Airbnb, The Quays – Auckland, New Zealand

Posted on Feb 8, 2017 in Accommodation

Exactly as stated – trendy, waterfront apartment. Compact, modern with a nice little sitting area and well located, overlooking the Viaduct so lovely views and close to everything. Great for us as we were in town to socialise but the noise from revellers at night could be a little disturbing for some. It had everything we needed – iron, hair dryer, glasses, coffee/tea.

The bed was comfortable and there were lots of soft pillows. The washing machine and dryer were a bonus. Wifi was patchy but worked most of the time. The apartment was well furnished but not necessarily clean. The balcony and window sills were grimy and the bathroom definitely needed a little more attention – the soap dish had been used as an ash tray (more about that later), an empty soap container was left in the shower and there was still hair in the hand basin (other people’s hair – ewww!)

The biggest negative for us was the smell of cigarette smoke. We specifically choose non-smoking accommodation as we both react badly and unfortunately, over our three night stay, the smell did not go away. If previous occupants broke the rules by smoking in the apartment, I hope they were penalised as it definitely affected our stay.

More on the plus side… communication after booking was smooth and helpful. We were due in a little late so the key had to be collected at another location however, one of the staff did attempt to contact me to say they could meet us at the apartment on the day but we weren’t online. It was very nice of them to try. I expect the cleaning issues could be put down to a bad day and I would definitely consider staying again but only if I could be sure the cigarette smoke was gone.

Visited: February 2017