We and other fellow travellers on a delayed international flight (which caused us to miss our internal connections) were put up at Grand Chancellor by Air NZ. They also paid for our transfers on the hotel shuttle ($5 each way).

The hotel is very tired, and is in urgent need of reburbishment. The room was old and drab, with an uncomfortable bed which appear to be in on its last legs. The clock radio was broken. For what we required, - a bed for the night in a hurry, it was great. The check-in staff were very efficient.

We were happily surprised by the breakfast, which was above expectations. There was a good, varied selection, and the hot breakfast was done well. Don't search for the toast, - they bring these to your table in a toast rack.

Overall, the hotel is good for a layover, but not much else.

Stayed at the Grand Chancellor for one night, whilst connecting at Auckland. Comments:

Lobby: The hotel has a wonderful and modern exterior and lobby. Everything looks very grand and 5 star on first sight. However, once you get past the lobby into the halls you soon discover that the grandness is literally just a facade! The hallways and rest of the hotel are not even close to the same standard. I had some trouble finding the room due to poor signposting. So listen carefully when reception tells you how to get to your room.

Room: I had a standard room on the first floor. Cheap and cheerful is a good summary. The furnishings are not high quality and even though the room had been renovated recently, everything looked very worn with a lot of scratches etc. Basically, the room was not well kept.

The room was a good size, and opened up to an internal garden. Comfortable and large bed. Good black-out curtains. No outside noise. Bathroom was satisfactory with basic toiletries, and a bath with shower over tub.

Staff: The front desk staff are friendly and courteous - no problems.

Other: There is a NZ$5 charge to use the shuttle bus from the airport. I was surprised at this - but the bus is not owned by the hotel. You can pay in Australian dollars if you don't have NZ$. Going back to the airport, the bus departs every half hour (at 00 and 30 mins past the hour). The journey takes about 10 minutes, as the bus also stops at the Centra hotel across the road.

Overall: Considering the cost, this hotel is poor value for money. You are paying for the location and nothing else. It is a 3 star hotel with decent service and average rooms. You really might be better off staying at the Centra across the road. It would be a lot cheaper and I would be willing to bet the room standard would be not much (if any) worse than the Grand Chanellor. The only difference between the hotels is probably the lobby and exterior!

In Auckland the CBD (downtown) is not very close to the airport, and because we had a car and an early flight we decided to stay here overnight.

People have said the hotel is dated...try a built-in radio into the headboard of the bed. It looked 1960s? vintage. The bed was old and worn, and at first I didn't even want to get in. There were little ants crawling over my purse when I woke up in the morning. The bathroom had also seen better days.

The front desk was friendly enough, but you still have to sleep in the room!

Definitely don't stay here for more than one night; if you do need to stay by the airport I'd recommend looking around for something else first before you book this one.

We stayed here for just one night while visiting relatives nearby. Our room in the annex was dated but clean and reasonably spacious, and the bed was relatively comfortable. The small concrete balcony off the room was filthy with moss and mould. Desk staff were friendly but not very efficient.

We paid just over NZ$120 for the night (including one cooked breakfast of okay quality) which was pretty overpriced for what we got, given that we had a discounted corporate rate. The only reason I can see to stay here is if you have business in the area or have a very late arrival or early departure from the airport - and even then, downtown Auckland is only 15-20 min away outside rush hour.