I will be spending one night in Christchurch! While originally not on my plan, I figure it will be worth spending a day hereafter we land to check out the city and also to rest before beginning our road trip down the south island. Looks like I will be spending Easter Friday over here in Christchurch. I was considering both the DoubleTree and the Crown Plaza. The rates were around the same and I had top-tier status with both. Each has its pros and cons. The Crown Plaza location is better and slightly cheaper but parking is costly. DoubleTree will earn me more useful points and nights and parking is free but it is out of the city centre. Decided to just go with this since I am renting a car and it proves to be the right decision since we can just drive around the city and park for free on a public holiday in the city centre. The location is right beside Hagley Park and about 15 mins drive away from the city centre.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
I book directly with Hilton for this stay and got the cheapest guest room for 183 NZD including tax. The exchange rate between SGD and NZD is very attractive. I book the room pretty early but did monitor it from time to time and rebooked when it is slightly cheaper. It always pays to check often. I will be just staying here for a night. A day out from my stay, I can see from the app that I was upgraded to a King Balcony Deluxe room. This comes with a garden view. This is the best non-suite room. Chateau on the Park – Christchurch, a DoubleTree by Hilton features 192 guest rooms spread across 8 categories. You can find the breakdown below.
| Rooms | Bathtub |
|---|---|
| Guest | No |
| Deluxe | No |
| Deluxe Balcony | No |
| Junior Suite | Yes |
| One Bedroom Suite | Yes |
| Park Suite | Yes |
Checking In
The hotel was very easy to find and get to from the airport. It is roughly about a 10 mins drive away from the airport. The drive was easy and I got the first sight of how lovely the autumn colours in New Zealand. We came at the right time, check out how lovely the colours are.
The hotel offers free parking onsite and there are both lots on the main entrance as well as another one to the side. I prefer parking by the side as you are nearer to the check-in desks. For those who do not drive, the hotel also offers a shuttle service at times that connects the hotel and the city centre.
The reception is just next to the side entrance and we unloaded our bags ourselves. There were not many people at the hotel at this time and I was immediately helped to at the reception. Funny enough, I met the SQ cabin crew again at the hotel. It turns out that we were staying at the same hotel.
It is quite quiet given the holidays and despite our early arrival at 11am, our rooms were ready. I was greeted by a friendly associate who thank me for being a Diamond member. Registration is fast and easy and all I had to do was to present my credit card and passport. I was also reconfirmed that I had been accorded an upgrade to the Deluxe Balcony Room. The staff also provided me with all the necessary information. Breakfast is slightly different in this part of the world. In Australia and New Zealand, hotels tend to stick to the rule and only offer a continental breakfast. You can then add on and upgrade to the full breakfast which requires an additional 10 NZD per pax per day. You can do this at the restaurant directly. I will cover more on this later on. Diamond Members are also offered 2 drinks vouchers per night at this hotel that you can use at the bar.
The hotel grounds are very pretty and they have a nice lush garden in the middle. Do spend some time checking it out.
Deluxe Balcony King Room
I was assigned a room on the third floor in the Hagley Wing. I was in room 358. The room measures a good size. This is their best available room. Upon entering you have a very narrow entranceway with the bathroom to the right.
The bathroom is decent! It isn’t overly spacious but neither is it small. I do quite love the setup. The bathroom comes with a single sink and plenty of amenities. There is everything that you might require. I wasn’t expecting this in NZ. You have a toothbrush, mouthwash and even grooming kits provided. Toiletries are from Murchison-Hume. It is pretty lovely and organic. This is a change from the usual Crabtree and Evelyn products in DoubleTrees properties.
The bathroom also comes with a bathtub and a separate standing shower. Bathrobes and towels are generously provided. The standing shower is on the smaller side and a tight squeeze behind the glass door. Water pressure and temperature control are very good and strong. It felt amazing after a long flight. It only comes with a handheld showerhead.
Moving on along the entrance, you can find a small wardrobe on the right. Despite the small size, it is well stocked. You can find an ironing kit, plenty of hangers for your jackets as well as extra blankets. It would be nice if they had some hooks installed by the entrance for outerwear.
As you entered the main space of the room itself which is rectangular in configuration, you have a look at the entire place. The room is very lovely and gorgeous! The decor is modern and I love the little balcony that brings in so much natural light. The little triangle roof adds up so much flair to the place.
Right along the wall, you have a luggage storage rack. The table then stretches along the wall and it is a spacious one. It comes with power outlets and even USB ports. The chair offers decent back support in the evening when you need to get some work done. The Wi-Fi is easy to connect to and I have access to the premium Wi-Fi which is very fast. Mounted on the wall is a large high-quality Smart TV. It is huge and I believe at least a 55-inch. It comes with a good number of both local and international cable TV channels. The television quality is really good and even supports casting capabilities from your devices.
Towards the far end of the table, you can find two bottles of drinking water which are replenished daily. This is also where the minibar chest is located. You have a mini fridge inside. The minibar chest also consists of a kettle, some instant coffee and tea. It is a little disappointing that they do not have a proper espresso coffee machine here.
