AKL Airport Hotel Grand Chancellor

What People are saying

Comedy of errors

jollyrobert on 07/02/2018 09:08

Our arrival here, late on Sunday afternoon, 21st January, was because Gary of Luxury Travel the driver of the shuttle from Tauranga, remembered this recently renamed hotel, Naumi, used to trade under the Grand Chancellor brand. We entered into a wonderful atrium, full of birdsong, with a statement reception area, modelled on the golden feathers of the Tui bird, native to New Zealand. The Naumi, pronouced know-me, is an idiosyncratic experience, and six months into its new plumage, is still a Curate's egg, good in parts; not so good in others. I loved this place; my wife not. Dillon on reception greeted us warmly, and noticing my wobbly gait, recovering from an hip replacement, offered us a ground floor room with a garden view. Our bags were portered through the newly refurbished corridors, each with a helpful colour coded carpet, and huge arrows pointing back towards the vast reception area, until we arrived at our room. After a quick shower and change of clothes, we went back to explore the unusual, but well-appointed public areas, almost as if we were part of a family. Deciding to dine in the hotel's restaurant, we enjoyed our choices from the relatively limited menu, and we agreed that the food was very, very good. Returning to our room, no. 150, we were dismayed to find that the a/c wasn't working and the room was uncomfortably hot. On phoning reception, we were asked to wait for an engineer, but shortly after, another call from the Duty Manager informed us that regrettably we were being moved to another room, no. 250, which was directly above us, on the first floor. Repacking quickly, we were relocated, but the new key/plastic card thingy didn't work, so back to reception to sort that out. After a good nights sleep we breakfasted on the buffet-style offering, with ample choice and range, before setting off into Auckland for the day. I personally asked one of the ladies on reception to call us at 5 am the next morning, and ordered a taxi to take us to the airport for our early flight to Sydney. On returning later in the evening, I checked these requests only to find that no one had any knowledge of them, so I repeated them but checked that they had had the correct room number, 250. They hadn't and their records showed that we were still in 150!
At 5am the next morning, a call came through to the correct room, and as I had been up for some time, I went to reception with my luggage to check out. My wife followed about 15 minutes later, and we sat down to await our pre-ordered taxi.....and you've guessed it, it didn't turn up, as it hadn't been ordered! The night porter, Joe, quickly sorted this out, and we were on our way within another 10 minutes. So a bit of a mixed experience at the Naumi. Whilst my wife wasn't as relaxed as I was about some of the nod,nod,wink,wink nature of some of the hotel's signage, you'll see, we both felt that despite its faults, there is a very good, boutique-style hotel under all the chaos, and once the building works are completed on the remaining parts of the older hotel, it will provide a fantastic experience, in a very convenient location, 10 minutes from the airport. We will return hopefully in about a year, so there.

Fine for an airport transfer but there are others.

Gregory883 on 01/02/2018 00:27

The breakfast is excellent and the hotel is trying to be different and in the main the staff are lovely. If you get a deal then stay here. There are other hotels close but also served by the $6 per person airport transfer. 20mins.

I would just suggest not having the caged birds in the reception. I don’t like to see birds caged however this is where flight happens, at an Auckland airport hotel and those birds can’t fly.

Decor is lovely and bed comfortable.

A new hotel in the making

EstTraveller on 30/01/2018 09:07

At the time we stayed there, the “Grande” in the name only reflected the size of the hotel – as our room was somewhere in the back of the building, it took minutes to reach the reception and front door (and we were on the ground floor!). Walking along these endless corridors became very tedious very quickly. Especially considering that some of these were poorly lit (or just dark) and also under maintenance.

The room itself was quite alright – it had 2 king-size beds, nice bathroom and the second door opened to a garden where there was also a pool. Everything was clean and tidy and the staff was friendly though not very eager to deal with the questions of customers. It kind of bothered me that they charged for the parking (even this small amount), despite the fact that the surroundings of the hotel were one big construction site and it was not very convenient to get to the hotel by car. As a typical airport hotel, it is quite far from everything (supermarkets, restaurants, even the airport) so you need a car if you stay for a couple of nights like we did.

Now the main problem for me was that the hotel was seriously overpriced. The room rate should have taken into account that there are major renovations going on and the usage of hotel services is not as comfortable as it should be. You can’t ask full price if the customer has to run through the long, dark corridors that are under reconstruction. Maybe the things have improved under the new brand but I would not stay there again.

Pleasurable

Edward S on 30/01/2018 07:23

I arrived in Auckland 6:30 in the evening after a 7.5 hour flight.
You catch a yellow bus that drops you off at the hotel.
Staff are really helpful and this certainly sets the scene for a great experience.
In fact this is the same with all members, you just end up feeling special.
The room was expansive and just right for my short 2 night stay
Coffee machine and tea facilities available with some complementary snacks.

Wifi and tv all functioning perfectly.

Restaurant I experienced a great meal, reasonably priced and the same service next to none provided.

Although a short stay I would recommend from satisfactory experience of staff helpful and pleasantness to god facilities

How can you say there is a pool when there is no pool?

Treegranted on 30/01/2018 00:43

I booked Naumi, Auckland Airport, because we wanted to stay in a place near the airport with a swimming pool. I thought that when reading the below on their very own website, that they did indeed have a swimming pool. Silly me!
“Located just minutes away from Auckland international and domestic airports, tranquillity and comfort beckon at Naumi Auckland Airport. Quiet Gardens surround 193 spacious nests (rooms) with private patios and over 2500 sqm of event space. A swimming pool, gym and delightful Asian influenced cuisine complete your experience.”
If you call a construction site with the shell of a pool a swimming pool, I call that false advertising. After a 3 week trip to NZ all we wanted to do was relax by the pool as we awaited our flight. My 3 year old was devastated after I’d been promising him on our long drive back to Auckland.