Fable Christchurch — Hotel in Christchurch

Spent 3 nights at this newly rebranded hotel. Centrally located in the heart of Christchurch city centre. The front of house team was very friendly and prompt at checking in. The room was good, not a five star standard by any means though. I felt welcomed with a hand written card put very nicely on the table with some delicious delicate chocolates. The bed was super comfortable and the linen and towels were crisp. Carpet ripped at a corner and visble stain marks that stayed over my visit despite room service doing their bit. The sliding doors to my wee pantry cum wardrobe were almost jammed and needed some muscle work to slide. The gym looked deserted and very basic with cardiovascular machines facing dead walls. The louge was very pretty and done tastefully. The velvet counches and chairs were very comfortable. The bar was well stocked other than the staff. I had a few business meetings during the day and the restaurant and the bar was shut. A 5 star hotel and couldn't get tea or coffeee or a drink as the front desk staff apologised and confirmed that the bar will reopen at 5pm. My solo host was super friendly and courteous chap who came from Sri Lanka. He served me breakfast, evening drink and dinner. He was the constant feature of the service team. Very friendly, knowledgeable and cheerful. My package included breakfast and i did try it two mornings out of three. The coffee was very ordinary, the barista needs to polish his/her skills for sure. The meals were average and lacked the 5 star touch when it comes to plating. Worse, i got charged for breakfast while checking out. Felt short-changed. Overall a decent experience, nothing like a five star though.

Seems we stayed once at this so called 5 * hotel and the experience is still lingering. As reported earlier, we got charged for breakfast while our reservation included the breakfast. We did mention this in our initial review. Anyways, no one bothered to clear the air so we wrote an email to the hotel and asked why were we charged for the breakfast. We got no reply. We wrote back after a week. We got told they were short staffed and were struggling to reply. Ok, we understand that. However, the hotel keeps giving deals on grab one and through emails enticing punters to book, this doesn't add on. One more email and the acting manager almost bit my head saying I used a friend to make a booking and I shoukd talk to that friend. Wow lady, this attitude in hospitality? Really? Few more weeks and we called the hotel and asked why? The 2nd in charge apologised and gave an email address to forward all the correspondence to her. Good initiative I would say. Another month down the track, i still wait. Guys please get your act...

Room was fine and in a good location but service was terrible. We flew a redeye into Christchurch and wrote in 2 weeks before to request for an early check-in, to which the hotel replied they would try their best - understandable.||When we reached at around 11am they told us check in was at 2pm and to try again at 1pm which was reasonable. When we reached the hotel at 110pm, we were told the room was still not ready which was fine as well, if others were treated the same way. Between 110pm and 145pm, they must have checked in and given rooms to at least 4 white couples whilst denying 3 separate Asian couples rooms  (we were unrelated, sitting in the lobby waiting together, so there was no request for rooms on the same floor or next to each other). White couples checking in early were all happily greeted with 'yes your room is ready' whilst we were told with no uncertainty that our rooms were still not available. During this time, one of the other couples checked again at around 130pm, only to be rebuffed again. Finally at around 145pm I asked a different (shift change?) receptionist who immediately apologized for the oversight and got us our room, saying our original room wasn't available yet but that she was going to switch rooms for us (same room type just different level) so we could get keys. Couldn't they have done that earlier? Or perhaps 30min was worth upsetting their guests over. ||Ironically, all the receptionists we dealt with were of Asian descent themselves. Do what you may with that information.||If fable reads this review and would like to dispute it, please pull your lobby footage from 1pm 18 Apr 2025 and see how many others got their rooms whilst 3 couples sat in the lobby...

I travel often and rarely write reviews, but this experience was so disappointing I feel obligated to warn others. If you’re expecting a true 5-star experience, this is not it. While the hotel boasts a great location and relatively affordable valet parking, that’s where the positives end.

The biggest issue I have is privacy. Within hours of checking in, a staff member entered my room without knocking. I felt like I was transported back to my Asian household where privacy is a myth and doors are opened freely, except this is not my house and it’s a 5-star hotel. Minutes later, the MANAGER did the same thing TWICE despite me asking him to wait. He claimed he was investigating a potential mix-up with the rooms, but I am unable to comprehend how a hotel of this supposed calibre allows multiple staff to barge in like this. It was invasive, embarrassing, and unacceptable. A free drink at the bar does not make up for it.

Other issues: • Room card stopped working TWICE. • Small, tired room with dated carpets, no bottled water, and minimal amenities. • Breakfast was really far below expectations: oil with a side of bacon (see picture), juice poured from cartons, and sour pudding. For a 5-star hotel, this was closer to a motel buffet.

I tried their restaurant for dinner and I ordered the seafood ravioli. $30+ for 3 pieces. The texture was questionable, and the sauce did nothing to redeem it.

This was my first, and definitely last, stay with Fable. I don’t know if I caught them on a bad day or if this is their standard, but based on my experience, I can’t recommend it to anyone, except for my worst enemies. There are better hotels in the same area, for the same price, without the intrusion or...