The plush king-size bed is the centrepiece of the room. The bedding is high quality and smooth. I did find the mattress on the softer side. The same goes for the pillows too. Thankfully, we managed to get extras from housekeeping. Flanking both sides of the bed, you have nightstands. One side of it even comes with a wifi charger and alarm clock. Power outlets are only available on one side of the bed. Switches for the lights are within reach. I did wish that the blinds and sheers here are electronically controlled but sadly they are only manually operated.
Right in front of the balcony, you can find a coffee table and an armchair. Left on the table is a welcome amenity consisting of some easter chocolates. I love the cute elephant towel art. Just in time for the holidays.
The room comes with a balcony which is my favourite part of the room. Now let me come to the view and the balcony! The balcony comes with two chairs. How lovely is this! I love this so much. The cute balcony comes with an amazing view of the interior courtyard of the property as well as the garden. I came right in the peak of autumn and the colours are gorgeous.
I had a comfortable stay and this is a really solid property. On a side note. The air conditioning is very noisy with a churning sound. The soundproofing isn’t that good as well. It will be nice if they could install key card access to the room elevators.
Fitness Centre
The fitness centre is located in the main building on the ground floor. It is towards the end. It is open from 6am to 9pm daily and you can access it via your key card. It is very basic and just a small room. It does get the work done if you want a quick workout.
Pool
I got a lovely view of the pool from my room. It is quite chic actually. The pool is on the smaller side but well-maintained. It is quite a nice place and only opens during the day. I would have enjoyed it but it is a little too chilly for a swim in this season.
The Den Bar
The hotel bar is located right next to the restaurant in the middle of the hotel. I came here to get some drinks to clear the vouchers. It is a very cosy place and nice for a nightcap or so. They also have $10 happy hour drinks from 4pm to 5.30pm. The bar is open from evening till late.
You can find the Hilton Honours drinks menu here.
I got some wine in the evening. The sauvignon blanc is very good.
Breakfast at Garden Court Brasserie
The hotel has one main restaurant, the Garden Court Brasserie. It is located in the middle of the hotel. I have heard very good about the restaurant and the food here from my cabin crew friends. Sadly, I did not get to try it this time around. Breakfast is served here from 6.30am to 10.30am. Complimentary continental breakfast is offered for elite members. The hotel is strict on this. So do compare the price between breakfast included rate. If you would like to opt for the full breakfast, you have to pay a supplement of 10 NZD per person per day and this doesn’t even include barista coffee drinks. It felt a little stingy, to be frank. I know that this is a common practice in both Australia and New Zealand.
I was down for breakfast at around 8am! We were famished after sleeping in early yesterday and skipping dinner due to jetlag. It is rather quiet at this hour given the weekend and the holidays. The restaurant has a really homey vibe and decor. I love it. It is a nice place and spacious. I love the huge amount of natural light here. I was greeted by the friendly host and after providing my room number she gave me an introduction to the buffet lineup and enquired if I would like to have the full breakfast or a continental one. I decided to just go for the full breakfast since it will be nice to have something hot. 10 NZD or 8.20 SGD seems worth it since we can get eggs and hot dishes. Let me first share what is included in the continental buffet, which is most of the buffet lineup. First up right in the middle, you have an assortment of juices. They have cranberry, orange, tomato and apple juice. They are high quality and I love the apple juice! Here you can also find some whole fruits like oranges, kiwis and bananas. Hot drinks are served by the staff table side. Only tea or filtered coffee is included.
On the buffet line, you can find various cold items from freshly baked pastries, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruits, cereals, cold cuts and cheese. Everything looks good!
Then for the hot food, which you will only have access to if you upgrade to the full breakfast, you can find items like scrambled eggs, fried rice, hashbrown and other items.
In addition, you also have access to the ala carte menu where you can order eggs. We got some omelette and fried eggs which were very good!
As mentioned earlier, only filtered coffee is included for both the full breakfast and continental breakfast. There is a menu where you can order barista coffee drinks. This is where I felt that it is a little bit stingy. They could have at least included one order per pax especially for those who have upgraded to a full breakfast.
Times like this make me feel appreciate how generous properties are in our part of the world! The nitpicking over 10 bucks or eight Singapore dollars where in places like Asia we will have a feast included every morning. On the bright side, I am quite pleased with the breakfast here. It is pretty good and they do really good eggs.
Conclusion
This is the only Hilton option in town! The major chains are very under-represented in NZ. The one with the most footprint will be Accor and then IHG. Hilton and Marriott are very sparse over in this part of the world. I had a pretty nice stay and enjoyed it. The staff and everyone around the hotel is very pleasant. Having complimentary parking also comes in handy since that will easily cost you around 20 to 30 NZD. Breakfast is good! I have heard good things about the restaurant’s food from my cabin crew friends. Will be looking to try the next time I am there. Elite members will need to get used to paying a supplement for a full Hot breakfast in this part of the world. The only criticism I had is the air conditioning noise as well as the soundproofing. This will be a great option for a night stay or so if you are flying in or out of CHC.
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