This was an overnight stay before flying out of Wellington early in the morning. Room 310 is on the 3rd floor which is quite convenient for visiting the pool and gym. No wandering up and down in lifts. This particular hotel is one of only two 5 star hotels in Wellington City. What stood out for me was the quality of the staff. They were well trained, efficient and professional in all respects. The rooms were quiet which is a big plus in Wellington where the police love their sirens.Where the hotel fell short for me was unexpected - the rooms and the breakfast, things that I normally take for granted in such establishments. So what went wrong?

While I can appreciate that it may be expensive to update tiles, in a 5 star hotel it's not something I would expect to have to comment on. Having put in attractive pieces of red and black granite it was a shame that they cut costs by using some of the cheapest, poorly applied white tiles on the walls. In addition there were a number of places where small patches of mould were visible. I was a little puzzled as to why there was a neatly folded face cloth on the edge of the bath. The reason became clear when using the shower as a steady stream of water fell vertically and splashed on the bath edge. No amount of shower head adjustment could solve the problem. I'm guessing that the shower head and the mould are connected. I read that they are upgrading the hotel. It is certainly time! On the hall floor the carpet was rucked up in several places. Apart from looking visually unappealing it's not something I would expect because it presents a trip hazard. Hopefully the upgrade addresses these easy to fix issues.

The Chameleon restaurant is billed as fine dining. We were not able to dine there in the evening as we had to be elsewhere so can't comment on that. But I can comment on aspects of the breakfast which as I said earlier is something I take for granted. While the service was excellent, the "home made" baked beans were tough and under-cooked, the mushrooms had no flavour whatsoever and the basil topped baked eggs had a skin on the top so tough that it felt like a large contact lens. Again there was no flavour. The rest of the buffet, in particular the Bircher muesli, was of good quality.

As I was impressed by the service I will be returning to see if the Club rooms and breakfast are an improvement. If not then sadly I will have to return to my usual choice closer to the theatre district.

Not good value compared to other inter continental hotels ,poor service and tired looking rooms $400 per night a rip off don't waste your money ,better value hotels in Wellington ,breakfast is average for value as I am a platinum member no club level was offered to me .