Pullman Hotel Rotorua - New Zealand

Formerly an office building, it was transformed into a luxury 5 star hotel in Rotorua, New Zealand. One of the few 5 star properties situated in Rotorua, combined with the high tourism industry due to the highly popular natural hot springs around this region, was this the right choice and are they the competitor other hotels should be afraid of?

The Pullman is located right in the central Rotorua CBD, along the main street however the lack of dedicated hotel parking means you will either have to pay for hotel valet/self parking or street parking nearby. There are several drop off/pick up parking spots right outside of the hotel, allowing you to check in and out while loading or unloading luggage with ease.

As I tried to check in, I realised that I had forgotten to bring my card to make the payment so I thought they would accept tap to pay given that it is fairly common now but I was told that I would need to present a card to make the payment, fortunately I was able to shuffle some money around and use a different card, but it was not ideal.

As I entered my room and got settled in, I was impressed by the size of the room, I booked the Superior Room however the layout has a few inconsistencies or non sensical design choices. Right by the entrance on the left is the bathroom area. A large mirror accompanied by a large countertop, separates the toilet and shower area, one on each side. The only complaint I have is the lack of lighting in the shower area which seems to be an oversight, speaking of oversight, there are light switches placed randomly around the bathroom area which make no sense nor being labelled so it took me a good while to figure out what is where.

Across the bathroom area is the large wardrobe and bar area, 2 robes and slippers are provided, and some other amenities such as an iron and luggage rack. Across the bar is a lazy lounge couch however the empty space in the center was so vast that it could be a room in itself, the lack of furnishing made it a very weird open space.

Towards the end of the room is the King size bed with the usual design of 2 nightstands with lights on each side. Opposite the bed is a triangular shaped space where a coffee desk and the TV, this seems to be where the designer was trying to get the guests to congregate or assuming that that's the space where the most time will be spent. This means there's a huge discrepancy, the lack of view of the TV from the couch is a missed opportunity for Pullman to add a work desk area in the open empty space, maybe they have assumed that most guests would be leisure travellers and the work desk would end up being more of a clutter, but regardless the lack of charging ports close to a desk apart from the toilet and one side of the nightstand is a rather interesting choice they have made, which I am not sure I can appreciate.

As I was settling in and getting some work done, I noticed that the heating wasn't doing a very good job even at the highest temperature. I tried to check whether there was any hot air coming through the vent and I could feel a slight warm breeze even though I had the fan on high, which was insufficient to heat up the huge space with the cold air blasting through from the window, I am not sure whether the window is double glazed but it might not be with the older building design and lots of cold breeze leaking into the room. I did request a portable heater which they did provide, and I turned it on high for a good couple of hours before the room felt slightly warmer and more comfortable.

There is also a huge gap from the window and the blinds are, blocked by a big white block with a piece of glass about 50cm tall which I am unsure what the purpose is, could be that it may be required as part of the building structure during repurposing or fitting of the electrical/pipes/vents.

CONCLUSION

Pullman Rotorua was featured in the local media at the time of writing this with guests disgruntled by the lack of privacy and design choices specifically with their toilet and shower. As you can see from my room, they are frosted which to me is a fairly good amount of privacy, however the glass does have a huge gap on top which is a difference between having a noise cancelling headphone on or a crystal clear HD sound, and in that aspect I do agree especially if you're sharing the space with family or people who are not comfortable enough to be that intimate on those details. The lack of separation also means you might need to bring your towel into the shower which is not ideal and also there's no place to hang them so it wouldn't have worked, they could be placed on the countertop right by the shower but maybe some people are shy or there may have kids with them which might not be ideal. Pullman commented that they are currently working on that and will be fixing this issue.

Being the very few luxury chain hotels in this area, I was super excited to try it out and given the price tag I would have expected better. The weak AC system is the biggest issue for my stay, given that Rotorua can get very chilly in the winter, a subpar AC system wouldn't do it, and if this is a consistent issue, they will need to provide a portable heater to every room assuming this is a hotel wide issue. The shower was not as well thought out as it could have been, the lack of lighting and some mould or damage (couldn't see properly with the lacklustre lighting) doesn't exactly make it a relaxing shower experience. I would have also appreciated a work desk given there's a space big enough for it.

Another issue which I believe may be from the conversion rather than the building itself is the noise insulation, I would assume that building a wall would allow them to create a noise barrier but for whatever reason I could hear mumbling and toilet/shower activity from my neighbour's room so it wasn't great.

The location however was the selling point, within a minute from the shops and tourism centre, a few minutes from the lake and Government Gardens. Parking would be an issue given it's located in the central so if you have a car, you might not want to spend too much time in the hotel as those parking costs would add up.

Overall it wasn't a pleasant stay especially for the price I paid. If they offer more amenities such as a spa, sauna, pool facility it might just justify the price, and also very logical given it's a spot famous for wellness, and it would have been a great opportunity for them to bring something unique to the region, but it was a letdown and an overhyped overpriced chain hotel.