Need Help on Auckland, NZ Hotels

[margord]

We are booking the Glow Worm Tour through Princess. Our choice of Auckland hotels are:

 

Langham Hotel

Stamford Plaza

Skycity Grand Hotel

 

We, of course, want a nice hotel. But, we also want to be near the harbor and other fun places. Please let me know what hotel you think would be best.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Marilee

[margord]

Doesn't anyone have an opinion on these hotels?

 

Marilee

[kaseyoz]

we have stayed at the stamford plaza and loved it. nice room, good breakfast and walking distance to the pier. we did it with our suitcases. They also minded our bags just before we boarded the ship so we could have longer here.

[boards]

We stayed at the Langham and it was very good. They have a shuttle that will take you downtown and comes back to get you. The food there is expensive though, but the accommodations are great and so is the staff.

[Johanna7]

We stayed at the Langham in Jan. 2005. Three weeks before that it was the Marriott which we chose through the cruise company. It was a very good hotel. Breakfast buffet was $31 NZ in 2005.

 

There are many restaurants in the area. One where we ate one morning had a full breakfast for $6NZ and also had internet which was $1.NZ for 30 minutes.

 

Yes, the have a shuttle which goes to the really good parts of Auckland like the waterfront and downtown, back and forth. No charge.

 

Johanna

[SheilaNC]

The Hilton is close to the pier - lovely but quite pricey. FYI, Auckland has a lot of hills and the walk down to the harbor from the Stamford Plaza and Skycity is downhill to the harbor.

[Missabby]

We stayed at the Peace & Plenty B&B across the bay in Devonport. Much more low-key and lots to see and do. Nice, cozy places to eat.

[bobsydney]

To me location, in terms of being close to everything, is all important - therefore the Stanford Plaza would probably be my choice ... it is close to the water and right in the city. The Langham on the other hand is not so well located and is probably not even walking distance fom the CBD. The Sky City hotel is part of the casino complex and is adjacent to the CBD but quite a few blocks walk from the waterfront (if that is important).

 

The one I would look at is the Hilton (hotel and apartments) - it is right on the waterfront, on Princes Wharf where the cruise ships mostly dock!!

 

A good website to have a look at is www.wotif.com - it has a map showing the location of the hotels as well as offering some pretty good deals for last minute bookings.

 

Cheers

Bob

[margord]

we have stayed at the stamford plaza and loved it. nice room, good breakfast and walking distance to the pier. we did it with our suitcases. They also minded our bags just before we boarded the ship so we could have longer here.

 

Stamford Plaza is the one we booked. I figured if I heard bad things I could always change.

 

Marilee

[margord]

We stayed at the Langham and it was very good. They have a shuttle that will take you downtown and comes back to get you. The food there is expensive though, but the accommodations are great and so is the staff.

 

Thanks so much for the information.

[margord]

We stayed at the Langham in Jan. 2005. Three weeks before that it was the Marriott which we chose through the cruise company. It was a very good hotel. Breakfast buffet was $31 NZ in 2005.

 

There are many restaurants in the area. One where we ate one morning had a full breakfast for $6NZ and also had internet which was $1.NZ for 30 minutes.

 

Yes, the have a shuttle which goes to the really good parts of Auckland like the waterfront and downtown, back and forth. No charge.

 

Johanna

 

WOw, any idea what restaurant that was for $6NZ?

[margord]

The Hilton is close to the pier - lovely but quite pricey. FYI, Auckland has a lot of hills and the walk down to the harbor from the Stamford Plaza and Skycity is downhill to the harbor.

 

Sheila,

 

Any idea of things to do in NZ. We hope to fly in a few days prior to the Glow Worm tour if for no other reason than jet lag. DO I want to be near the habour or somewhere else?

 

Marilee

[margord]

We stayed at the Peace & Plenty B&B across the bay in Devonport. Much more low-key and lots to see and do. Nice, cozy places to eat.

 

Thanks for the info. We are booking through the cruise line since it is part of a tour so we only have a choice of the 3 above.

 

Marilee

[margord]

To me location, in terms of being close to everything, is all important - therefore the Stanford Plaza would probably be my choice ... it is close to the water and right in the city. The Langham on the other hand is not so well located and is probably not even walking distance fom the CBD. The Sky City hotel is part of the casino complex and is adjacent to the CBD but quite a few blocks walk from the waterfront (if that is important).

 

The one I would look at is the Hilton (hotel and apartments) - it is right on the waterfront, on Princes Wharf where the cruise ships mostly dock!!

 

A good website to have a look at is www.wotif.com - it has a map showing the location of the hotels as well as offering some pretty good deals for last minute bookings.

 

Cheers

Bob

 

Thanks Bob, I definitely agree about the location.

