U Residence Hotel, Signature Collection by BW♡

Marketed as a hotel, but really an unstaffed apartment with delayed support when issues arise

1.0

The location is central and convenient, within walking distance of the waterfront and Te Papa. The room was a reasonable size with a kitchen and balcony.

− The property has "Hotel" in its name, and when searching for accommodation in the city I booked it expecting a hotel with the usual front-desk service. In practice it operates as a self-contained apartment with no reception and no staff on site, which was not what I expected from the name. The unit also had safety defects on arrival: the washing machine face plate was detached and came away when touched, exposing the interior, and the kitchen faucet was loose and unstable. Travelling with a young child, I found these genuinely concerning. Because there is no on-site staff, there is no way to get help in real time when something goes wrong. The only contact options are a local phone number (not usable for overseas guests without a local SIM) or messaging. When I raised the defects, the only resolution offered was to send someone to repair them. The property declined to move us to another unit and refused any refund, so we chose to leave and arrange accommodation elsewhere. Prospective guests should be aware this operates as an unstaffed apartment rather than a serviced hotel, and that support is limited if issues arise.

Good location.

7.0

− Couple of maintenance issues in the room. Blind. No remote for the heat pump. Having salt and pepper and more than 1 piece of cutlery and crockery would be nice.

Great location with so much potential but missed the mark

6.0

Fantastic location, secure, handy kitchenette,

− No reception, felt very impersonal, not enough towel rails, no toilet roll holder, water splashed everywhere from shower that a small provided bath mat couldn’t cover, no laundry powder provided, not enough cutlery for beds provided and paid for, smoke alarm batteries not replaced regularly so it needed replacing 10pm at night when it started beeping regularly

Guest review

5.0

− It was cold! Freezing! Single glazed with a flapping cat flap! Bathroom was incredibly cold. Yes it had heating but this hadn't been turned on prior to us arriving after a day out in the windy winter wellington weather. Everything else was fine but the coldness made it a poor stay, especially for the price. Also the information on booking.com led me to believe a continental breakfast was included. It was not.

Guest review

6.0

Great location

− I expected alot more for the price. It was nothing like the photos. Room was dated and needed maintenance (eg cracked tiles in the bathroom and plywood on the glass entrance door) I normally wouldn’t complain but the $300+ price for a night was excessive for this room.

Good location however needs a lot of maintenance to get it to a decent quality stay.

5.0

Good location

− Needs maintenance- lots of issues such as sliding doors broken, shower broken, bedside lamps missing bolts, extensions cords under beds, no 24 hour reception.