HOTEL REVIEW: Bring boltcutters? Picton Waterfront Apartments, New Zealand

• NEW ZEALAND: Introduction — Wellington, a ferry to Picton for a South Island holiday
• LOUNGE REVIEW: Update to Qantas First Lounge Sydney for Autumn 2025
• HOTEL REVIEW: Too much style? Naumi Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand
• TRIP REPORT: Interislander ferry between Wellington and Picton, New Zealand
• HOTEL REVIEW: Bring boltcutters? Picton Waterfront Apartments, New Zealand

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Our New Zealand holiday continued once we arrived in Picton and alighted from the Interisland ferry, picked up our hire car and made our way to the Waterfront Apartments, ready for our four-night stay, with a view straight down Picton harbour.

Car Hire

Just a note, that another visitor, who also arrived by ferry, had not booked a hire car, expecting to pick one up on arrival. He visited all the car rental offices on the harbour but had no success; all the cars were already booked. Our visit was towards the end of March, so at the end of summer, if not in autumn, car hire was booked out. If you plan on a similar trip, book ahead!

Confusing directions

I won’t go into too much confusing detail here, but despite what appeared to be detailed and precise instructions, they failed to mention that there were, in fact, two separate carparks associated with the apartment, with the key card giving access to both. Realising that the car space floor plan provided did not match the one we were in, we had to phone the rental office to sort it out. It’s one of those things. Once you know there are two, the directions make sense, but if you don’t, they are confusing.

We sorted it out rather easily, but it’s not a relaxing way to arrive at your accommodation.

Not the apartment we rented

To add slightly to the confusion, we had rented a one-bedroom apartment, ‘Oxley 204 Marina View – 1 Bedroom,’ but were assigned apartment 404, which had two bedrooms. There was no heads-up from the owners/agent about this. I only realised it when we got to the 404 apartment, and then re-read my correspondence and realised that our booking had be altered.

Now, this was no biggie. Arguably, the apartment on the fourth floor had better views than that on the second. However, the weird thing was that the second bathroom and bedroom had signs warning us not to use either space. We did not, other than ‘borrowing’ two pillows from the other bedroom.

The location

With views down Picton Harbour, and at the centre of the town’s restaurant and bar area, the location couldn’t have been better. I would look out at the view and realise that 10 or more minutes had passed. Essentially everything we needed from the hire car office and Ferry port, to supermarket, restaurants, bars and pubs was within walking distance. We only needed our hire car to travel further afield.

The town is big enough to have everything you need, but still feels friendly, despite its tourist-serving nature.

The Apartment

It’s within a contemporary development, mainly behind the facade of traditional buildings. The complex has the feel of being designed by a builder and draftsman rather than an architect. Solutions to design issues seem to be workarounds rather than elegant or human-centric. That said, this was a very serviceable apartment for our stay, with only a couple of apartments per floor accessible by lift.

Ours was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom space, with a large lounge/dining room with a large balcony the length of the apartment and an outlook down the harbour.

Because we had booked a one-bedroom, the second bedroom and bathroom were marked clearly as not for our use, although not actually locked.

We did, in the sense that we borrowed a couple of pillows from this bedroom, which looked like it had a King-size bed, but no stunning view of the harbour.

Some other areas, like cupboards, were definitely off-limits. The security precautions dared you to head down to the hardware for some bolt cutters.

Now, I don’t begrudge security over your prized possessions with a discreet lock, or even as One Fine Stay do, with a seal that warns ‘curiosity will incur a fine’.

The decor

The apartment has that ‘what we no longer want in our house’ decorating approach, with cinema-style lounges and recliners, shabby-chic, distressed-painted furniture, and 1980s crime-and-glass dining and coffee tables. There is also a surfeit of knick-knacks/dust collectors that seek to give the space a human dimension. They don’t.

Here are some images to allow you to judge for yourself:

The French provincial ironwork occasional tables are so not to my taste, but those recliner chairs did come with electronic controls.

The Kitchen

This was well provisioned for self-catering, with a plethora of serving platters, cooking paraphernalia, and some very emphatic signage about the inconvenience and cost of fire brigade call-outs if you tripped the Smoke Alarm. It sounded as if these were born of traumatic experience.

Bathroom

The windowless ensuite bathroom was spacious, with plenty of mirrors. Water pressure was just adequate, but drainage was not. The doorless shower flooded the rest of the bathroom, requiring manual mopping with towels. Not ideal, but not fatal either.

There is a second, slightly larger (I think) bathroom, which we did not use. It had similar decor.

As you can see, there was ample storage, but the bathroom amenities felt a bit left over from the owners. It’s a simple thing, but every guest has a default belief that they are the first people to occupy the accommodation. Anything that challenges that innate feeling, like a hair in the drain or leftover shampoo with a dribble down the side, destroys that impression.

Look, an overhead rainfall showerhead would have been wonderful, but this handheld version did the job, despite its water-saving ways.

2PAXfly Takeout

Let’s finish on a high note, with the stunning view of Picton Harbour that the Waterfront Apartment affords.

I have been a bit damning in my assessment of this accommodation. That’s mainly because it feeds my prejudices about Airbnb-style accommodation. The piecemeal approach to furnishings and design, and the prohibitions on access to rooms and storage, are my bêtes noires.

Having said all that, and putting decor to one side, this is a very well-situated apartment with gorgeous views, generous size, and an unbeatable position.

Aside from some more contemporary, well-coordinated furniture, there are a few other practical improvements that could be made. More discreet locks on off-limits cupboards would be good. Additionally, higher-quality pillows and a good work desk would elevate this apartment for holiday stays.

Some rethinking of the layout would also help. The lounge chairs are way too far from the television, given the size provided. Some reading lights in the lounge, for those of us who like to read more than we like to watch TV, would also be welcome. A king bed in the master suite would also be welcome, but the room might not accommodate that.

Ultimately, the answer to the question ‘Would I stay hear again’ is ‘yes’. Although far from perfect, its position, view, size, and facilities make it a desirable stay.