The Spencer on Byron

The Spencer on Byron is a hotel located near Takapuna Beach, Auckland.  The hotel is a grand high-rise, one of three that can be seen from the highway, and has an old-school glamour that immediately gives off a "I'm-staying-in-a-hotel-y'all" vibe, which for country-bunnies like us, is a little bit of a thrill. They bravely agreed to a Golden Adventures review, so my hooligans and I headed up the elevator to suss out just how family-friendly these guys are.  And just fyi, the best photos in this post were taken by clever Miss Rosa-May.

1. Breakfast of champs.  2. Investigation (heads up - it's a wall).  3. Toiletries.  

The Rooms:  Both in size and layout, the rooms at The Spencer exceeded expectations.  We had a two-room suite which was more like a small apartment.  This amount of space was a real bonus for us, especially as we had my sister staying too, and more space meant less crazy.  The master bedroom featured the hugest bed I have ever slept on.  SO comfy.  We also had surround views and heaps of wardrobe space. 

Between the rooms was a spacious lounge which easily fit a rollaway bed, and a fully equipped kitchen and laundry.  It's probably not the done thing to get super excited about a laundry when you're staying in a hotel, but after storms and power-cuts and fair bit of traveling, boy oh boy.  It felt like luxury.  It also proved immeasurably helpful to have our own kitchen, kitted out with every kitchen utensil and appliance we needed.  

Probably the most appealing aspect of these rooms were the views.  I actually opted for a lower level apartment, despite being offered one on the 16th floor.  I have an aversion to heights, but these rooms were situated at just the perfect level of non-panic-inducing elevation, while still retaining that amazing view of Auckland.  I have to admit that we decided against the curtains in the evening, because I do love a nighttime cityscape.

Decor-wise these rooms featured dark carpet, light walls and heavy wooden furniture.  The decor neither added nor detracted and I think it would suitably serve both families as well as corporate guests. All items were in very tidy condition, but nothing felt overly precious.  If you're the parent of little people, I think you're hearing me on that last count.  I will also add that in my opinion, white tiled bathrooms scream luxury.  We *may* have made ourselves a huuuuuuge bubble bath.  Heaven.

1. That view.  2. Hotel lobby.  3. Climbable furniture.  4. Breakfast buffet.  5. Shiny white bathroom, post bubble bath.  6. Dusk.  7. Frosty morning.

The Facilities: This hotel stay turned into a bit of a working holiday for Rosa-May and I (but seriously, what nicer workspace can a girl have?), so we didn't get a chance to try out all The Spencer Hotel facilities.  We did go and take a look around though, and aside from anything, I would love to return to The Spencer purely to use that tennis court, because WOW!  Especially on our final morning, when it was shrouded in mist.  So amazing.

The gym, which I'd hoped to visit, was very well equipped and they even have personal trainers available for guests.  But of course if there's one facility we won't miss out on it's the pool, and this one was a beauty.  I actually don't know that I've ever swum in a rooftop pool (it was around about parallel to our level 3 suite).  They had a cooler pool for lengths, but we stuck to the warm one and stayed in long enough for the skies to clear and a rainbow to appear.

1. Baby girl, dreaming.  2. Restaurant chandeliers.  3. The library.  4. Thyme Restaurant.  5. Breakfast buffet.  6. Furnishings.  7. Argh!!!  Gigantic tea-cup!!  Be still my beating heart...  8. Contemplative.

The Food: We dined at the Thyme Restaurant for breakfast both mornings of our stay.  The restaurant definitely didn't have that buffet/cafeteria feel, despite it being a buffet meal.  The decor was elegant and classic, though it was relaxed and friendly enough to suit small children.  There was a good selection of breakfast foods, with an emphasis on quality over quantity.  Our kids graduated from weet-bix to Nutra-Grain, while we opted for Bircher muesli and Zan's usual choice of big breakfast.  The food tasted good, and the environment was really lovely.

1. Holiday reading!  2. Thyme Restaurant.  3. Little and Friday cafe.  4. The library.  5. Tennis court.  6. Little and Friday cafe.

