons level hotels. A 4 diamond hotel would be a nice Hilton/Hyatt...a run down Hilton or Hyatt would get 3 diamonds. A run down Hilton or Hyatt usually gets 4 stars from Expedia, so I see where you're coming from James.

    To the OP: There seem to be several different classes of hotel ratings; there are 5 star backpackers in Auckland, and anything with "City" in the name seems to be on a different scale...maybe someone who understands what a 5 star backpackers is can explain it. Anyway, I'd give both Mercures (Auckland) a low 3 stars. I found the Rendezvous slightly better; the Hyatt a little better than the Rendezvous. I like the Quadrant quite a bit, possibly because it always seems cheaper than the other 4. None of them are bad hotels, you're just not getting a bargain on a grand hotel.

    I wish they all could be California girls.

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