BreakFree on Cashel Christchurch

BreakFree is owned by ALL (Accor) group, One of several budget brands that they are currently owning. I booked 2 nights here, a total of NZD$162 not including housekeeping or services for the room.

The room itself is very basic, minimal and small. You have the bare essentials which is enough for most people who are travelling and would not be spending too much time in the room except for sleeping.

Check In: There are self check in machine located opposite the reception, however as I arrived around 11pm, it was pretty much empty and I got served by a staff immediately. The staff was friendly and told me what I needed so I could get going and be ready to go to bed.

Room:

The room is called Inner Urban Double, a total of 10 sq m of space. There is a small work desk and a TV, kettle with some tea and coffee, as for the bathroom amenities there is only a pump that has a body/hair gel, nothing too fancy.

Although the room is compact, it is also slightly run down and in need of some maintenance and renovation. On the first night I discovered the toilet flush wasn't working too well, however it didn't bother me too much until the next morning when I couldn't manage to get more than a few drops which can barely flush anything. I went to the reception and the staff told me to press it hard, which I did and all the way to the very end. After trying a couple of times again, I discovered that there's a certain technique required to get the flush working, and that is to press it slowly but all the way to the end, given the button is pretty small and it goes pretty deep inside, it was slightly challenging for big long fingers like mine.

The carpet is also looking a little tired, there are marks and the same goes to the wall and the cushion frame surrounding the bed. The toilet wall is a piece of glass, which is laminated but it has stains and gross looking marks. The shower area has stuff hanging or falling off right on the bottom which I am not interested to have a closer inspection of. The shower door cannot be fully closed, but also it slides open when I fully close it which means the gap is large and allow some water to get splash out of the shower.

The room has a temperature control switch with a dial for cooling and heating but I didn't feel like it was doing much even on the warmest setting. There is a weird control box right next to the bed, it controls lighting, show the time and also able to set an alarm on it, but there are switches that I am not very sure the purpose of, and they don't seem to be doing anything as far as I can tell.

There is an iron and hair dryer located under the work desk, and an iron board under the bed. As far as storage goes, it is sufficient for people to store their luggage and belongings. Some hangers and clothing hook are available, as well as plenty of mirrors in the room so you do not need to go far to have a good look at yourself.

The wifi is not unlimited, but every room is given 2GB of data per day (you will use your room number and name to sign in, which starts from the moment you sign in and 24 hours later it will reset your allowance).

Conclusion:

It is a budget hotel so do not expect to get much out of it. If you are on the normal service room, then you will of course receive the normal housekeeping and room service. I am not sure if mini bar is available on the other rooms but I would assume the bigger rooms would have them.

They have one room type which is classed as premium, the picture looks good however of course in real life situation that may not be the case.

It is close to the bus interchange and the shopping district, and about 10 minutes away from the market and restaurants.

Given most hotels around Christchurch are pretty expensive, at least the ones that look better, I would say this is not too bad for the price, just don't expect it to be decent.