AMBER HOUSE - at the centre!™
Bed and Breakfast Guest House (B&B) in Nelson city centre, New Zealand
en suite Rooms
The En suite Room type is popular with those on a tight budget since no breakfast at all is included with this room option.
We change the sheets and pillow cases every 3 or 4 days of your stay (or if you have an accident) but we don't make up the En suite Room type daily for you and expect you to hang the towels we provide out to dry on the rotary dryer in the back garden in return for a very keen price.
Even though it's our second cheapest room option, the En suite Room type is not spartan. All Amber House bedrooms have fitted carpet, a work desk with chair, mirror, closet to hang your clothes and bedside reading lamps. All are equipped with a cordless, direct dial phone, alarm clock radio, hairdryer, LCD flat screen High Definition colour TV with MP3 playback, a small digital safe for valuables and four out of five Amber House bedrooms have full individually controllable air conditioning units with reverse cycle, inverter heat pumps.
All En suite Rooms in Amber House are double glazed to insulate against heat loss or noise intrusion.
VERY IMPORTANT: The large, German made, "tilt and turn" windows cost more than $8000 each to install (they are double glazed with argon in the
gap and coated with 2 molecules of Gold to reduce infra red emissions) and need special care when opening or closing.
Please ensure that all of the window is completely and entirely seated in the window frame before you attempt to rotate the handle to the down position to lock it. If
you feel any resistance to rotating the handle - STOP immediately before you damage the precision mechanism. If you ignore this instruction and carelessly damage our
window, you will be charged appropriately!
The En suite Room type has either a large, en suite shower cubicle inside the room or a small adjoining compartment containing
both a shower cubicle, WC and wash handbasin. All En suite Rooms have at least one Queen sized bed and two of the five have two Queen sized beds so up to four guests can be accommodated in those. Full argon-gap double glazing with low emissivity glass and comfortable beds ensure a tranquil night. Teletext is available, together with 22 local and terrestrial digital television channels of which three are currently transmitted in high definition to the
large LCD TV. A small safe, with a combination you can set yourself, is provided for your valuables within the closet. There is also an alarm clock radio and hairdryer. Complimentary hot or cold drinks and ANZAC biscuits are also available free of charge in the guest Dining Room at any time. |
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Photos Copyright 2012: Alexander Bernold, Interior and Architectural Photography |
Wireless access to a 802.11g and 802.11b high-speed internet connection is available for a small extra charge.
If you pay a supplement of $8, you can help yourself to an uncooked continental breakfast in the Guest Dining Room any time between 04:00 and 10:00hrs each morning - if you pay $17 extra per person per breakfast, we will cook your chosen hot breakfast for you and you can then also help yourself to fruit from the bowl and fruit juices.]
Electrical Sockets
All bedrooms have at least two 230 volt, 10 amp, RCD protected, australasian style, electric outlets available for your laptop, phone charger, etc - so we ask you not to disturb any existing electrical arrangements that you find already in place. (An additional service fee may be payable if you disconnect or switch off - even temporarily - our phone system, alarm clock, TV, etc.)
There is also one low current (Maximum 20VA) SWITCHABLE 230/110 volt European/USA style shaver socket located in the light fitting above the mirror. The voltage switch is underneath this tube light fitting.
A normal power, earthed adaptor for European, British square 3pin and flat pin USA style plugs is also available on request. Please note, if you borrow this adaptor, that it does NOT convert voltage from New Zealand's standard 230 volts so it should NOT be used on equipment designed only to take 110 volts!
Service
We do also offer room service.
Room service is available at a moderate extra charge payable to the cook in cash when she arrives with your meal. Green Room guests can also order (for a moderate charge) other meals and snacks prepared and served at their convenience.
Rather than ringing the "School Bell"if you need us and we're not visible, please instead press the electric door bell push just to the left (when standing outside) of Amber House's front door.
This small bell push wirelessly activates five different chimes located in the front hallway, upstairs landing, main kitchen, Garage and the cottage at
the back of the section 200 feet away.
[If you need us at a time when these chimes are likely to disturb other guests, please use the cordless phone in your room: dial 539 0605 (no need to use the
South Island area code of 03) to initiate a free local call and your call will be automatically diverted free of charge to the family's cellular (or mobile) number
of +64-21-202 4961.]
Please visit this page for information on our call charges...
We'll try and respect your privacy and will try and come into your rooms to empty the waste-paper basket, etc while you are out during the day - unless, of course, you tell us not to.
Our Quirks
It would be a good idea to hang your towels out to dry on the rotary drying frame in the back garden first thing in the morning as the
sunny Nelson climate usually ensures they'll be bone dry within
a couple of hours.
[Kiwis value their
"clean and green" image so we also ask that you turn off your lights, TV, stereo and heater or fan when you go out.
Please do NOT switch off our computer or then we'll have to go and get George to enter several different Broadband passwords...]
We'll probably take both towels and your washing back to your room if you forget... Ask us for beach towels if that's where you're going.
We don't usually turn down beds unless you are physically handicapped and will change the bed linen every 3 or 4 days.
If you do have an accident and need bed linen changing earlier, don't hesitate to say!
We don't allow guests to use our front loading automatic washing machine as the various dials and buttons can be complicated to explain to guests and they
would not be covered by our insurance. If you do need more than just a few items washed with our own load, we charge similar prices to a service wash in a
launderette: $7 per washing machine load.
You'll need to hang your items on the rotary washing line and take them down again yourself unless you bribe us with winsome words and pleasing smiles or
recipes (grin). We charge $5 per hour (or part) of dryer time if you need to be wasteful and use our electric dryer rather than the rotary clothes
line.
We keep the biscuit jar well stocked in the guests' dining room so just help yourself. In summer you can also steal a few strawberries and cherry tomatoes in the back garden on the way back from bringing in your towels or washing... We don't do ironing unless you're going to a wedding or special occasion (20 dollars per hour or part) but can provide you with a steam iron and board and mending materials.
"...The real plus on the service side, is that you will be staying with hosts who really know their neighborhood and can give you the best independent advice about places to eat, shop and visit, unlike hotel staff who don't always live locally and don't know about these things or perhaps get some kind of kick-back for referrals. Wouldn't it be great having your own local source of up-to-the-minute insider information about what's going on? Your hosts can give you useful nuggets of information, such as the many delightful specialty shops...(and) help you make the most of your trip, when time is at a premium..."
All guests can also avail of Swedish Massage and Deep Tissue Therapy for a small additional charge.