Pullman Auckland Airport — Hotel in Māngere-Ōtāhuhu

I have never been so disappointed. we got delayed by fog so decided to stay close by, despite the price. Thought we'd have a treat. First, we couldn't find any room numbering by the lifts – one lift is in a triangular section in the middle and we stepped out thinking we'd see numbering and arrows on the all - but nothing? Where do we go? Then I saw, in the very dim light, some very dull brass room numbers which you had to walk right up close to to even read. Having then found our room, we couldn't get the door open, and had to go and find someone (fortunately a cleaner was nearby) and she opened it with a HUGE shove. Our first requirement was a cup of tea– a flash coffee machine (which we don't use), but no coffee, two small mugs and a small kettle. A bar fridge with the usual drinks for sale, and a small pack of milk. Nothing else?? No coffee, tea etc.? My husband said we probably have to ring and order it and pay for it. I said "No way!" I ended up ringing reception to find that it was all in a "drawer" - and there, totally hidden, above the bar fridge, was a big drawer with supplies. (Why do they only ever give you 4 packs of English Breakfast tea?? For two people for 24 hours!) The cups were useless and we ended up using two coffee cartons we'd kept from McDonalds earlier in the day to get a decent cup of tea. Might sound petty but drinks are really important when you're travelling. Other disappointments were the robes - look lovely but they were both very small - only just fitted me – so I would think they'd be pretty hopeless for 90% of people. The air-con wasn't working and we had to ring for someone to come and sort that out. The Internet was poor - always dropping out. I read on someone else's review that they'd had the same problem. The guy who came for the air-con said they may have had a few problems that day ... yeah right! The open "wardrobe" was right above the bench for suitcases so every time you bent into the suitcase you came up and hit your head on coat hangers. The huge mirror door – on both sides! - to the bathroom was quite disconcerting - you lost your bearings, wondering what you were looking at. For anyone with a bit of vertigo, that is horrible. And the toilet lighting was a thin strip almost floor to ceiling but very harsh. I think it was supposed to be "subdued lighting" but it doesn't work. Everything seems to be "form over function" - do these designers ever go and stay to see whether things actually "work" or not??? We went out several times, and all afternoon, and evening, there was a dirty room service tray outside the next-door room. No one came to fetch it. Even the guy who came for the air-con could have just taken it away. Very poor for a 5-star hotel. Nice bed though. But overall extremely disappointed and we would never go again. If we're in that position again, needing an airport stay, we might try the...

Was there for one night, and was really not happy with the overall treatment and satisfaction. Asked for an early check-in but that took almost an hour of waiting, still okay. For the first day it was okay, everything went well, but while I was leaving for the evening - I did have a chat with the concierge downstairs or desk to have my room cleaned, just a normal room service. Next day when I came back - all the coffee mugs were just there as the day before, trash & rubbish not cleaned, sheets as just there, literally nothing was done. I called the desk to have room service done, which she asked as to whether I had requested that or had the room clean sticker which btw was nowhere to be seen in the room. But besides the point, if I had talked to someone in person to have room service done, it should be more than enough to have it cleaned. Still over the phone I said, its okay I will be checking around 12 anyways so if not room service then can I just get fresh coffee mugs, so I can have my coffee and get on with my day and do my work. It took a while for someone to come to the room but again, the person came with fresh towels and I said I don't fresh towels, just need fresh coffee mugs - yet he was giving me one more towel. It was really edgy because I just wanted fresh coffee mugs. This was frustrating as is because look, I am not entitled that I needed alot of things, but rather just asked something basic as a room cleanup, that too in-person a day before and if not then still fine, can I just have fresh coffee mugs. And still thing happened. Also throughout the morning, was unable to connect to the wifi, honestly it felt really bad given I already paid a premium for a 5 Star hotel and this was such a bad experience in comparison. I have stayed numerous times at Novotel in NZ and other countries but have never experienced such, this was my first time at Pullman, and me and partner were like "Nope, never again at any Pullman". Really guys for a hotel chain that is 5 Stars, you guys messed up on doing something basic things right. The guy still came back with coffee mugs, but by time I was really frustrated as this is all happening in the morning itself, to which I just said - its okay I'm checking out. It was really bad experience, and disheartening given I was paying half a grand $500 for one night stay. This was really really bad. I do appreciate the manager who understood what I shared with her, and she offered a 20% discount, which I truly appreciate. But again this was not about money per say but rather the experience and expectation out of big & premium franchise. I never expected this would happen. But honestly I'd never go to any Pullman again. I think one of the key areas where the hotel kinda slipped was around...

International flights were cancelled and the airline booked a room with Pullman for us.

I had a very disappointing experience with the Duty Manager Shubham Gokhale.

I went to the hotel reception at 9pm with my 4 years old. The receptionist asked me to write down our names on the Accommodation and Transport Voucher that the airline gave me and kept the voucher. We were advised to have a short wait in the lobby while they confirming with the airline.

There were only a few people in the lobby at that time. After 5 minutes, a young couple came and sat next to us. They were holding their voucher and the concierge asked them to fill up a form with their names, but he didn’t ask us to do so. As the receptionist had got our information on the voucher she held, I didn’t worry that things would go wrong from there.

Until the young couple got a room but we were still waiting. I talked to the Duty Manager Shubham. I mentioned where went wrong. My 4 year old and I came earlier than the young couple and should have been assigned a room earlier. My 4 year old was very exhausted at that time. It was nearly 10pm, one hour after we arrived. Surprisedly, Shubhamwas very arrogant. He said “then I have to check the camera to see if you came earlier”. I reminded him not to be dramatic. This is not the way to resolve an issue. As a mum of a 4 year old, I would only wish to be assigned a room as the proper order and take my son to bed. Another lady came to Shubham and mentioned the same issue.

Shubham then asked us to go to another counter to do the check in. During the check-in, he asked my credit card. I said that I don’t have one. Then he surprised me again by saying “then I am afraid I cannot check you in. “ I surly don’t think this is what a professional hotelier should have said! In the end I paid $200 deposit from my debit card and got a room. It was 10:13pm. Should he mention the alternative when I said I didn’t have a credit card?

From the attitude that Shubham treats other customers who cannot speak English, I feel that he isn’t very patient and empathetic. I understand that the customers from airline service recovery are not the direct customers who pays the bill, but I do think that we are potentially customers for the hotel too. We barely have a 5 star hotel in Aotearoa, but I feel lots managers from other hotels could offer better service than Shubham, unfortunately.

I have stayed in the Pullman hotel in the central Auckland. Something went wrong but the duty manager was very friendly and was eager to make things up, so I wasn’t fussed. This time, the reaction from this duty manager really surprised me.

I hope this could...