Marilee

[margord]

To me location, in terms of being close to everything, is all important - therefore the Stanford Plaza would probably be my choice ... it is close to the water and right in the city. The Langham on the other hand is not so well located and is probably not even walking distance fom the CBD. The Sky City hotel is part of the casino complex and is adjacent to the CBD but quite a few blocks walk from the waterfront (if that is important).

 

The one I would look at is the Hilton (hotel and apartments) - it is right on the waterfront, on Princes Wharf where the cruise ships mostly dock!!

 

A good website to have a look at is www.wotif.com - it has a map showing the location of the hotels as well as offering some pretty good deals for last minute bookings.

 

Cheers

Bob

 

One more question. What is CBD?

[Johanna7]

Margord.

 

While the Langham is a nice hotel, it is not in a really nice area. Yes, there are lots of restaurants in the area, as are bailbond places, moneymart type joints, Subway restaurants, law firms which will help with immigration issues and so on. Second hand shops. In other words, not the best part of town.

 

The restaurant in question where we ate was obviously a local place. You go to the counter, place your order, when ready they call and you pick it up. The food was fine. The internet very handy and dirt cheap.

 

If you want something nice, the Hilton is it. It is praactically attached to the cruise terminal. The actual Hilton looks like a huge ship from the water. It is lovely and if you can book it, probably worth the extra cost when you consider convenience and atmosphere.

[margord]

Margord.

 

While the Langham is a nice hotel, it is not in a really nice area. Yes, there are lots of restaurants in the area, as are bailbond places, moneymart type joints, Subway restaurants, law firms which will help with immigration issues and so on. Second hand shops. In other words, not the best part of town.

 

The restaurant in question where we ate was obviously a local place. You go to the counter, place your order, when ready they call and you pick it up. The food was fine. The internet very handy and dirt cheap.

 

If you want something nice, the Hilton is it. It is praactically attached to the cruise terminal. The actual Hilton looks like a huge ship from the water. It is lovely and if you can book it, probably worth the extra cost when you consider convenience and atmosphere.

 

Thanks for information. As much as I would like the Hilton it is not one that Princess offers and since this is part of a tour, I only have the 3 hotels in my original message to choose from. We have choosen the Stamford. It was a flip of the coin but sounds like it wasn't too bad of a choice.

 

Marilee

[kaseyoz]

One more question. What is CBD?

CBD stands for "central business district", lots of offices etc, main town centre

[Aquarians]

Sheila,

 

Any idea of things to do in NZ. We hope to fly in a few days prior to the Glow Worm tour if for no other reason than jet lag. DO I want to be near the habour or somewhere else?

 

Marilee

Marilee, Kia ora i Aotearoa,

When you talk of the glow worm tour I presume you mean at the Waitomo caves. If you are going from Auckland it would involve a full days trip, probably via Hamilton (which is about two hours drive from Auckland (depending on traffic) & then an hour or so to the caves. Waitomo can be combined with a visit to Rotorua although each warrants a day on its own & I wouldn't recommend doing them both in a day!. Which North Island ports are you docking at as Rotorua (the North Island's 'MUST SEE') is usually visited from Tauranga - about an hours drive from the port (Mount Maunganui). Let me know if I can help further.

Aquarians

[SheilaNC]

I certainly agree with Aquarians that the Glow Worm tour will take most of the day. If you haven't been to Auckland before, be sure that you take the time to take a ferry to Devenport - it's a quaint waterfront town with nice restaurants and shops and a walk uphill to the monument from which you have a lovely view of Auckland (great pictures). We went on a morning ferry, walked around and up to the monument, stopped for a snack and then took the ferry back to explore Auckland. The city buses are inexpensive and you can just ride the whole route (check the city site to see which bus) and then decide where you'd like to go back. We enjoyed Parnell - another area with great shops and restaurants (do you see a pattern here??) and much like an artsy colony. Also the Maori museum is excellent. But it you plan to be in Wellington, I prefer the Te Pappa museum there. I really like the harbor area, but it's a short walk from the hotels in your earlier message so not a big deal for a hotel since you'll be out and about anyway. If you have other questions, please post.

[margord]

CBD stands for "central business district", lots of offices etc, main town centre

 

Oh, thanks.

 

Marilee

[margord]

Marilee, Kia ora i Aotearoa,

When you talk of the glow worm tour I presume you mean at the Waitomo caves. If you are going from Auckland it would involve a full days trip, probably via Hamilton (which is about two hours drive from Auckland (depending on traffic) & then an hour or so to the caves. Waitomo can be combined with a visit to Rotorua although each warrants a day on its own & I wouldn't recommend doing them both in a day!. Which North Island ports are you docking at as Rotorua (the North Island's 'MUST SEE') is usually visited from Tauranga - about an hours drive from the port (Mount Maunganui). Let me know if I can help further.

Aquarians

 

Thanks so much for the info. Yes it is the Waitomo Glow worms but it is all done through a tour through the cruise lines. ONe of our ports of call is Tauranga.

 

Marilee