Empire Apartments — Hotel in Waitematā

I would recommend that one only book here as a very, very last resort. Staying at this apartment will leave you feeling very unsettled, very uneasy and constantly stressing if you will be liable to pay for anything that occurs during your stay 🥲

We arrived at 1.30pm at the main reception desk - we had to wait a while as no one was behind the counter to assist us. When someone eventually appeared, we were told that we can only check in at 2pm as the rooms were being sorted out. We waited on a couch that was in the reception area - a very old, stained and sunken couch might I add!

When it was eventually time to check in, we were requested to pay a security deposit of $100!!!! To say that we were shocked would be a huge understatement. When we booked online through Agoda, we were not notified that we should expect such a request upon checking in. We advised the receptionist of this, but he was adamant that "it should appear on the Agoda site". We had no choice but to pay the $100 deposit, signed a 2 page document and were then handed our key card.

The room we stayed in was a solid 1/10. The only good thing about it was the bed was clean and appeared to have clean bedding. Other than that, it was simply horrible for the price of $108 per night!!!!!!!!!

A complete rip-off, with stains on the bedroom carpet, dust mites on the tv stand, and a rather sad and dirty bathroom!!

I would recommend that you only book here as a really last resort.. what also kept us on edge, was the fact that there were signs and notices advising of the following:

If you check out half an hour late, you need to pay $35 If you break the scanning button in the elevator, you have to pay for it If you place hangers on the sprinklers in the room, you have to pay $2000!!!

A stay is meant to be pleasant and comfortable - However, staying here will make you feel like you're having to watch your every move to avoid being penalized for it!!!! We were more than happy to check out the next day and will undoubtedly never book...

Stayed for one night, booked 1 apartment and 1 studio, staff member I dealt with was really nice polite and friendly didn’t even charge us the deposit,upgraded the studio to another 3 bedroom apartment because I requested our rooms be next to each other so bonus 5 kids got their own room, location is great close to the zoo, museum, sky tower etc. has a really really great burger place right downstairs, lots of toiletries and coffee tea etc in each room , bedding was clean and towels, parking was a few minutes walk away but we parked in a paid parking building wasn’t too much $22 for 22 hours , so that’s the good stuff now for the not so good… only one elevator was working we were on the 19th floor so wait time was abit but nothing to crazy however the smell was horrible sometime even had someone come one with a trolley filled with rubbish and smelt of B.O regularly, the rooms could definitely use a deep clean especially the bathroom ceilings and walls ( I recommend shower slippers just to be safe) we didn’t use the kitchens in either room only made a cuppa but we washed all the dishes first, rooms smelt very musty but windows opened for a few hours a fan going and some much needed purfume helped, no tvs worked in one apartment and quite a few things broken, all sorts of people living there which can be off putting ( I’m only being honest) however they were all polite and some really friendly, across the hall the people were having a merry old time loud music and singing and even arguing lucky for us it was absolutely pouring down so we opened the window in our room to drown out the noise, the noise from the street woke us up a few times but hey inner city to be expected, the corridors are filthy and quite daunting, we won’t be staying there again we do like something a bit nicer we like to hang out in our accommodation in between seeing all the attractions with this one we only went back to sleep iv paid...

I should have read the reviews before confirming my non-refundable booking via a third party.

Night 1 of 4. So far I am completely unimpressed, extra charges, wifi not included, the room is clean(ish) but not well maintained with mold around the shower which is quite stained, stained sheets, no phone in the room, no air-con, no plug for the kitchenette sink, no bedside tables or lamps, and the loudest metal bed frame I have ever encountered. The hallways smell atrocious, one elevator has exposed cabels, I have been approached multiple times by residents asking for smokes. Paper thin walls and loud neighbors.

And I've witnessed someone breaking in after hours... Not sure what to do for the rest of my holiday in all honesty.

I sure as hell won't make another booking here again. UPDATE I called the after hours number to ask the earliest time someone would be available at the front desk at 5.30am, at 8am I requested a full refund in cash as I needed my refund immediately to pay for alternative accommodation. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how infuriating this experience was. I stood for over an hour at the front desk repeating myself, explaining why waiting 2-4 days for a refund simply was not an option. At 10am I received only 85% of my pre-paid charges in cash and only after threatening legal action. I would very much prefer to defecate in my hands and clap, than return to...