Mercure Wellington Abel Tasman

The in-room facilities, like the cabinets and drawers, were a bit dated but still functional; everything else was pretty good. Also, I booked a King Room, but the 'king bed' was actually two twin beds pushed together. There was a gap in the middle, and if you happened to sleep there, you might accidentally shift the bed. If this bothers you, you might want to reconsider. Otherwise, everything else was decent. The room was quite spacious, and its downtown location was convenient. The only minor issue was some motorcycle noise from the street at night, but it wasn't frequent. Finally, regarding the service, I'm docking one point here. The hotel initially requested my credit card details for their system to charge for any potential damages. This isn't an issue in itself, but the lady who checked me in explained it unprofessionally, which made me a bit wary. In reality, this charge was a pre-authorization done through a POS machine via the bank system, which is quite secure, rather than being stored in their own system. Furthermore, the receptionist took my credit card and processed the authorization herself, which I found unreasonable. At another hotel I stayed at, the front desk clearly explained it was a pre-authorization and brought the POS machine to me so I could swipe my card myself after confirming. If I swipe it myself and something goes wrong later, I'll take responsibility. But if someone else handles my card, I'll think of that incident if an issue arises, even though this particular operation seems safe. I'm just saying it's neither professional nor standard practice. She just took my credit card, and I didn't confirm the entire process. However, since no substantial problems occurred, I still find it acceptable, just a bit annoying. Other than that, everything else was quite good, and I would still recommend it, though I hope they improve their service procedures through better training.

This hotel is quite old. After a ten-day self-driving tour around New Zealand's South Island, mostly staying in motels, this hotel felt particularly old and cramped, and the cleanliness was just so-so. The main advantage is its good location; it's just over a kilometer's walk to Te Papa.