Stay Report: Holiday Inn Auckland Airport (New Zealand - April 2013)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Auckland Airport
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photo courtesy of IHG.com

I was going to be in Auckland for a couple of days, and when looking for a hotel I had two choices; I could either stay at a nice, lower-priced option near the airport or I could spend a lot more and stay within the city center.  I decided I wanted to stay near the airport for two reasons: 1) because of cost as I was saving a lot by staying near the airport and 2) because I was breaking my journey and traveling in the middle.  While I gained in savings, I did have to budget more time to access downtown and I also had to ensure my hotel had access to the airport so that I could access downtown.  I decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Auckland Airport and overall it was a decent hotel with nice amenities.  While the outside looked very old, the inside had been updated and had enough amenities to provide a decent stay outside of Auckland.

photo courtesy of IHG.com

The hotel is located about 10-15 minutes away from the airport, so it is a very convenient transit hotel.  The hotel does offer a shuttle to and from the airport – this shuttle is a hybrid public and hotel shuttle as it transports both hotel guests as well as regular commuters to the airport.  Because of this system, the bus sometimes requires a ticket from the hotel for guest to ride for free (the ticket policy was not always implemented, especially if you were picked up from the hotel or were known to the driver).  From the airport, there is a paid bus that shuttles passengers to downtown (there is apparently a train that runs near downtown but that was under construction or was undergoing maintenance while I was there).  The roundtrip ticket from the airport to downtown and back is about 30NZD.

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

The hotel itself looks very old from the outside.  From the construction and the look, it seems to have been built in the 1970 or 1980s and spread out in a double-story fashion.  The hotel is shaped in a U-fashion, with the check-in desk and lobby at the bottom of the U and blocks of room on either side.  As you enter into the hotel lobby, in front is the check-in desk while on the side are some couches and a sitting area.  On either side of the check-in desks were hallways which lead to the rooms (and eventually the two hallways connected).    My room was on the left-side hallway, so after an efficient check-in I went down the hallway to my room.  The hallway was not a straight hallway, but rather one with many twists and turns.  The rooms were further down the hallway, and along the way I passed meeting rooms and facilities, as well as the house bar (which was very lively and had sports games on the TV).  The meeting rooms and the bar were near the lobby, so I had to go further down the hallway to get to my room.

photo courtesy of Booking.com

As you entered the room, on the right hand side was the bathroom while on the left was the closet area with a safe deposit box, a luggage stand, and storage space.  There was also a fridge and coffee maker near the closet area.  The bathroom was nice, updated, and was a decent size.  It had a roomy shower, roomy vanity, and a toilet and the size made it very comfortable.  Further into the room, on the right hand side was the king-size bed with a nightstand on each side of the bed.  Along the wall was the TV, more storage underneath the TV, as well as a desk.  Next to the bed was a chair/couch combo, and this faced out onto the garden.  There were sliding doors that led out onto a garden area – other rooms faced the pool so the sliding doors led out onto the pool area.  Overall, it was an updated, spacious room that provided a comfortable night’s sleep. 

photo courtesy of IHG.com

The hotel had many amenities including meeting rooms, hotel bar/restaurant, laundry facility including washer/dryer to do your own laundry, fitness facility, and wifi.  I tried the laundry facility, the fitness center, and the wifi.  The laundry facility was a bit old, but it was very convenient and did the job.  The fitness center was also a bit older but still had decent facilities and so you could get a decent workout.  At the time I stayed at the hotel (in 2013), wifi was only free in the lobby.  In-room wifi had to be paid for and this was very inconvenient – the wifi in the lobby was decent speed.  As an IHG Rewards member, I also received the paper delivered to my room each morning (a nice welcome).

Overall, the Holiday Inn Auckland Airport provided a nice and comfortable stay in Auckland.   If you are looking for a hotel that is close to downtown, then this is not the hotel for you; however, if you are looking for a hotel that is close to the airport, has upgraded rooms, and had nice amenities to take advantage of then this is the hotel for you.