Avoid Quest on Eden serviced apartments

A recent advertising campaign by the Quest on Eden Serviced Apartments led me to believe that it was ideally located near the Vector Arena, and since some friends and my wife and I were attending a concert there, we decided to try it.

When I booked the room I wanted at the Quest on Eden, I spoke to Nancy, who was very friendly on the phone and advised me that I could have a two bedroom apartment for the night I required. I asked for an apartment with a King in one room and two singles in the other, as advertised on the Quest on Eden website.

Nancy told me that there were no rooms with this configuration available, but I could have a queen in one room and two singles in the other. This would do just as well, so I accepted and confirmed with my credit card. Nancy took my credit card details and also my mobile number and email address, so that she could email me my booking confirmation.

About half an hour later Nancy called me back to tell me that I had given her an incorrect expiry date for my credit card.  I knew this was not the case, and confirmed with my colleague who was present when I made the booking. I gave Nancy the correct expiry date, which I recalled, without checking the card again.

Approximately one week later when I had not received the confirmation of my booking from Quest on Eden, I called Nancy back to make sure that there hadn’t been any further problems with my credit card or booking arrangements. She confirmed that the booking was indeed made and that she had emailed me. When she read the email address back to me she had a J instead of a G as one of the characters, which as it is the first letter of my middle name I know I gave it to her correctly. I corrected the email address, and asked her to read it back to me. I again confirmed that the room was booked, and that we required a queen and two singles. It was agreed that the confirmation would be emailed to me again. To date, I have not yet received this confirmation from the Quest on Eden apartments.

Once we arrived in Auckland city, the Quest on Eden was easy to find, however at 1:30 pm on a Saturday, the reception was closed and the front door was locked. The intercom advised me that there was a lock box that had an envelope with my keys in it. It required a second call on the intercom to get the lock box opened properly.

After my poor check in experience in the cold weather on the front door step, negotiating the extremely tight car parking garage only added to my frustration.

On getting to our room, we were somewhat surprised to find a king in one room, and a queen in the other. My good friends are not *that* close. Immediately I called the front desk to enquire as to why the room was not as requested.  There was a lot of reluctance from the duty manager to do anything about it.

Somehow it was my fault that there was no entry on the booking sheet stipulating the sleeping arrangements and that all his housekeeping staff had gone home. Eventually a rollaway bed was installed in the master bedroom while we were at the concert.

The rest of the furniture in the room was cheap and of very poor quality. One chair was broken, which took everyone by surprise who sat in it. The electric kettle was serviceable, if nearly antique.

The room was clean and tidy, and the bathroom well kept, however there is not enough hot water for four adults to shower, without at least one person having a tepid one. The panoramic view from our balcony was directly into the window of the flat in the building next door that was within spitting distance.

The checking out experience was no better, where I learned that for the privilege of nearly scraping all the paint off my car to get into the car park I was charged $11.50. I told Nancy that I was not advised of this when I booked, nor when I checked in, to which she laughed and said “There’s no such thing as free parking in Auckland.”  Despite their listing on mytravelguide.com stating parking is free, and front desk is 24 hr. I have stayed many times in Auckland, for both business and leisure, and always parked for free, unless using the valet service.

The homeless people on the front door step were always in attendance, regardless of the weather, or what time we left or arrived, and seemed to be friendly, if a little unnerving. On no account would I have spent a second night at the Quest on Eden, nor will I ever stay there again.

I was very surprised to find on my return home that this complex is rated four stars by Qualmark. I have many times stayed in motels throughout the country that have rated two or three stars which have been superior to the Quest on Eden in every respect.  I have also stayed in other Quest serviced apartments in New Zealand and have received value for money and good service. This latest experience has certainly dented my faith in both organisations.