Adina Heritage Christchurch

You’re right in the heart of the lovely, walkable town center, and the staff are friendly. The spacious apartments have the basics, though they feel dated and could really use a refresh. The upper floor was blessedly quiet, and the onsite restaurant served tasty food with friendly, professional service. The building has loads of charm and the potential to be a knockout property with some love and a lot of investment.

This classic, stately hotel has the feel of stepping back into the luxury of the past. We had a two-story suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. The beds felt like sleeping on a cloud, and when we raised one small complaint, General Manager Aman personally came to check the room. We were impressed from our reception with Zaman through to checkout with Aman. The hotel is near everything, right across from the cathedral and the hop on hop off Tram Central station. There’s a coffee shop where you can get a great breakfast before picking up Tram tickets. Make sure you hop off at the Botanical Gardens, they’re amazing.

We stayed five nights. The building’s architecture is wonderful, and the location is very good. The rooms are large, with a kitchenette and TV area downstairs, and the bedroom and bathroom upstairs, but the stairs are so narrow that carrying suitcases up and down is difficult. The in-room washer and dryer didn’t work well. The washer ran for two and a half hours, then left the clothes sitting in a pool of water. There’s no air conditioning. The parking garage next door is close, though getting out means taking a very tight turn into a narrow alley. Aside from those issues, things were generally good.

The location is right in the centre, close to everything, and we felt really well looked after. The staff were so helpful when we arrived and found the room had a king bed instead of the twin we’d requested. They came within minutes to sort it out. The room was beautiful and clean, and we felt like royalty. The gym, pool, spa, and sauna were amazing and well cared for. Parking felt safe, and the instructions were clear. We were also shown a sneaky back door so we wouldn’t have to carry our things around. Having a washing machine and dryer in the room was a welcome extra. The basic coffee and tea setup had everything we needed, and breakfast at Distinction was well organized and lovely. I’d definitely stay again.