I wanted to share with the FT community a terrible experience I had at the Crowne Plaza Auckland. I know that many people are heading to Auckland because of the mistake fare on United, so I wanted to
highly advise against staying here, and it goes beyond the lack of renovations. I was weary about choosing this property to begin with because of the apparent bad condition it is in, but oh boy does it go beyond that! Unless major changes happen in the management I would under no circumstances stay here even in 2008, when the renovations are complete. Here are my observations on the experience as a Priority Club Platinum:
I booked a standard double bed room and we were checked in by the “duty manager,” which is usually a good thing in terms of upgrades. Oh, were we wrong! In case anyone has dealt with him, his first name begins with the letter “H.” He was incredibly arrogant and “upgraded” us to a room which he said was
fully renovated just recently, which I thought would be a great thing, even if it did not include club access. I inquired about club access and he arrogantly said that I already got a one-category upgrade, which is all they do, which is fine if it is their policy. He mentioned that until recently they would upgrade Platinum’s to the club level, but they discontinued this practice. That was fine with me, so we went up to our room, which was on the 26th floor. We walked in and were shocked!
Just renovated?!?!?! HUH?!?! He also gave us two “free drinks at the bar,” which were actually two-for-one vouchers.
All the furniture in the room looked like it was from the 1980’s, minus the Sony flat screen TV. There was no artwork whatsoever, and the walls were just totally plain! The furniture was scratched, the headboards of the beds were terrible, and the mattress has clearly been around longer than I have.
We left our bags there and headed to town for a bit. On the way back I stopped by the front desk and asked to speak with the manager, since I was shocked that this was a renovated room. I asked him to confirm that it was renovated, and he said absolutely. He said it is
much better than the standard room, and then conveniently mentioned that the “
only” thing which was not renovated yet was the furniture.
He offered to show us another room as a comparison of how good our room is, so I accepted.
We went to the same room number on a different floor and the room looked identical, minus the TV. He commented how different the carpet looked, which was a surprise to me, since it actually looked newer. I told him that I saw no difference, and on the way down he said that is no problem and he would take care of us. When we were downstairs he said that it wouldn’t be a problem to get us a room on the club floor and specifically offered us a room on the 27th floor, which was at least a decent resolution. Instead of getting two double beds, which we greatly preferred, we compromised for a king, since that was all they had available on the club level. He told us to go to our room and he would send up the concierge to transfer luggage.
The concierge got our bags and pushed the down elevator button, which surprised me, and I commented that we were going to the 27th floor. He said that’s not what he was told to do, and he pushed the button for floor 19. We were led to the second furthest possible room from the elevator which was actually once again an
old room! It had the old TV, the “unrenovated” carpet, and instead of two doubles had a king with a small sitting area in the place of the old bed! Now, the bathroom was fully renovated, which was nice, but that was the end of it.
Within a minute I got a call from the duty manager asking if my new room is much better, which I perceived to almost be sarcastic. I once again said that I see no difference whatsoever, and he comments how much better the bathroom is. I was furious that he lied to us when he specifically told us the 27th floor, and I got the feeling he enjoyed playing a game with us. I just went down to the front desk with a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down his name, as he stood there smiling at me as if nothing were wrong!
I was shocked to be treated this way. At no point did I get aggressive, rude, or arrogant, IMO. I honestly inquired whether it was a renovated room, since it certainly didn’t look like one, and was genuinely confused. I was shocked to be lied to by the manager, both in terms of him calling a room “renovated” which still has totally old furniture, as well as telling us that we were going to a club level, giving up double beds, and putting us on the 19th floor. Again, if they don’t upgrade Plats that’s fine, but he should not lie to us.
The issues with this property did not end there:
-The lobby smelled like an Indian restaurant, not that I have an issue with that if I am at a restaurant, but it was unpleasant in a hotel lobby.
-Other than one concierge, who was helpful and friendly, the rest never smiled and were not particularly helpful and didn’t seem to be very knowledgeable on the area.
-The service in the restaurant and bar,
Aria, is terrible. It takes 15 minutes to get recognized and even longer for refills, along with some other issues.
I truly think this property has some major issues, and is definitely not in line with the other fantastic Crowne Plaza properties I have stayed at internationally.
Anyone have an idea who I would be best off contacting regarding this issue?
Either way, I would avoid this property at all costs, especially Platinums looking for an upgrade. As someone who LOVES points, this is one property where I would be willing to give up points for a reasonable stay.
I can add some pics of the property when I get home in a few days.