DoubleTree by Hilton Wellington — Hotel in North Island

Great location in centre of of Lambton Quay within easy walking distance to all the attractions of the harbourside and then 'inland' to the Parliament precinct for the unique Beehive. Hotel is housed in a heritage building still retaining the old stairs and lifts which add to its charm. Rooms are spacious and well configured, and quiet even if room is on the Lambton Quay mall side. Highlight was the Hilton complimentary cookie on check-in. And the bartender makes some pretty good cocktails which we enjoyed during their happy hour.

Breakfast was included in our room package. There is decent spread of the usual hot breakfast fare of eggs - though not cooked to order - bacon, baked beans etc. Choices did not change except for the cook's special of the day which didn't look appetising. The self-serve coffee machine had a blockage and dispensing milk rather than coffee. Despite staff being told of this issue nothing was done as on our last/4th breakfast we were still getting our coffee by first selecting 2 shots of short black, then milk from the latte selection and literally mixing our own coffee at our table! Staff worked hard to seat a full hotel and clear tables but didn't seem to pay attention to guests' reports of things gone wrong.

On our last night the fire alarm went off, resulting in an evacuation just before 11:00pm. Excitement milling around in Lambton Quay for 15+ minutes on a cold and wet Wellington night was watching crew of 2 fire trucks doing their thorough inspection before the all clear was given. Disappointingly, not a single staff communicated with any guests - not that we noticed anyway - nor did any checks that all guests had evacuated. There was absolutely no process or protocol for this emergency - PERHAPS THERE IS NO PROCESS AT ALL!!!! Even after guests returned to their rooms no staff checked that everyone was accounted for. There was no mention of the night's emergency on our checkout the next morning. It was business as usual.

Sorry, Hilton, this was a BIG letdown of your service and standing. The Intercontinental a stone throw from your prime position will be our central Wellington location the next...

Outdated Infrastructure and Unprofessional Service

Poor Soundproofing: The room’s soundproofing is severely inadequate, with persistent noise from water running through the pipes in the walls. This significantly disrupts any sense of comfort or tranquility.

Parking Mismanagement: The hotel oversells its parking spaces, often leaving guests without options if they return late in the evening. A previous review on the same issue received a response from the front office manager, Marcos, which contradicts the actual service provided. There is no clear guidance on what to do when parking is unavailable. Attempts to contact the number on the parking permit went unanswered. After visiting the lobby, we were instructed to use the parking machine, only to discover it allowed a maximum duration of 12 hours, requiring us to wake up at 7 a.m. to extend the parking manually. After several frustrating trips to the lobby, a staff member eventually intervened to assist through their system.

Parking Door Inconvenience: Accessing the parking area is unnecessarily complicated, as the door can only be opened by staff and not with a guest’s room card. This caused delays of 10–20 minutes if the staff were attending to other guests. A simple solution, such as enabling room card access or adding an open button at the front desk, would eliminate this inconvenience.

Privacy Violations: Despite placing a “Do Not Disturb” tag on the door handle, we returned to find the bed had been made. While no other cleaning was performed, this raises serious concerns about privacy and security. It is unsettling to know staff entered the room against our explicit wishes.

Overall Impression: The staff appear to prioritize their convenience over guest satisfaction, resulting in inefficiencies and frustration. Combined with privacy concerns and outdated infrastructure, the experience leaves much to be desired. Guests are left questioning the professionalism and safety of staying...

I've stayed at this Hilton twice for work along with a co-worker. Once was April 2024 and again May 2025. I travel frequently for work and usually stay at Hilton hotels if they are available. I've visited Hiltons across the US and in several other countries as well and I will say I probably won't be back to this one and will be telling my companies travel team to look at other hotels in the area when we return.

Negatives: The first time I stayed, there was a bar charge on my receipt when I checked out but I never went to their bar. The employee at the time apologized and was quick to remove it which is why I wasn't concerned about booking them again. However during this stay, they emailed me my final receipt and I didn't see until I got home that they had charged me twice for parking and also a $103 room service fee even though I never ordered room service totaling an extra $583 on my bill. Once is an honest mistake, twice is irritating. I ended up calling Hilton customer service to have them remove it (which they did to their credit.) The hotel is pretty old and the room was cold. Thermostat didn't seem to respond to adjustments. If you get a room with a balcony, it's full of bird feces. Hotel was on the older side and the walls are thin so I heard my one neighbor at night around 2AM at times and other neighbors at 11PM which made it difficult to sleep some nights. As others mentioned, parking garage was a little difficult to find. Not the end of the world but something to be aware of. Breakfast was also underwhelming and would recommend the various cafe's and coffee shops around Wellington instead.

Positives: The location is great. It's close to shopping and some great food places which is really awesome when you are there for work and don't want to travel far for these amenities. The bed and shower were also great. Internet speed was also better than other Hilton's...