Property: Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour
Status: Accor Plus Platinum
Rooms booked: 1 x Superior Room, 1 x Luxury Atrium Room
Rooms upgraded: Neither upgraded
Rate: "Accor Plus Mother's Day Special" (NZ$215pn / NZ$254pn)
Free internet: Yes
Welcome drink: Yes, vouchers received for both rooms (4 drinks total)
Early Check in/out: Yes, 3pm late check-out with some resistance
First stay at the Sofitel Auckland - wasn't sure what to expect in terms of status recognition as the rates we booked were especially sharp for a long weekend. Both rooms were booked from my account and while we didn't receive any upgrades, we did receive drink vouchers and Club Millesime invite letters for both rooms at check-in:
Millesime was fine - it was fairly busy on the Fri & Sat nights we stopped in for evening drinks. There was a reasonable selection of cold cuts, nibbles and one or two small hot items. Wine & beer was self service, I didn't spot the spirits mentioned on the letter, but wasn't looking closely.
The breakfast served at La Maree was consistently excellent. Plats get the "full breakfast" which consisted of an a la carte item, plus access to the buffet, and a barista coffee.
Between us, we tried all the a la carte items over the three mornings - so here they are in menu order:
Unfortunately no pics of the buffet, but it was on the smaller side with some basic pastries, cold cuts, fruit, single-serve yoghurt tubs and cereal. I'm guessing most guests are either getting included breakfast with their room/status, or just buying an a la carte item. Occupancy seemed quite high on the Fri and Sat night as a queue formed at breakfast for La Maree on Sat and Sun mornings, but on the Monday morning we almost had the place to ourselves and saw very few guests in the lobby.
Our flight back to Australia was leaving at 5:45pm on Monday, so I went to the front desk on Sunday afternoon to request a 3pm late check-out. For reference, the standard check-out time is 11am. Without checking anything on the computer, the first staff member I spoke to said the best they could do was 1pm. I asked if that was also the case for Platinums, to which she said "oh, just a moment, let me check with the manager".
A few moments later he comes out to the desk and says the best they can do is midday (going backwards now!) but they can sell me a 3pm late check-out for $50 per room. I expressed my disappointment at the status benefit not being honoured and that they needn't worry - we would just checkout at 11am and leave our bags with concierge for a few hours. He back-pedalled and offered a 3pm late checkout "as a once off".
Other than that awkward interaction it was an excellent stay and I was very happy they extended Club access & restaurant breakfast for both rooms. The hotel has had a beautiful makeover and is worth a visit.
Points and status nights have already posted less than 24 hours after check-out, however the points amount received was only for one room - despite ALL members being
eligible to earn points for two rooms if they are paid together on the one folio (which they were). Will be lodging a support case with Accor.
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