We stayed at the Distinction for a night over Waitangi weekend with our baby son. Staff were friendly and co-operative, the hotel was modern and sleek, and the room was clean and tastefully decorated. It looks like a swish hotel, probably a nice place to have a conference in. I'd say it caters to business travellers and tourists.
However, the Distinction needs to lift its game a little. Why are the rooms not air-conditioned? We're Kiwis and used to a lack of air-conditioning (air-conditioning is still a foreign concept in NZ), but I'm surprised more of the international tourists the Distinction aims to attract don't complain. Rotorua is a hot humid place, and we had the misfortune of staying a night when it was particularly horribly humid. OK, the room had a ceiling fan, and all it did was push the hot air around the room. Whoopee. We had to open up the door to the balcony in the end and was greeted by the sound of logging trucks thundering down Fenton Street and the Rotorua smell of sulphur. Hardly the conditions for which to get a baby, or indeed anyone, to sleep. I would think, that for a hotel of this calibre, that customer comfort would be your first priority. It's no good having big comfortable beds (and they were comfortable) in a room if it's too hot to sleep in. C'mon guys, even an extra fan in the rooms would be an improvement.
Another couple of grizzles about the Distinction. (Sorry, but, as the title of the review suggests, high prices do mean high expectations and mine weren't met.) The hotel staff had to be chased up on requests -- such as my request for a high chair for our son, which never came. Sorry, but they weren't exactly rushed off their feet. Also, what sort of hotel has guest facilities that are only open for very restricted hours? Three restaurants, two bars, a hairdressers and a guest shop and none were open during the day. After I checked out at 11.00 am, I had to wait for my husband until 12.30 and assumed I'd be able to grab some lunch at the restaurant. I was wrong. It was shut. Sure, they give you room service, but like I said, this was after check out. There are very few retail outlets in that part of town and when you're not driving, you are all out of options (this is a big problem in NZ where it is automatically assumed that everyone drives!) It ended things on a bit of a bad note for me, as the hotel made me feel that once I'd checked out, I was no longer important to them.
So, the Distinction isn't a bad hotel but it's not the 5-star establishment it makes itself out to be either. A little less emphasis on how the hotel **appears** and a little more emphasis on customer care is needed.