The Service: The staff at The Spencer on Byron were super polite, friendly and helpful.  Mostly they just let us do our thing in peace and quiet, making our stay feel very private and undisturbed. Really, the only time we had much interaction with staff was when our room was made up.  I instinctively veer away from the idea of my rooms being serviced, but under duress/peer pressure I gave it a go, and um wow.  That was amazing.  All evidence of crumbs and crumpled sheets, vanished, and without me lifting a finger #fistpump #letsdothatagain.

1. The view.  2. Sister time (this one's for Mama).  3. This girl melts me.  4. The view.  5. Tennis court.  6. Pool.  7. Coffee at Little and Friday.  8. Second bedroom.  9. The view.  10. Pool.  

For Families:  While The Spencer on Byron is perfectly geared towards corporate guests, it really catered well to our little family.  The sense of privacy meant that we could totally relax and make the apartment our home, without worrying that we were disturbing anybody.  There was so much space, we could have stayed there much longer without getting sick of each other!  And the facilities in the suite: fully equipped kitchen(s), two bathrooms and a washing machine and drier, made such a difference to a travel-weary family.  Our kids were made to feel very welcome in the dining area, and of course having a heated swimming pool handy provided that extra special element to our winter stay.

1. Little and Friday.  2. Pool.  3. The view.  4. Fluffies at Little and Friday.  5. The view.  6. Juice bar.  7. Counting her pocket money.  8. Little and Friday.  9. Moody morning.  

Overall we had a really comfortable stay at The Spencer On Byron Hotel.  Our highlights included the beautiful, constantly changing view, our rooftop swim, and dining in the lovely Thyme Restaurant (and shhh, just quietly, using the drier).  We were also situated super close to the now-famous Little and Friday cafe.  I'm pretty sure I'm the last person in New Zealand to visit there, but it was worth the wait! Also handy is the beautiful Takapuna Beach, and the Sunday Flea Markets which are amazingly still running!  Takapuna is a really nice shopping area too, and just around the corner is Devonport, with a whole host of lovely things to discover.  Boom!  Everything!

The Spencer on Byron Hotel offered us complimentary rooms and meals in return for this review.  All opinions expressed are totally my own :-) 

At the Holiday Inn

So Holiday Inn Rotorua offered our lucky, lucky family complimentary rooms in their hotel, and this is our personal account of all they had on offer.  We went with the intention of feeling out how well they catered to families with young children, and so I will focus on the salient info that I think will most help a traveling family decide if this is the place for them.  Sidenote: after writing, editing, linking and preparing this post for publication, my *beloved* computer crashed and lost my. entire. post.  :-D  So much funs!  Here we go with #2.

1. Eleanor takes imperatives very seriously, with some Suess-esque artwork.  2. Our geothermal view.   3. Hotel essentials.  4. Eleanor's suite.  5. Breakfast buffet.

The Rooms:  The minute we entered our hotel suite, we were greeted with warmth, comfort, and ample space for our kiddos to *ahem* relax in.  The decor was tasteful, simple and our rooms featured a geothermal view that was such a novelty for us!  Rotorua is really a whole other world with all it's geothermal activity and whatnot, and the view provided an immediate connection to a pretty special environment.  

Our rooms were kitted out with every packaged essential you could ask for, from the typical soaps and shower potions, to dental sets, shaving kits and even shoe mitts, because... erm... I'm not exactly sure what a shoe mitt is for, actually.  But hey, anyway!  We were also provided with complimentary kid packs that comprised of stickers, colouring pencils and a variety of paper activities to keep them busy.  Little touches like this, appreciated.

The interconnecting room was a life-saver, actually.  Eleanor claimed it immediately, asking "can we live here for all times?" and spending the next two hours singing whilst running in and out of 'her' room  showing me the things that had been left there for her - pens, pads, hotel booklets etc.  Hehe!  Spot the country kid.  And the garnish to her happiness-dessert?  Two complimentary Disney channels for her to (parents permitting) indulge in.  

