Kiwi International Hotel

We were greeted by a lovely young lady who was very helpful. Bed was comfy and the room adequate for what we required. Was rather warm so really didn't require all the bedding. Pillows could be updated. Young man on reception this morning was disinterested. Seemed more focused on the computer screen. All in a nice place to stay.

We prepaid a large fee to book in this hotel, and then were unable to travel due a cyclone hitting Auckland. The hotel refused to consider any refund even though we couldn’t travel. I have never felt so used and abused by a hotel. They are off my list, and should be off yours too.

You get less then what you pay for. There was no access to a kitchen sink only one microwave and terrible toaster for the whole place.
In general customer service I found was lacking and quiet short with me.
Room was clean though.
Walls were paper thin and could hear everything happening in other rooms especially noise from kids.
The room was so hot with no a/c and only one tiny window and a little fan, that hardly compensated.
The parking was off street but at an extra cost and it was tight with poles in the middle of parks and covered in pot holes.

Good location, otherwise the hotel is pretty standard, nothing fancy. Could definitely need a makeover...

Complementary coffee and tee, which is nice. Also there is a kettle and a fridge, which was useful. The Room was very clean. Some basic things are missing though, e.g. a shampoo rack for the shower or a toilet brush.

One big minus is the terrible back and neck pain that both me and my girlfriend woke up with on both days. We are in our mid-20s and never experienced something like that before... we think it was probably due to the very worn out mattress.
If you have orthopedic problems, we recommend to stay away

When I arrived at the hotel, I thought its current state of repair reflected the price point. However, I also noted amenities and facilities that previously worked (the restaurant and the lift, in particular) were no longer available, and I was charged a $100 bond to stay there. To me, when no investment is made in repairs, that's a possible signal that a business may be struggling and about to close. I don't recall being told at any point that I needed to do anything more for my bond to be refunded, as I was under the impression from the receptionist that it would automatically be refunded after I left. I may have missed something she said, or it may have been in written form somewhere on the contract I had to sign, so perhaps I should have looked more closely-- but I didn't anticipate any difficulty.

The matter was compounded after a completely sleepless night in my room, because of an all-night-long party in a neighbouring building. I packed up my room early and left a treat of some chocolate for the housekeeping staff (which is my habit). Then I went down and waited in the lobby from 4am onwards, since my ride was coming to pick me up at 5.30 anyway and the bed was pretty uncomfortable. The chairs in reception were much easier to rest in, and I quite enjoyed the 70s music from MagicFM (which should show my age and level of life experience.) The man at reception desk was very pleasant, but obviously had a lot on his mind while trying to contact noise control. However, I do wish he had informed (or perhaps reminded) me I needed to give him my debit card to have the bond refunded. A claim that a person got no sleep is usually very dramatic and exaggerated, but in my case, it was true. Even though I suspect I wasn't told how to get my bond back, I was too tired at that point to remember anything I may have been told.

A couple of weeks later, I found my bond hadn't been returned to my account, so I went to the hotel's website and noticed their contact form was no longer operational. But the website also mentioned (and I knew from staying there) that there was someone in attendance at the reception desk 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I don't expect the person at reception to handle a request for a bond refund, but I did expect the hotel would acknowledge receipt of an email in a timely manner (even if it was an automatic response) and let me know my email had reached someone, especially since the contact form was gone. So the next day, I attempted to call reception desk and became very suspicious when the receptionist couldn't hear me. They were able to hear me right up until I said I had a complaint; they repeated those very words back to me.

My past review history shows I rarely place feedback on anyone, because I worked in customer service and I know what it is like. You'll also see my only other review is positive. However, someone finally emailed me on Monday, chastising me for the time and day I sent my message because I should know their department wouldn't be available until Monday morning. (I did suspect that, but I also believed I wasn't emailing their department directly-- and there was no acknowledgement of my message lower down the tree.) The letter also told me to amend my review because it was 'dramatic' and suggested I was referring to a 'conspiracy'. In the context of everything I saw that weekend, I didn't suspect anything as bizarre as a conspiracy. Instead, I genuinely suspected the hotel was struggling (maybe closing) and there might be a number of other people in the same situation who would not be getting their bonds returned.

I am happy to say I did receive my bond back, but in my years of dealing with irate customers, many of whom were completely irrational, intoxicated or impolite, we would never have been permitted to manage complaints the way I was addressed, and I would never have resorted to making a complaint in the first place if communications were clearer. It seems this hotel does act in good faith, but it should improve its standard of communication.