U Residence Hotel, Signature Collection by BW

The staff responded to my emails quickly and gave me all the information I needed. They were also so friendly and helpful at check-in, which was incredibly easy. I'd booked for two adults and three kids, and they added an extra bed for one of the kids without me even asking. Our room was super spacious, with a walk-in wardrobe and comfy beds. The location was fantastic, right next to McDonald’s and BP, and very close to New World and Te Papa, which made getting around convenient. This was by far the best hotel experience I've ever had. I can't recommend it highly enough, and we'll definitely come back. Thank you!

Pets were listed as allowed, with a note that charges might apply, so I booked and told them we were bringing two dogs. After confirming the booking, they demanded an extra $100 per night and said they wouldn't honour the reservation unless we agreed. They also said that fee didn't cover any cleaning costs, which sounded like there could be more charges on top. The lack of transparency was very poor, so we cancelled.

We'd booked five rooms, so the response we got was really disappointing. There was a buzzing sound from the smoke alarm, and when we couldn't stop it, we drove home at 2:30 am. We had made a video and contacted them, but their response was that we should have contacted them at 2:30 am. The bed was extremely uncomfortable, and I would never recommend this place. Security into the building also wasn't good. Anybody could walk in off the street, get to the door and then take the lift to our floor.

We were assigned a room at check-in that was completely different from the one we'd booked. Then I was blamed for it, which was awful. The check-in system was appalling: unclear, with no instructions, and I was blamed as the guest. It was appalling.