Shane McDonald Facebook pixel
Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square – Christchurch, New Zealand Hotel Review

Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square – Christchurch, New Zealand Hotel Review

by | Feb 5, 2018 | Travel

Having flown 12 hours from Hong Kong to Sydney in business class with Cathay Pacific, we arrived at Sydney airport for an unavoidable 8 hour layover before flying to Christchurch. Unfortunately our flight was delayed by about 90 minutes and we didn’t arrive in Christchurch until about 11:50pm.

Our hotel for the stay in Christchurch was the Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square. Having already stayed in the Novotel Century Hong Kong we knew Novotel had a good reputation. We eventually got a taxi from the airport and managed to get checked in about 12:40pm.

The Room

We had a very quick checkin and got a nice room on 10th floor of the hotel with a nice view of the city suburbs. The room was very nice with a comfortable bed and a nice bathroom (however the bathroom was a little strange in that the washhand basin was outside the toilet and it doubles up as a sink for tea and coffee preparation. I would prefer that such a sink be located in the bathroom).

Room at Novotel Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand - Hotel Review

The sleep quality is very good and Novotel must invest in quality beds as our Hong Kong experience was also very good. The rooms are quiet and also have good entertainment options with cable tv and large flat screen TVs.

Location & Sightseeing

The hotel is very central in the city and is very near to a lovely shopping mall which houses the ticket centre for the tourist tram. The tram itself is very much worth going on.

The city was very badly damaged in the earthquakes which hit the city and many areas are still blocked off with much of the citys buildings having been demolished or in repair. You might ask, why visit? – In one answer “Because it we met THE nicest people in Christchurch and it has a wonderful atmosphere amongst the rebuilding”. The people of Christchurch were warm, chatty and welcoming. We went to one convenience store near the bus station and there was a girl serving – we ended up chatting there fore 45 minutes. Next evening we met people very near this location and chatted to them for nearly 30 minutes.

Christchurch is just a wonderful location and I look forward to revisiting again in the future.

I am going to have a follow up post to this which will focus on ‘Things to do in Christchurch, New Zealand‘.

Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square – Conclusion

Overall a lovely the Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square is a very nice hotel.

Plus points :  Great Staff, Lovely Room, Laundry on-site is very good and great value

Negative Points :  No Free WiFi – I had to sign up to the Novotel loyalty club just to get a very limited free WiFi access. (I try to restrict my booking of these types of hotels as I do like free WiFi)

Recommended : Yes

Hotel Location : 
Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square ,  52 Cathedral Square, Central City, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand

Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square , 52 Cathedral Square, Central City, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand

Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square ,  52 Cathedral Square, Central City, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Hong Kong, Where to Stay, What to Do, What to See

Hong Kong, Where to Stay, What to Do, What to See

by | Oct 17, 2010 | Travel

Hong Kong, Where to Stay, What to Do, What to See

Hong Kong is a fantastic city, vibrant, lots to do and if you want the latest high tech gadgets its the place to go. This is a list of some key items to add to your ‘What to Do in Hong Kong’ list.

Landing at Chek Lap Kok airport you are about 20 miles from the city and you can get a high speed train which takes between 12-25 minutes to get to you the city or a coach transfer which will drop you to your hotel door. The coach transfer is recommended as Hong Kong temperatures can reach high 30’s and lugging a case around in that heat from the train station is not fun when you can relax in the air-con of a coach and get dropped to the lobby of your hotel.

One thing not to miss in Hong Kong is the celebration of lights which happens each evening at 8:15. Get yourself a Star Ferry around this time to enjoy the skyscrapers in the bay lighting up in a type of choreography to be witnessed. We got a star ferry cruise which I think was about €30 and this included refreshments and 1 hour cruising around the bay with nice music as you enjoyed the lights.

If you want to go on a trip, the Big Buddha trip to Ngong Ping is not to be missed. This involves a 25 minute cable car ride which runs from near the airport to the Ngong Ping area. The Big Buddha is elevated on a hill and you can climb up to it for stunning views. Inside the Budda there is a museum all about the history of the Buddha. The trip also includes a vegetarian meal cooked by the monks where you can taste traditional cuisine – this included delicacies such as Lotus Flower which I had never tasted but was delicious. On the trip you also get taken to a traditional fishing village … a thousand miles away from the hussle and bussel of down town Hong Kong.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay, I would recommend the Novatel Century on Jaffa Road. It is very clean, rooms are excellent and very well serviced, the staff go 10 times further to make you happy. The breakfasts are fantastic – I never had Dim Sum for breakfast before ! There is more than enough choice for breakfast. Don’t miss the roof top swimming pool which is best experienced in the late evening when you can hear the busy streets but you are enjoying a swim outdoors in the city with jets flying low overhead – Magic !

Hong Kong has a lot to offer and will be somewhere I continue to return to – however next time we will upgrade to Business Class as our Cathay Pacific flight was just too long to be stuck in economy class, as my legs kept falling asleep from the seats on the Boeing 747-400 which were not all that comfortable.

Shanes Recommended Links for Hong Kong

Ngong Ping : http://www.np360.com.hk/

Novotel Century : http://www.novotel.com/

Grayline Tours : http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/destinations/asia/hongkong.go