QT Auckland — Hotel in Waitematā

Positive Aspects

Interior Design and Aesthetics: As a designer, I appreciated the hotel's beautiful and quirky interior, a masterpiece of design and art. From the video installations and exquisite textures to the practical yet stylish architectural elements, every detail is thoughtfully executed. The use of high-quality materials and furnishings, such as leather finishes and Esther's tableware, elevates the experience to a truly luxurious level.

Location: The hotel's central location is a major advantage. Guests can easily walk to popular attractions, restaurants, and shopping areas, making it a convenient choice for exploring the city.

Sustainability Initiatives: The hotel's commitment to sustainability is commendable. They reduce their environmental impact by offering high-end toiletries in bulk and encouraging guests to opt out of daily housekeeping. Additionally, the use of wooden swipe cards and water stations demonstrates their eco-friendly practices.

Amenities and Services: The hotel's amenities are top-notch. The in-house restaurant, Esther, offers delicious Mediterranean-inspired cuisine and excellent coffee. The rooftop bar provides a stunning view and a variety of cocktails. The hotel also offers yoga videos and a Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer & Corrale for guests to enjoy in their rooms.

Staff: The hotel staff were friendly, attentive, and helpful. They were always willing to assist with any requests and provided excellent service.

Areas for Improvement

Valet Parking: The valet parking service could be more convenient. While the staff were helpful, the process of walking to the reception area to arrange parking and retrieve the car was time-consuming. Additionally, the valet staff could offer assistance with luggage and consider providing car cleaning services as an extra option.

Menu Knowledge: The waitstaff at Esther could benefit from additional training on the menu, particularly regarding dishes from different cuisines. This would enhance the guest experience and ensure that they can provide accurate information.

Sensory Experience: While the hotel's interior design and amenities are impressive, there's an opportunity to further enhance the overall sensory experience. Consider adding a signature scent to the lobby or common areas to create a welcoming atmosphere. Additionally, providing slippers and heated floors, especially during colder months, would add to the comfort and luxury of the stay.

Technical Issues: The Chromecast not functioning correctly was a minor inconvenience. While the hotel's own entertainment options were sufficient, guests may appreciate the flexibility of being able to connect their own devices.

Soundproofing: The soundproofing between rooms could be improved to ensure a peaceful and undisturbed sleep for guests.

Smoking Policy: While the no-smoking policy is understandable, prohibiting smoking on balconies might be restrictive for some guests. Perhaps consider providing designated smoking areas on the property.

Views: The lack of views from the rooms is a missed opportunity. While the rooftop bar offers stunning vistas, it would be ideal to provide scenic views from some of the guest rooms as well.

Overall: Despite the minor shortcomings, the hotel provides a luxurious and enjoyable experience. By addressing these areas for improvement, the hotel can further elevate its offerings and solidify its position as a top-rated...

I stayed here for 2 nights and overall was disappointed. The hotel, it just has a lot of negatives for the price and reputation. I feel like it maybe has an undue reputation as being better than it is. The location is good - handy to downtown and the waterfront bars and restaurants and it is itself near the water, but it does not take advantage of its water location. So much so, you dont even know you are 30m from the waters edge. It is set back from the water, is at a strange angle so much of the building cant see it and it is surrounded by other buildings that are a similar height. Many rooms have no view - some with a internal view of the internal ground floor restaurant.. My view was of a very close (less tahn 4m?) office building which necessitated having the blinds down all day because office workers could easily look into the room. Maybe having blinds closed all day would be ok, but the lighting in the room is very ambient, meaning during the day you feel like you are at an evening romantic spot - which is weird 24/7. In addition the rooms are very cramped pokey and small. The roof top bar is often cited as one of the top in Auckland but it too is unimpressive. Firstly it was closed for a private function for 75% of the time I was there (and was also closed when I visited on 2 other previous occasions to get a drink), but once I got up there I found that it too is overrated primarily due to poor design and use of space. There is basically no view as it is surrounded by other equal height buildings, but its somewhat irrelevant as most seats are set down and back a little so you cant see anything anyway. It not obvious where are, let alone on the Auckland waterfront - I would not make a special trip here for a drink. Lastly, the gym. The gym is terrible. It is in the basement, is very small, low ceilings in half of it (you can touch them with your hands above you head) no windows and cramped to the point that it's uncomfortable to move from one end to the other if 2 people are working out at the same time. The equipment is very limited and tired (dumbells have the stickers missing so you dont know how heavy they are) and due to the low ceilings mean that more than one person cannot reasonably work out using floor or free weights at a time. It's not acceptable for a hotel of this calibre and size that has been designed and finished in recent years. They have missed the mark on so many fronts, its overrated and over priced. I guess the only upside is it looks chique - but that is where it ends - if you want to impress people who don't have to overnight there, I think they may be impressed.I for one would not book this hotel again - I have also stayed in QT Wellington and I found some similar frustrations, which has me looking to avoid the...

Story Time...||We came to Auckland to see Coldplay and we had booked at another hotel not the QT.||After spending 15 minutes at the other hotel we made a decision it was not for us. We immediately jumped online and started searching for an alternative knowing it was the weekend of Coldplay prices were going to be elevated.||We found the QT Hotel...||We checked in early the next morning and of course as expected the room was not going to be ready, after hearing of our experience at the other hotel the staff assured us they would do thier best to get us in a room as soon as possible, also providing us with a voucher for a coffee to start the day. Within an hour we had a call saying our room was ready.||We walked into the room and we were impressed and relived all at the same time the room was large well appointed and clean, with a little bottle of champagne to start our new experience in Auckland.||However we ran into issues with the hotel Aircon not cooling down and issues with the TV, I know we are on holidays but enjoy casting our favourite show onto the TV as we head to bed with a cuppa.||It took several back and forths with the hotel to start getting action to get the problems resolved. However special note to Alex the duty manager we spoke to in the end, he assured us he would get the Aircon fixed and the TV sorted. Unfortunately despite his best efforts he was unable to get it all fixed. He then made the service recovery decision of moving us to another room.||This room was perfect with aircon working and TV casting properly we were happy, Alex offered us a free breakfast for the remaining days stay we had which we did not take him up on but we were satisfied with the simple act of moving our room where everything we needed was working.||Overall we were impressed with the hotel and all the staff were friendly and accomodating but special note to Alex for making our stay a little more memorable.||In a time where you would hope everything works like clockwork, it's customer service and service recovery that makes a business stand out. Well done to Alex and the...