We were in New Zealand on a combination business/pleasure trip and had to go to Auckland four times over a month. The hotel was chosen for us by our host agency and we were so glad they did!

We did not have a view of the harbour (extra $) but on one of our stays we did get a nice view down towards the cruise terminal and Freemans Bay (room 618).

The suite was spacious and very well set up, with a kitchen, washing machine, flat screen tv, etc.

Our booking included internet and they gave us a WiFi box for the room. With four IP based devices (Blackberry, iPhone, Laptop and MacBook) it was great to be fully connected at no extra charge. While free WiFi is becoming the norm in North America it is not in other parts of the world we have visited. You need to ask for the WiFi box - even better request it when booking. They did say they were upgrading to Wifi for the entire hotel (only in the lobby now) in the near future.

We could not get over how busy the Viaduct area of Auckland is. Our last visit was on a Friday evening and the bars & restaurants (all seconds away out the back door of the Sebel Suites) were hopping.

Be warned, food here in NZ is not cheap (but it is very good) so budget accordingly. The fact that we had a kitchen and could make most meals ourselves really helped.

The staff was very helpful and a pleasure to deal with.

We would not hesitiate to stay here again.

My wife and I spent a few days at this hotel at the start of our trip to last years Rugby World Cup.
We found it to be centrally located close to the city centre but still on the waterfront with some lovely views.
It was close to some great restaurants, bars and coffee shops and shops.
I would recommend this hotel to anyone seeking a pleasant hotel for a short stay in Auckland

Loved our stay at the Sebel suites with views accross the Auckland Harbour & also onto the Viaduct below. Great location with lots of restaurants at our doorstep. The room was very clean & modern, I visited two other hotels before this one & they were quite old looking. Loved the proper balcony which had a table & chairs. Plus the suite had a couch & chair as well, which the other hotels I looked at didn't. Comfy bed. Great service. You can walk out the hotel door & you are right in the heart of the viaduct for restaurants, bars etc. Just a 2 minute walk to Queen St, maybe 8 minute walk to Sky City.

If you are looking for somewhere with a great view then this is it. I looked at Copthorne Quay St (great view but dirty windows, no balcony & only a bed & one chair to sit on, plus was old looking). And the Lighter Quay (view not as good as website, but room did look nice. Receptionist said they didn't have wifi or phones working in the rooms as was "new" hotel... I don't think it's THAT new!)

As the Sebel & Lighter Quay rooms were very similar price i'd say you get a much better deal staying at the Sebel, I'd stay here again or reccommend it no hesitation!

We stayed for 2 nights in January 2012 and opted for a Marina Deluxe Room. We were very impressed with the amount of space - in fact it was the size of a large one bedroom apartment. The room was modern, well appointed and in immaculate condition. There was a dining table for 6 inside, but there was also a large balcony directly fronting the marina - a fantastic place to sit and have breakfast or a bottle of wine at night whilst watching the world go by.

The room has a fully fitted kitchen together with plates, glasses, pots and pans and, in fact, everything you need to occupy on a self-catering basis if you wanted. We had continental breakfast included in our room rate, which was actually brought to our room rather than eaten in a restaurant. This was such a lovely start to each day and you just had to hang your menu on the door before going to bed and request the appropriate 15 minute delivery slot. It includes choices of fruit juice, cereals, toast and either tea, coffee or hot chocolate (the hot chocolate is divine).

There are also laundry facilities in the room, with a washing machine and separate tumble drier. Soap powder is complimentary.

The bathroom is well appointed - a deep soaking bath tub, separate shower "his and hers" basins and a separate wc accessible from either the bathroom or living room.

Car parking is expensive, although in a secure underground car park directly beneath the hotel. We can't remember exactly how much it was, but NZ$26 per night rings a bell. There is probably slightly cheaper parking available nearby, but the hotel car park is certainly the most convenient.

In terms of location, the hotel is right on the marina - lots of restaurants, with most of them being linked in some way to the hotel so you could charge the cost to your room and pay on departure. It's 5 minutes walk into the centre of Auckland and it couldn't be in a better spot.

Our only gripe - you have to pay for wi-fi. Mirvac seem to be well behind the times on this, as almost all top grade hotels now provide internet access free of charge. Even if they gave complimentary wi-fi with daily capped usage, that would be better than nothing. That said, by chance, we were able to latch onto an unsecured network from our balcony, so it didn't really matter. You also need to take out a mortgage to afford anything from the mini bar. There is a local convenience store/liquor shop a couple of minutes' walk away - definitely worth the walk to save the cash - you can still chill your own bottle in the large fridge!