Serviced Apartments vs Hotel: Auckland Business Trips
Serviced apartments vs hotel? For Auckland business trips the short answer is a hotel for one or two nights, and an apartment for anything longer, or whenever you would rather eat, work and wash clothes on your own schedule. The right choice depends more on the shape of your trip than on the room.
What you actually get in a serviced apartment
A serviced apartment is a furnished, self-contained apartment rented by the night, with cleaning and linen available when you want them. In central Auckland that usually means a separate bedroom, a living area, a full kitchen and a washing machine.
At Stay Viaduct, for example, the apartments have a fully equipped kitchen, in-suite laundry, fibre internet and a laptop-friendly workspace, plus a dining table that seats at least four and doubles as a meeting table. Cleaning is on request rather than daily, so ask when you book how it works for your stay. The details for business stays are on the corporate accommodation page.
What a hotel does better
A hotel is the better choice for some trips, and it is worth being straight about why.
- Daily housekeeping. The bed is made and the towels changed every day without asking.
- A front desk around the clock. Someone is downstairs at 2am if your key card fails.
- Food on site. Room service and a restaurant mean you never have to think about dinner.
- Loyalty points. If your company books one chain everywhere, they add up.
If you are in town for one night, arriving late and leaving early, a hotel near your meeting is hard to beat.
Serviced apartments vs hotel: Auckland business stays side by side
Once a trip runs past two or three nights, the comparison shifts.
Space. A hotel room puts your bed, desk and suitcase in one room. An apartment separates them, and on a five night trip that matters more than you would expect. Taking a video call from a sofa, with the bed out of shot, is a small thing, but it makes the week feel less like living in a corridor.
Food. Hotel breakfasts and restaurant dinners every night get old, and they are rarely the healthiest way to eat. With a kitchen you can make breakfast, keep fruit and water in the fridge and cook something simple on the nights you are tired. There is a Woolworths supermarket on Quay Street, within walking distance of the Viaduct.
Laundry. A washing machine means you can pack for three days and stay for ten. Hotel laundry works, but it is slow and charged by the item.
Working. A proper table, a separate room for calls and reliable internet make an apartment a better place to get through an afternoon of email.
Cost over a longer stay. Nightly rates vary too much to compare fairly. Over a week or more, though, the savings tend to come from what you are not spending on: restaurant meals, laundry charges, the hotel business centre.
Hosting. A working lunch for four can happen around the apartment's dining table, rather than in a hotel lobby or a hired room.
When each one makes sense
Choose a hotel if you are staying one or two nights, you want daily housekeeping, you value a 24 hour front desk, or your travel policy names a particular chain.
Choose a serviced apartment if you are staying three nights or more, you are travelling with colleagues who could share, you want to cook some of your own meals, or you need to work from where you are staying for part of the day.
There is a middle case too. A short trip with long days still benefits from the extra space, even for two nights. And if you are bringing a team, several apartments in one building are usually easier to manage than a block of hotel rooms.
Things to check before you book either
- Check-in and check-out times. Apartments often have a set check-in (from 3pm at Stay Viaduct, with check-out by 10am), with early or late times on request.
- Parking. Central Auckland parking is limited. Ask whether it is on site, whether it costs extra and whether there is a height limit.
- How the bill works. If your company pays, confirm the invoicing before you arrive.
- Location. Most central city offices, the NZICC and the ferry terminal are walkable from the Viaduct, which saves a lot of time in taxis.
Making the most of the evenings
Staying near the waterfront puts the city on your doorstep either way. The flat walk west through Wynyard Quarter is the easiest way to switch off after a day of meetings. Do Auckland has a write-up of the Wynyard Quarter waterfront walk, and a list of evening things to do for a free night.
Guests at The Heritage on Hobson Street also have the rooftop pool, which is a good place to end a long day.
To book a corporate stay, email book@stayviaduct.co.nz or call 027 683 6461.