1. The pool!  Amaze!  2. Kuirau Park.  3. Gym entrance.  4. A little quiet spot.  5 & 6. Kuirau Park.  7. Dessert buffet. 

The Facilities:  Holiday Inn Rotorua has a whole bunch of useful facilities, a full list of which you can find here.  We didn't have a chance to try them all, but they have put a lot of considered thought into what might be most helpful to guests, taking a lot of stress out of holiday planning.  

Our personal favourites were the geothermally heated hot pool and spas where we spent the majority of our hotel minutes.  We even enjoyed a rainy swim, which is better than any spa treatment I can think of.  Tha. Best.  I managed to sneak away and utilise the 24hour gym too, while the fam had a late evening bathe, and found that my view overlooked the pool. "Hi Family! Yep, Garly, I see you trying to steal that kid's toy."  Both facilities were well kitted with towels and icy water, and as a bonus were conveniently close to our rooms.  

1. Kid packs.  2. Kuirau Park.  3. Dessert buffet.  4. Cute lobby art.  5. Girl at breakfast.  6. Seafood buffet.  7.  Kuirau Park.  8. Hotel lobby.  9. Kuirau Park.

The Food:  We sampled both the breakfast buffet and dinner buffet at Chapman's Restaurant, and were really happy with both.  They have a la carte options, too, if that's something you would prefer.  The breakfast selection was extensive, all the expected foods along with extra treats such as pancakes (so many toppings!) and DIY smoothies.  So naturally my kids opted for Ricies ;-).  I was pretty pleased to discover their full range of coffee options too, breakfast was just happiness all round. 

Chapman's Restaurant offers a pretty insane seafood buffet at dinner.  Oysters, in the shell!  They were legit, and I ate quite a few :-).  We are pretty maniacal about seafood, so this whole scenario played out like the very best of food fantasies, and only Garland, intent upon the dessert spread, wasn't completely absorbed with eating alllll the seafood.  We barely had room for dessert (but you know, we took one for the team), and certainly didn't have room to sample the variety of roast vegetables, meats and other delicious dishes, but I made a point of walking down the table and peering at all the options, so that I knew exactly what I was missing out on.  I'm really kind to myself, like that.

1. Breakfast buffet.  2. Hallway games.  3. Dessert buffet.  4. Parental suite.  5. Seafood buffet.  6. Hotel lobby

The Service: I think the staff at Holiday Inn might be the loveliest on earth.  They were immediately friendly, welcoming and incredibly helpful, providing maps, information, and consistently going the extra mile to make our stay as comfortable and pleasant as possible (without any knowledge of this review, I might add).   Everything had been thought of, every comfort, need pre-empted. They were quick to point out that free internet came with (also free) IHG Rewards Club membership (um, AWESOME!  Hotel internet is not usually cheap!), and greeted us at every point with smile, a friendly word, and sometimes even a chat.  Honestly, this doesn't happen everywhere, and I think this is a real credit to Holiday Inn Rotorua.

1.  Spirited two-year-old + hotel lobby.  2. dessert buffet.  3. More feather art.  4. Kuirau Park.

For Families:  Holiday Inn definitely felt family-oriented, providing a number of services aimed to make guests feel comfortable, relaxed and secure.  They have a 'kids stay and eat free' policy, which is such a plus for families traveling on a tight budget, and have early start times for their dinner buffet, specifically for young families.  Our kids were so happy and at home that Eleanor stated on multiple occasions, "I don't want to leave this place.  I wish we could stay here." 'Nuff said, really.

1. Seafood buffet.  2. Freebies (they're always fun). 3. Kuirau Park.  4. Dessert buffet. 5.  Heading 'home' to our hotel suite.

Overall this was such a memorable trip for our family, a welcome respite from some miserable weather, and an exhausting school term.  We topped our trip off by visiting some of our favourite spots in Rotorua, including Kuirau Park and Lake Rotorua itself.  Time and weather permitting, we would have visited even more of Rotorua's incredible selection of tourist destinations, but for this visit it was enough  to relax in these hotel spaces, that felt a little like a (nicer, drier) home away from home.