Where is it?
Novotel Auckland Airport is located on the grounds of Auckland International Airport. It is the only hotel located with direct access to one of the passenger terminals.
The hotel is located right opposite the international terminal and it takes 30 seconds to walk from the arrivals hall to the hotel entrance. There are plenty of signs inside the terminal building.
The location makes the hotel very convenient in connection with a late arrival or an early morning departure since you do not have to walk very far or take a shuttle bus.
Although not the best hotel if you want to visit the city of Auckland (as there are obviously plenty of hotels in the city) at least getting to and from the city centre is not particularly hard. The airport bus leaves outside the arrivals hall, which consequently also means right outside the hotel entrance. It takes about 30 minutes to get to downtown Auckland by bus.
The arrival experience
I arrived at the hotel very late, just after 1 am. Fortunately the incoming flight was nearly half an hour early, otherwise check-in for me would have been closer to 2 am. There are several flights arriving after midnight so a late check-in is nothing unusual.
The location is indeed very convenient, especially when arriving at that hour. I had stayed at the hotel before so I knew exactly where to go but it is not particularly hard to find for the first-time visitor either.
The lobby was empty so I was immediately checked in. The room had already been prepaid but I still had the standard arrival form to sign and they wanted a credit card for any extras.
Being a silver member in AccorHotels Le Club I was also given a drinks voucher to use for a complimentary glass of wine, beer or a soft drink. I presumed the bar would be closed after 1 am but the friendly man at the reception offered to go and have a look to see if they could arrange something anyway. I was very tired and just wanted to go to bed so I politely declined his offer, but a nice initiative of him nevertheless.
The room
The hotel offers 263 rooms in total including a couple of suites. All standard rooms are sold as superior rooms. There are also executive rooms located on the two top floors.
I had booked a superior room, partly paid with points. I was happy to be assigned a room on the eighth floor, the highest of the standard floors, which meant a decent view of the airport area and especially the domestic terminal.
Although the hotel has been around for some time now the room was in a good condition and this is definitely one of the nicer Novotel hotels I have stayed in.
The room had a very comfortable king-sized bed, just like I requested, but you can also get rooms with twin beds. The design was fairly stylish in light wood, white and with some rather exotic pictures and curtains to give the room some colour.
The room also had a rather sizeable work desk and a small sofa by the window.
There was also an LCD TV, a minibar, a kettle to make coffee and tea, a closet and a safe.
The bathroom was fairly spacious and had a walk-in shower, toilet and the standard Novotel toiletries.
There was not much of a view when I arrived but the view in the morning was rather decent overlooking the domestic terminal and parts of the runway.
You get an even better view if you stay in one of the rooms facing the opposite direction and which is located closer to the terminals. The photo below was taken from the opposite end of the corridor and you can see just how close the hotel is from the international terminal.
Food and drinks
There is a bar and restaurant on the ground floor called The Square serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in the restaurant and drinks and cocktails in the bar. A special feature of the bar is the ‘living wall’ with plants.
Of course with the international terminal located just across the street you can easily also visit all the cafes and restaurants available inside the terminal. There are also several take-away options in the international terminal.
Other facilities
There is a rather sizeable gym in the hotel which also offers a good view of the airport. I did not visit it during this stay but I used it during a previous stay.
The hotel also has a a conference area with seven meeting rooms with capacity for up to 315 guests.
Service
Both check-in and check-out were quick and efficient and it is always nice that even as a Silver member in the Accor loyalty program you get a welcome package with a drinks voucher. Nothing to complain about regarding the service.
Breakfast
Since breakfast was not included in the room rate and since I had a morning flight with access to one of the airport lounges, where there would be complimentary breakfast on offer, I skipped the breakfast in the hotel.
However I had eaten breakfast at the hotel during a previous visit. Breakfast is served in The Square restaurant on the ground floor next to the lobby. A rather standard breakfast spread with various hot and cold dishes in a pleasant and very colourful atmosphere.
Final impression
The location is terrific, a 30-second walk from the international terminal, which makes it very convenient for late arrivals and early morning departures. But the hotel itself is not bad for a midscale business hotel, definitely one of the nicer Novotel hotels I have stayed in. The top-floor rooms offer a wonderful view of the airport, the terminals and the runway.
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