Mrs. Selfish and I arrived in Auckland on a late flight from Melbourne for the start of a two week drive from north to south. With limited time, Mrs. Selfish and I hit Auckland with two things in mind: good food, and a good point redemption.
After a little research, I stumbled across the Hilton Auckland, a category 7 redemption with a central location downtown – only a 20 minute walk away from our car hire company.
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The oh-so-tasteful lobby
Getting there and Checking In
The Hilton Auckland is located on Prince’s Wharf, which is roughly a 30 minute drive into town. Since we couldn’t pick up our car rental until the following morning, that left us with very few options.
Fortunately, we found Super Shuttle, which ended up costing $43 NZD (~$35 USD) for the two of us and took approximately 45 minutes to reach the Hilton.
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Check-in was quick, and efficient. Thanks to Mrs. Selfish’s gold status we were upgraded to a harbor side room and received free internet and breakfast.
Since this was a category 7 hotel, it would have cost 50,000 HHonors points to make the reservation. Fortunately, they had a cash & points option which ended up coming to 20,000 HHonors points + $80 USD.
The Room
The room was…ok.
I’ve heard Auckland described as “a more sterile version of Sydney,” which I think is accurate. People seem to come to Auckland for business, or as a stopover on the way to other parts of New Zealand. Similarly, the Hilton Auckland is a *nice* fully-functional businessman’s hotel, but is probably stopover to somewhere much nicer, like the Hilton Queenstown.
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The bathroom had a shower and a bathtub, and the full suite of the usual Hilton amenities.
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The best feature of the room (and the hotel), is the location. Perched on Prince’s Wharf the Hilton is a very short walk away from the downtown area, and has some nice views of the harbor.
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Breakfast
Breakfast at the Hilton Auckland is pretty standard continental fare, plus bacon and an omelet station. There is also a fine selection of fruits, yogurts, and cereals.
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Had it been warmer I probably would have eaten breakfast outside, but we came in the winter, so we ended up eating inside instead.
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Conclusion
If I could redo it I probably wouldn’t stay at the Hilton Auckland again. While the location was pretty nice, the rooms themselves were too basic for cost. It works as a business hotel, but leisure travelers are probably better off going somewhere else.
Filed under: Accommodations, Hilton, New Zealand, Oceania, Travel Hacking Tagged: Auckland, Auckland Hilton, Food Alley, New Zealand, Selfish Year, Selfish Years Image may be NSFW.
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