Booze limits and room envy
The ultimate guide to NZ’s quarantine hotels
It is the lottery of managed isolation: Some returning New Zealanders end up in $800-a-night hotels with a sea view, and others are shipped off to a mid-range hotel with basic meals. There are now 32 hotels being used in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch for Covid-19 quarantine and managed isolation.
They range from a 3-star backpacker-style accommodation to a 5-star luxury hotel on Auckland’s waterfront.
Most of the hotels are 4.5 or 5 stars — officials want isolation to be as comfortable as possible to encourage compliance. They must all meet strict criteria, including hygiene requirements, security, and providing three meals a day and exercise opportunities to guests.
But beyond those standards, the hotels differ in size, quality and other factors. And the unique challenges created by a public health crisis mean many hotels cannot provide their usual level of service.
Shailee Adke Barde, who went into isolation on June 24 after arriving back from India, said her two weeks of isolation was overwhelmingly positive.
She was put up at the Grand Millennium in Auckland’s CBD.
Returning New Zealanders have no say where they end up, and usually find out their hotel — or their destination city — when they get on a bus at the airport.
The group she travelled with was divided into three hotels and they compared notes.
“We figured Millennium was one of the best ones,” she said.
“One of the people I know got sent to Jet Park Hotel [in Ma¯ngere] because they thought they had symptoms, just to be safe. It was a major step down, because they got a smaller room and the views weren’t as amazing.”
Travellers who end up at Jet Park often face a different set of rules. The hotel is used to quarantine people who present with Covid-19 symptoms at the airport or in isolation.
People who have tested negative for Covid-19 at Jet Park get a blue armband, which means they can move about more freely. Those still waiting on a test result must be escorted outside of their room. Alcohol is not available.
The availability and cost of beer and wine is one of the most hotly debated topics among those in isolation.
A manager at Naumi Auckland Airport said the hotel had agonised over how much to supply and what to charge. If they didn’t offer beer and wine or charged too much, people would bring booze in — or break out, as in one infamous case in Hamilton.
Naumi decided on allowing four beers or a bottle of wine to be bought per day, at discounted prices, and empties were collected before delivery so people did not stock up.
The Naumi manager said travellers usually turned up in groups of 40 or 50 people at a time. They were placed in the best hotel rooms first, separated by “bubbles”. The hotel had two huge suites which were charged out at about $1000 a night, but they were left empty because they were not selfcontained.
The Weekend Herald found most high-end hotels were keeping their VIP suites empty. One hotel manager said they wanted to avoid even the slightest potential for jealousy or conflict between guests.
But while there may be no competition between guests in the same hotel, returnees sometimes felt a twinge of envy at those who were put up in flasher accommodation.
An entire subculture has sprung up on dedicated Instagram and Facebook pages in which people compare and critique Wi-Fi quality, food, exercise spaces and room size.
One of the most desirable spots for isolation is luxury hotel SO/ Auckland in the Britomart district, which
One of the people I know got sent to Jet Park Hotel [in M¯angere] because they thought they had symptoms, just to be safe. It was a major step down . . .
Shailee Adke Barde was put up at the Grand Millennium in Auckland’s CBD
usually charges between $450 and $825 a night (returnees’ hotel bills are covered by the Government).
Guests cannot take advantage of all of the hotel’s perks — they are barred from using the Finnish sauna or the rooftop bar. There is a blanket ban on returnees using gyms, pools and other facilities at all isolation hotels.
Another hotel, the Pullman in central Auckland, has a $3000 suite. It would not say whether lucky isolators were being put up in the 290sq m room.
It has not all been rosy for returnees in isolation. Many felt unfairly vilified for simply returning to their home country, often after suddenly abandoning their lives overseas or stressful, long-winded trips home. Public scrutiny was especially strong after four people escaped from hotels in the space of two weeks.
More than 30,000 people have now been through managed isolation or quarantine since New Zealand went into lockdown.
The Government has spent more than $80 million on hotel bills so far, and has put aside another $300 million for the rest of the year. It has considered charging returnees for their hotel stays, but has so far not made a decision.