Spencer on Byron Hotel, Auckland

We decided to book Spencer on Byron as our first stop in New Zealand as this hotel had the best reviews on a rival site, and was within our budget at about £40 per night.

We landed in Auckland at 11 pm, tired after a 24 long trip from London. As Spencer on Byron is right across town, we got a good look of Auckland at night - beautiful. The taxi driver actually asked us how come we had picked that hotel as most tourists want to be ...
...really enjoyed my stay at Spencer on Byron and in Takapuna. It is rated at 3.5 stars but I would compare it with a 4 star hotel as the staff were very helpful and happy to chat and the rooms were great. We also had a beautiful view of the city across the water. The hotel seems to attract mainly people on business trips, but there were a few holiday makers there too.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is going to New Zealand ... more

We decided to book Spencer on Byron as our first stop in New Zealand as this hotel had the best reviews on a rival site, and was within our budget at about £40 per night.

We landed in Auckland at 11 pm, tired after a 24 long trip from London. As Spencer on Byron is right across town, we got a good look of Auckland at night - beautiful. The taxi driver actually asked us how come we had picked that hotel as most tourists want to be closer to the city. At this stage we started to feel a bit worried about our choice, as in my experience taxi drivers are a good source of information on where to go and what to do. However, after a 35-40 minute long drive much of it through green luscious suburbs, we arrived at the hotel. The taxi ride cost us $80, including tips (you do not need to tip in New Zealand, but old habits die hard). As we checked in we asked how best to get to the city in the morning and were told that there was a bus stop right outside the hotel from which several buses stopped regularly. After this we went to our room, which was very clean and neat with air conditioning. As it was very late we decided to have a night cap and then a good nights sleep to hopefully ward off any jet lag. The mini bar was well stocked and actually not very expensive, the first time I have been to a hotel with a decently priced mini bar I think!

In the morning we had a great breakfast in the hotel. As our deal did not include breakfast we paid about $20 (say about £7) for a big continental breakfast with anything you could ask for, such as cereal, bread, fresh fruit, eggs, juices and coffee. We might have taken advantage of this a little too much and decided to go for a walk around Takapuna, where the hotel is situated in order to burn off some extra calories. The weather was perfect, about 20 degrees and sunny so we walked down to the beach which is about 1 km long with soft white sand. Amazing how active the people of Auckland seem, never have I seen so many people jogging, power-walking or mountain-biking at the same time. When staying in this hotel it is well worth to have a good look around the north shore as this area is beautiful and offers some great little cafes and some decent shopping.

After this we decided to go to the city itself. We went to the bus stop that had been pointed out to us and there was a bus along very shortly, they do seem to run very regularly. It cost us $3 a person to go across the bridge to the city. Missing rush hour like we did meant that the whole trip took about 10 minutes which was a nice surprise. You can also get a bus to Davenport from just outside the hotel (£3). From there you can get a ferry across to town (about $15). Don't try to walk to Davenport, we did one day and it took well over an hour and people stared at us as if we were crazy!

After a long day in the city we returned to the hotel and decided that a swim in the outside pool on the second floor would be nice. Well, it would have been but we did not figure out until a couple of days later that when it is not very hot, it is better to go to the pool earlier on as in the afternoon the wind comes in and it is COLD! I can imagine that in the summer that is just what you want but we were there in March and the temperature was cooling down.

The hotel also has a gym which we went to one day. It has 3 treadmills, a couple of bikes and some weight training equipment. It also has a TV to ensure you don't get too bored. It is a decent gym, but not the most well-equipped I have been to.

In all, I really enjoyed my stay at Spencer on Byron and in Takapuna. It is rated at 3.5 stars but I would compare it with a 4 star hotel as the staff were very helpful and happy to chat and the rooms were great. We also had a beautiful view of the city across the water. The hotel seems to attract mainly people on business trips, but there were a few holiday makers there too.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is going to New Zealand for the first time. It is a great base from where to explore Auckland and it has all the comforts you could ask for, while at the same time not being to expensive
 

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