Ramada Suites by Wyndham Auckland Manukau Pacific Centre

The room was mediocre, with food menus missing and only two towels and two pillows provided. There wasn’t even a cup of water. Two uncomfortable single beds had been pushed together and called a “queen bed.” The man at the front desk wasn’t cooperative from check-in. When I asked for the menu later, he told me to come down instead of bringing it up. Overall, it felt like a 3-star hotel.

The room was clean and comfortable, and I’d recommend this hotel. I stayed one night with breakfast included. They refilled the food often, and there was a nice selection: eggs, bacon, sausage, vegetables, bread, very crispy potatoes, yoghurt, canned fruit and muesli. There’s no free coffee, but tea bags, milk and hot water are available. The hotel also had a promotion on cocktails, beer and wine. The staff work hard. The boy in the restaurant was especially attentive and friendly.

Our Mother’s Day celebration was completely ruined, and the experience was extremely disappointing. Before going to the ground-floor restaurant, my husband called twice to check that they were serving a buffet brunch. But when we arrived, it was served on a plate with only a few pieces of bread, some sausages and scrambled eggs. When we questioned it, staff said that was their buffet. One of them even accused us of “creating a scene,” which was upsetting and unprofessional. The reception guy was also very disrespectful throughout. We thought we’d be able to celebrate Mother’s Day nicely, but unfortunately we couldn’t.

Jenil gave us a warm welcome and professional service from the get-go. Ramada means a resting place for guests, and it felt that way. We were offered a free drink and got a free buffet breakfast with ample food. The room was clean, beverages were well topped up, and parking was easy.