My family and I were winding down a spectacular and enjoyable trip to NZ, and were suffering from 'last-nightitis', i.e. that feeling of letdown you get when you're running out the clock for one last night, leaving on a plane the next morning.

I had booked 540 on Great South at the last minute before leaving, on the basis of a couple of good TripAdvisor reviews. There was just one nagging thought -- someone had mentioned that they were not too impressed by the area of the city in which it was located.

So it was. My heart sank as we exited the motorway to go check into 540, and found ourselves in a tatty, run-down section of Auckland. It looked depressing, and so did the exterior of 540 when we found it.

But what a surprise when we saw our room -- or suite, rather -- modern, extremely spacious, clean and exceedingly comfortable. This 'boutique motel' is in fact excellent value, and proved to be an ideal place to stay before flying out; it's an easy... more