INTRODUCTION

On our final leg of our New Zealand holiday, myself and Ms Larsbaby ended up in Christchurch to see some friends. Having booked through Trailfinders, we found ourselves in the centrally located Heritage Christchurch hotel. As we entered the large, light reception in the main building, little did we know what we would be treated to.

THE ROOM

Thanks yet again to Trailfinders, we had a room upgrade, which entailed a room in the annexe which used to be the part of the Government Buildings. This is a beautifully restored old colonial style building, with ornate corridors. I am told this hotel is where the All Blacks rugby team stay when in town and I wouldn't be surprised if it was in these kind of luxury rooms.

This was effectively a split level suite. As you entered from the plushly carpeted corridor there was a living room and kitchen area. A classy wooden comfy chair and mirror above it was near to the door. As you turned into the room itself you could see a small heater; perhaps it's worth noting at this point that central heating is a somewhat alien concept in New Zealand. This is notable as the boiler was in a cupboard behind this, and this was liable to run out of hot water if overused. An entry phone system complete with little video display was also there, which we never had the need to use. To the right was a white floor tiled kitchenette that took up a whole corner of the room. This was a fridge with small freezer on top, microwave, kettle, halogen hob with extractor fan, oven and dishwasher along with a sink and plenty of dark brown laminated work surface. There were plenty of pots, pans, plates, bowls and cutlery, down to even a potato peeler and grater. A selection of teas such as green, camomile and English Breakfast and instant coffee was in the corner, along with a minibar selection of wine, water, cookies, Pringles and filter coffee.

The living room was a cream plant patterned carpeted, cream walled area. In the corner were the stairs to the bedroom, and next to these was a small dark wooden dining table with 4 fabric padded luxury dining chairs. In the other corner, next to the fridge, was a sofa with a low wooden coffee table in front of it, which had a room service menu on it and some tourist guide leaflets. To the right of the sofa was a lamp, and on a small wooden side table was a phone and an Ethernet cable. There was plenty of space between this and the LCD TV against the wall, on a large wooden cabinet containing a small DVD player and phone directories. Available channels were TV1,2 & 3, Sky Sports 1 & 2, Sky Movies, CNN, Maori TV, CTV, Japanese TV and the Discovery Channel. Also on the cabinet was a fascinating book detailing the history of the hotel building and how it escaped demolishment to be turned into the beautiful annexe.

Next to this was a window, which gave a view of the car park. A fan was on the ceiling above the bedroom area, which was controlled by a switch near to the dining table.

Up the stairs and to the bedroom carpeted the same as downstairs. There was a large double bed to the left, with a wooden bedside table with a lamp on each side, with a phone on the right hand table. One nice touch is that every day, a printed weather report for the next day would be left on it, along with 2 minty chocolates; a very nice touch and the chocolates were pretty nice too! A collapsible metal suitcase rack leant on the wall to the right and a mountain scene painting was hung above the bed.

In front of the bed were some white cupboards, containing an ironing board, iron, safe, hangers, bath robes, extra pillows and lots of small shelf compartments.


THE BATHROOM

As you entered the bathroom, similarly floor tiled to the kitchenette, to the left was a washing machine with shelves above it. Next to this was the bath, which had a mixer tap shower unit on the wall and I noted the soap holder was broken. To the right of the door was a heated towel rail. In front of the entrance was a wooden sink unit with a curved sink, with some toiletries in the corner, and a narrow mirror above it. The toiletries were quite fancy and notably did not include shower gel. In the unit drawers was a hairdryer. The loo was to the right of the sink unit.

FACILITIES

A pre arrival concierge is available such you be so inclined. Details are on the website. As we were in the old Government Buildings annexe, we had the restaurant and spa close to hand (not that we used either). If we did however, we could have had in room spa treatments such as Two by Two - 2 tables and therapist in the room at the same time. A pool, sauna and spa were available for use with personal trainers by appointment (maybe I missed something and this was for a gym). A guest laundry was in the main building with coin operated machines for those not fortunate as us having an in room washing machine. WiFi codes for wireless internet access were available from reception. Messages could be sent to you by emailing the hotel who would then pass the message on. Food could be ordered via room service, and this was things such as burgers for $20 or soup for $12.50.

CONCLUSION

This is certainly one of the most classy hotel I've ever stayed at. If you can get a decent deal for this handily located, comfortable hotel, I can't recommend it enough.

CONTACT DETAILS

Heritage Christchurch
28 - 30 Cathedral Square
P O Box 177
Christchurch
New Zealand

Tel: +64 3 377 9722

Fax: +64 3 377 9881

Toll free (within New Zealand): 0800 368 888

Toll free (within Australia): 1800 141 780

Reservations email: res.heritagechc@heritagehotels.co.nz

Website : http://www.heritagehotels.co.nz/christchurch/