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The Law Courts Hotel is your one stop destination for quality accommodation, friendly hospitality and truly exceptional food, all at an affordable price and within walking distance of the many attractions downtown district of Dunedin. Whether you are a vacationer, businessman or a frequent visitor to Dunedin looking for a hotel with character and charm, our accommodations are unmatched for location, value and convenient proximity to the heart of Dunedin City.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Historic Hotel
Budget
Languages Spoken
English
Location
Cnr Cumberland & Stuart Streets, Dunedin 9016 New Zealand
The Law Courts Hotel
3.5 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
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The bedroom was very comfortable with lovely linen. Partial secondary glazing cut out some of the road noise and the fan compensated for the warm night temperatures. Unfortunately, the bed was way too soft for our preference. Being on the top floor there was evidence of roof leaks in the ceiling, fortunately there was no rain while we were there so didn't find out if they were current. The bathroom was a huge letdown being a strip only as wide as the toilet, definitely not a space to share. Even worse was the black mould in all the crevices and the badly cracked bathroom sink. the other rooms may be in better condition, however, 307 is a room to avoid.
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Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Avoid room 307. Ask to inspect your room at check in.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location and the friendliness of the staff deserve top rating for this hotel.
I did not eat here so cannot comment on the food quality or value for money, but the prices listed looked very reasonable.
It is an old building with old fittings, and renovation of the bathroom was well overdue. However everything was in working order and clean.
Furniture in-room also due for replacement, very worn and tatty.
From previous reviews, it looked like some work had already started in upkeep/refurbishment.
Bed was comfortable, noise levels while not a bother during the day, was noticeable at night, especially in the corner room with the beeping from pedestrian crossing. However, this is a central city hotel close to main streets so take note. There were ear plugs provided.
Good provisions with tea and coffee and refrigerator.
Check out was smooth. Happy to store baggage at Reception.
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Date of stay: February 2021
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tried to find hotel at city centre close to Intercity Bus Stop, this hotel meets our plan, just 5 minutes walking distance to Octagon, the city centre, as well as to Intercity Bus Stop. The room was clean, as well as bathroom, beds were comfy. When we booked the hotel informed us the room will be on the roadside which could be a bit noisy from traffic as the hotel is located at the main roads intersection. Surprisingly what we found was all of the room windows have double glazing which significantly stop the road noise penetrate to the room and we got truly decent sleep, fantastic. At the ground floor the hotel has restaurant, pub and gaming room which closed around 10-11pm which was okay. Good and friendly services from the hotel staff and happy stay.
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Laws Court Hotel is in a great location just minutes from the Octagon, and it has a good hotel bar area on the ground floor and a restaurant that serves nice meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a pokie room that is well used, and the bar staff were great, although a bit slow as when it's busy there is only 1 working. The food is typical pub food but is well priced and a diverse menu and I enjoyed snitzel and a roast for two meals. Where the Hotel is let down is its cold rooms where they have concrete walls, and in my single room it had a fan heater that didn't work, and then a controlled radiator that was hit and miss so my room was cold. And the room is run down with paint peeling away. Just looks run down. Also I had appalling service at the front desk. My welcome was non existent when I checked in. Very poor. And on check out I waited 30 minutes to get check. There was only two people in front of me, yet it took 30 minutes before I was able to check out. He mucked around, completed endless bits of paperwork, tapped away on the computer, then disappeared outside ( i think they must do rental cars), then finally when finished there was no acknowledgement or apology. Seriously a terrible lack of customer service, The guy was hopeless. I would have rated the hotel much higher if not for the service.
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was so pleased that we were able to get into this hotel as we had been told some really good things about it. I am sorry that it did not come up to expectations. I was there for one night with a friend. We chose this hotel because it had parking and a restaurant as well as a good sized room. Parking and the bedroom were fine (the beds very comfortable), the Restaurant looked really nice but was closed. The bathroom we had needed a good refurbishment. Shower might have been clean but because it was old and darkish it didn't appear so. The water for showering wasn't overly hot. There was a hole in the wood in front of the shower, and the basin was cracked. Cleaning of the room also needs to be upgraded, rubbish was found under the large bed. The information folder had no real information, one page printed front and back, no information re the Restaurant, close by restaurants, things to do in Dunedin, TV stations etc.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Make sure you use the earplugs that are provided.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It's been a while since our last stay here and the first thing we noticed was the vast improvement to the carpets and staff. While the previous did the job, the freshness of the flooring and the friendliness of the staff were clear enhancements. Our room was very clean; the shower, albeit old, had fantastic pressure and the road noise was minimal. Our continental breakfast ($12.50) was more than a good start to the day, so our overall stay was spot on and very enjoyable, especially as the entire stay cost less than $120. Wonderful value for money.
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jia Liu, Owner at The Law Courts Hotel
Responded 1 Sept 2020
Hi Gray, Thank you so much for the lovely words. We really appreciate your feedback. The renovation is taking step by step slowly because of the current world pandemic. I will definitely pass your feedback to our team. Hopeful, you will find some other new features on your next visit. Kind Regards, Sally
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This pub-diner was a great experience, steeped in history and with a plentiful display of historic photos, including one of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh waving to the crowds from the balcony as part of their coronation tour in 1954. There's a good choice of where to sit and i can imagigine there is a great atmosphere when it is full and buzzing. (I went out for a very early midweek evening meal
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:No need to book and give yourself plenty of time to view all the historic photos and newspaper...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Taken there by my Daughter and Grand-Children but not sure what to expect. Basically it is indoor practice courts for Baseball, Softball and Cricket. We played Cricket. The staff set up the automatic Bowling Machine at a low speed and an easy first bounce making it reasonably easy for the Grand-Children (Aged 6 & 9) to hit the ball.Everybody had fun and lots of laughs.
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Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Advance booking is essential
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed here for two nights we were in room 302, the room and bathroom were small but this was expected given the age of the building. The room was at the back of the hotel so pretty quiet. Nice toiletries were provided plus fresh towels each day. The toilet is in desperate need of replacement as it is cracked and a piece missing. Free parking is a bonus given the price. The bed was comfortable so we’re were pretty happy with our stay and would stay again as it’s great value for money
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Date of stay: April 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What can I say? This hotel reminds me of a country pub in Australia - very shabby and in desperate need of a makeover. My room was very comfortable and large, but the bathroom was old and grotty and the furnishings chipped, marked and peeling. The photos on their website make it look half reasonable... don’t believe it!
This is a lovely Art Deco building with a lot of original features intact and it could be a fabulous hotel if someone invested the money and time to renovate. AND what was someone thinking when they painted the outside black!!!
The bar and dining area are dark and dingy and while the food might be well cooked and plentiful (I didn’t eat there, just read other reviews) it is basically meat and 3 veg. Not much for this vegetarian to choose from.
Location is fantastic though, so many other eateries to choose from.
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Date of stay: March 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Dunedin area.
PRICE RANGE
$113 - $160 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
New ZealandSouth IslandOtago RegionDunedin
NUMBER OF ROOMS
24
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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