Horizon by SkyCity — Hotel in Waitematā

I have never experienced such a terrible hotel stay in my life. I booked a hotel suite at level 11(NZD$519/night).

At around 1:00 a.m., story began, while I was sleeping, the TV facing my bed suddenly turned on by itself. The bright light woke me up. As I was exhausted, I didn’t think too much about it. I picked up the remote control next to me, turned off the TV, and tried to go back to sleep.

Then something strange happened. About three minutes later, the TV turned on by itself again. I started to feel uneasy, but because I had to get up early the next morning, I turned off the TV with the remote again and tried to sleep. Three minutes later, the TV switched on by itself yet again. By this point, I was fully awake and feeling anxious.

I wanted to unplug the TV but couldn’t find the power socket. It might have been behind the TV, but the suite’s TV was very large and blocked the outlet. I was afraid of damaging it if I moved it, so I immediately called the front desk for help. The staff said they could either turn off the TV remotely or come to my room to check it. I thought if they could turn it off remotely, that would be best — less hassle, and I wouldn’t have to worry about someone coming into my room at 1:30 a.m., especially since I had an early meeting the next day.

After a short while, the TV did indeed turn off. My anxiety eased a little, knowing that the hotel’s TVs could be controlled remotely.

However, about half an hour later, something even scarier happened. The TV turned on by itself again. I checked the time — it was around 2:00 a.m. I was completely startled and very frightened, as if I were in a horror movie. I immediately called the front desk again to complain that the TV had turned on by itself. This time they sent someone to my room, who took about six minutes to unplug the TV. By then it was already around 2:20 a.m.

After being tormented by the TV for nearly an hour, I could no longer sleep. I lay there staring at the TV, feeling like it could turn on again at any moment, or that some other light in the room might suddenly switch on. My head was full of anxious thoughts. I couldn’t stay in the room any longer and went down to the lobby to find the manager.

What the manager told me was even more disturbing. She said they had already turned off the TV and that in their system the TV had always been off. But in reality, the TV had clearly turned on by itself! The room attendant who unplugged the TV can be the witness. This was extremely frightening. What made me even angrier was the manager’s impatient attitude. By then it was already 3:30 a.m. My entire night had been ruined, yet the hotel manager couldn’t even make the decision to move me to another room as she told me she was the highest in position at the night. However instead, she called security, which made me feel pressured and as if everything was somehow my fault — as if I was the one being unreasonable.

I felt disappointed, and scared. In the end, at 3:45 a.m., I packed my things and left the hotel because I could no longer stay in that room. The good side is the duty manager told me someone in higher management position would call me today to discuss this further, but no one till now called me to talk about this.

The suite I stayed in had two TVs — one in the living room and one in the bedroom facing the bed. I kept wondering why it was always the TV facing the bed that turned on by itself, not the other one. Could other rooms be having the same problem? Why can the hotel control every room’s TV remotely? And why did the central system show that my TV was off when in reality it was turning on by itself?

This hotel has truly made me feel terrified.

Both managing experience and problem solving skill...

So I try to be as honest as possible in my reviews and in all that I do. Because of blessings and all that. So let's begin shall we? First off it was easy to get there, hopped on the Sky Bus from the airport which stops on the opposite side of the road. Played duck duck goose ran across, at the traffic light, and boom there I was. The decor was good and had that dark flair that I appreciated. Service was good at the front desk and so was the breakfast buffet. The rooms were good, the bed was comfy, and you couldn't see jacks@#t out the windows but the staff of TVNZ definitely would have gotten an after-hours show if we left the curtains open. The bathroom was good, wasn't big, so meh there. But they had a mini bar, now people let's talk about this little refrigerator from hell. It was well stocked let's give them that. After my husband and I puffed and crawled back up the hill to the hotel, we were so not fit, I decided hey I'll drink the juice and he will drink the Heineken cause we're gonna go out later so wouldn't hurt. Yours truly did just that and documented not just on the form but also by taking a photo of what we took cause I'm that person. Anyways onwards ever backwards never. My husi and I decided we didn't want what was in there so we took a short walk to the liquor store. Bought some beers and vodka cruisers and chucked them in the fridge. We drank all those while not touching anything that remained since we took the two items, not even the snacks. Right, check out time, packed up, cleaned up and once again took pics of everything. And I mean everything so we had proof we left the room in good condition. Checked out, and paid for the drinks from the minibar and our overall charged bill. Mind you I took the card downstairs as I wasn't sure if I should have left it or not. Paid it, jumped in my taxi to the airport, back to where I came from. Now low and behold these people gonna call me ten minutes to nine at night to tell me I didn't pay for a Jim Beam and there is a 5.00 fee. So I was like pardon mois? I was like what are you talking bout and they're like from the minibar. So I was like hold up there is no way cause I did not drink that and neither did my husband. I have the photos with a time stamp showing it was still there and if I had drunk it I would pay for it. And moreover, how is it 5.00 what is that for because the drinks were 12.00 ea. Didn't get a response for that, so I said I can send the photos if you like because we would have only drunk the beers, cider or wine if we chose to continue our patronage of the minibar. Jim Beam is not our type of drink. After a momentary pause for my ancestors to join the chat, she proceeds to say it's ok we can waive it. Now in my mind, I'm like waive what I didn't use? I mean if she said the 5.00 is for services like restocking or something I would, have gone yes all good I can do that. But don't make it out to seem like I was dishonest and took something without paying, I don't roll like that. My conscience will hit me hard believe me. Anyway, long story short, and it is a long story, overall staff was pleasant, breakfast ✅️, location will have you singing Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" but is easy/accessible to get to. Would I stay again? Probably not, but you never know. Would I recommend, yes but at a 3 out of 5. Bearing in mind my experience would not be the same for...

I absolutely loved staying at this brand-new hotel! Everything felt so clean and modern, from the fixtures and fittings to the furniture and carpets. The attention to detail was impressive—everything from the light switches to the air conditioning was designed for maximum comfort and convenience. The shower was fantastic, and I particularly appreciated the unique desk space. Instead of a traditional desk, there was a ledge that extended out, offering extra space for important items while keeping the area below open and tidy. The bed was super comfortable, and the aircon was pleasantly quiet. I also loved the headboard, which appeared to be made of solid wood, and the clever retractable nightlights attached to it, replacing bulky bedside lamps.

The breakfast buffet was amazing, offering a wide variety of options including house-made baked beans, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, hash brown sticks, bacon, and sausages. There was also a salad bar, a large selection of breads which you could toast, and plenty of toppings like cream cheese, smoked salmon, ham, salami, cheese, capers, and all the usual spreads. Plus, muesli, cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, and tea were all available.

Cons…

The only slight disappointment for me was the view. We were on the fourth floor with a room facing the harbour, but unfortunately, our view was mainly of the dull, bare rooftop of TVNZ.

One other downside was that there’s no pool at the hotel. I know it’s not a must for everyone, but our family loves swimming when we’re on holiday, especially since there isn’t much to do in Auckland right now besides construction (let’s be honest). So, that was a bit of a letdown. However, the issue was easily resolved when I asked the reception if we could use the pool at the Grand Hotel. They checked with them (I think it depends on availability), and we ended up going twice on different days. Both the Horizon and Grand Hotel staff were incredibly kind and accommodating, which made the experience...