Lovely setting amongst the Arts Centre. Close to the botanical gardens, short walk to the restaurants in the city centre. Furnishing of the lounge with free coffee and tea was wonderful. Service was fine, but a little lacking in providing specific advice such as great restaurants to try. We were simply told to refer to the folder. Our room did have a strange smell on a couple of days and the bed and pillows weren’t the most comfortable we felt. It did have the amenities one would need when travelling such as ironing board, hairdryer, safe and fridge. But no water was provided.

Beautifully appointed and located in the historic Christchurch Arts Centre, the Observatory Hotel is our go-to hotel in CHC. Immediately adjacent to lovely Hagley Park and the Avon River, and just 6 minutes' walk to the CBD makes this quiet, handsome, well-run hotel the pick of those in-the-know. As part of the Arts Centre complex you'll find an award-winning cinema, a fantastic wine-bar (make reservations!) with great food, well-curated shopping, and an array of arts events throughout the year. Unique (in a really good way) accommodation with caring staff and inviting rooms and common areas.

The property location was great. A short walk into the CBD with a lot of restaurants and shops. The staff were very friendly and insightful with suggestions of what to do and where to visit, providing a couple of hidden gems that some tourists tend to overlook.

Whilst the rooms were very nice and spacious, my only disappointment was the pressure of the water in the shower, it, unfortunately, reminded me of my shower back in the UK with limited pressure. I appreciate this is a personal preference, but considering I camped at campsites for 12 days with significantly stronger water pressure, I would expect a hotel to have similar water pressure in their showers.

It is at an excellent location. I could only wish I had booked a few more nights so that I could walk around to explore the neighborhood. The building and the overall atmosphere feels very historic. Given the crazy inflation in the states for hotels, the price for this hotel is very modest.

I wish it could provide better on-site breakfast. Although there are cafes within walking distance, the hotel itself doesn't provide a good breakfast.

The hotel sits in Christchurch Arts Centre and just across the road from Botanic Gardens. I don’t think you can find any other better situated hotel in Christchurch. The building used to be a part of the Canterbury University and of course the Observatory, so unique and interesting. The Lounge is beautiful and comfortable, perfect for relaxing after a long city walk.

It was a bit noisy outside my room when there was some kind of function or gathering in one of those surrounding bars and restaurants. Nevertheless, it was quiet after 11pm.

The location of the hotel is excellent, near to local restaurants and the botanical gardens on the doorstep. It is a short walk to the jump on and off tram which takes you around the city and stops at all the local points of interest. The hotel is a beautiful old building, previously Christchurch University, which has been renovated very tastefully. The rooms are a good size, clean and comfortable. There are tea and coffee facilities in the room but also in a communal lounge where tea , coffee and biscuits are available and a glass of wine if you wish (the wine is not free). We found the staff very helpful and informative.

The view from our room was over a carpark, but we think the rooms on the other side of the corridor looked over a lovely quadrangle. If booking again I'd ask for a room on that side of the hotel.

we werent sure what it would be like, but it was fab, room was new and clean and super quiet, bed extremely comfortable, was a unique and very enjoyable stay , staff very friendly and helpful, I liked that someome there 24 hours even though we didnt need it and car parking was good too o:)

thought the room was a little small when it was described as an apartment but apart from that you couldnt fault anything

I travel a lot for work and I stay in a lot of different hotels and apartments all around the world. The Observatory Hotel is by far the best hotel, the best team of staff and the best experience I have ever had in 15 plus years travelling globally for my career. Of course it goes without saying that the hotel is beautiful and the exterior and interior decoration are both outstanding, but what takes the hotel to the next level are the people - the atmosphere that the staff have created is exceptional and it makes you feel instantly welcome and cared for as soon as you step through the door. It is the staff that boost the experience and enhance it to being a world class experience.

You are staying in a landmark building when you stay here, as it was previously a university. We loved staying in one of the most beautiful buildings in the city and the location was perfect - central but super quiet and right across the road from the gorgeous botanic gardens. It even boasts a cinema and a grand hall! The staff were outstanding, the lounge area was wonderful to sink into their couches with a book and the free coffee on offer, and the rooms had brilliantly high ceilings and were ultra modern and spotlessly clean.

We were kept awake by a noise that sounded like an energy generator at the back of the building. We had thought it was air conditioning in the room and the staff did check it out when we reported it after the first night but it was on the 2nd night we realised it was external. I am guessing that rooms on the opposite, courtyard side to us (we were in room 106) would not have been impacted but a light sleeper might be impacted.

The Observatory is a beautiful place to stay. We stayed here twice during our trip to New Zealand. We had a single night stay that was almost perfect; with a room on a high floor, very quiet. We changed our location and plans for our last three nights in NZ because of bad weather in Queenstown, and headed back to Christchurch because we liked it so much and one night was not enough. The Observatory had one room left, but it was a basement room. We had a LOT of noise outside our basement window for hours our first night, a Saturday night. This is a GREAT location for exploring Christchurch on foot. We enjoyed walking everywhere. We only used our car to go to the gondola. The lounge is a nice place to hang out if you need a respite from sightseeing, with complementary coffee and tea available all day. The beds were comfortable. The bathroom is spacious, clean, beautiful, but no counter space at all. They do have a small shelf that you can use to place some of your toiletries if needed.

Noise outside our basement room on a Saturday night for hours. Very noisy that night, hard to sleep. On a weird note, they have a lot of color in this hotel. We enjoyed all the colors and furnishings in the lounge. Both rooms we stayed in, however, were painted pink. I loved the mix of colors in the room furnishings, but will say the pink walls were a turn off for both me and my husband. I thought both rooms would have been more inviting with a neutral color or maybe blue or green if you really want color? Obviously we came back a second time, despite the pink room on our first stay. But we were hoping for a room that was a different color!