Quest Whangarei

This did not work for me and I will tell my agent not to book here again. I arrived at 5 o’clock and had to navigate the recptionless access which was lengthy and difficult to do as you have to phone a helpline. The corner where the phone is was noisy with rush hour traffic and almost impossible to hear. Then you get given a code to access a lockbox. You need a pen to write it down. Once you’re in, you’re on your own. I had no confidence that I would be safe if there was a fire or some kind of emergency as there were no staff on-site. The rooms are not soundproof and the TV next door was blaring, plus some fire alarm type beeps went off twice. I was told next morning when my swipe card wouldn’t let the lift go to the basement where my car was parked that the lift had stopped during the night. The bathroom smelt bad with a blocked drain or something. BTW you need to book the car parking which my agency hadn’t done. Overall, not an experience I would want to repeat.

Regrettably, my June 2023 stay in Room 101 on a Friday night was disappointing. The adjacent nightclub's deafening noise, causing bed vibrations, continued despite numerous complaints. Relocation at 2 am, prompted by another guest's early checkout, though appreciated, proved highly disruptive, especially with a 2-year-old. It's disheartening that Room 101 was initially assigned, given the circumstances. Despite the hotel's cleanliness and secure parking at an extra cost, the inadequate soundproofing significantly detracted from the appeal of weekend stays.

The room was very spacious and clean. A small kitchenette was also nice but we did not use it. Our room was on Bank Street so the traffic noise was a bit of a nuisance. Parking stall was small but it was adequate. Within walking distance of the waterfront and numerous attractions and restaurants. Overall it was good.

Utterly useless management. Bewarned if you are thinking of staying here. Have stayed here for a number of years and would have spent in the region of $20k with them in that time; but since the new management took over, Lina and her team have completely destroyed what used to be a fine establishment. Completely non-helpful to what you require. Friendly requests over the phone were always met with a "no, we can't do that". These were requests that used to be accommodated by the previous management, who were always willing to help, whether that be a slightly later check out, or to leave your car there for several more hours while you are working in town on your last day. Not with this new lot. They would happily park their own staff vehicle in the customer's park and tell you the car parking is full, when they clearly have a dedicated staff parking area that you can't access as a customer. Have also since observed a reduced frequency in room service as well as the thoroughness of the room service. They have also downgraded us from a nicer room that we booked, and then tried to keep the money from the more expensive booking, because they apparently didn't have the room we requested. This arrogant lot are not deserving of any support from the community. They will take as much money as you are willing to part with, and in return put in no effort on their part. You can observe this attitude by the other Google reviews, where if someone had a poor experience they make no attempt to recognize it and improve on their part, meanwhile they try to collect all the glory from any good reviews that happen to come their way. Certainly will not be back until Lina and her team are gone.

We picked the Quest due to its central location in Whangarei which made it easy to walk around town. The staff were friendly enough and the room was a decent size and clean. There is secure on-site car parking under the building for a price, but be aware that spaces are limited and it's quite tight. There is amazing urban art in Whangerei which was an pleasant surprise and totally unexpected. The dragon in the photos is on the side of the Quest hotel. The view out the window was across an open car park onto the blank wall of nearby building. The room we were initially allocated had an even worse outlook onto a rusty tin roof with ancient AC units and a blank brick wall. It had much smaller windows and was behind the lift well which is why we had to ask for another room. Reception is in the middle of the building down a long wide corridor with no atmosphere and not very inviting. Feels very much like a business travel type hotel (i.e. functional). So I wouldn't recommend it for couples or a long stay if you can avoid it. But there isn't much choice in the middle of town either.

A group of 5 of us stayed the night between work appointments. We arrived about 7 and firstly it was a mission to just get in as only an intercom. A huge long unattractive foyer. We stayed on the first floor. Big rooms and warm shower were good, as was usual tv, aircon etc. But it was a noisy night sleep - some people running around with lots of noise later in the evening. But also poor acoustics so you could hear between rooms and finally someone started vacuuming at 5am