AMBER HOUSE - at the centre!™
Bed and Breakfast Guest House (B&B) in Nelson city centre, New Zealand
Balcony Suite
Our Balcony Suite occupies the entire North-East wing of the top floor of Amber House and is some 486 square feet in total area.
Double glazed French doors open on to twin carpeted and sheltered balconies overlooking our front Irish rose garden. There are 272 degree views out over Tasman Bay to the (snow topped in winter and spring) Arthur Ranges to the North-west on one side and the Sugar Loaf and Botanical Hill (geographical Centre of New Zealand) 900 metres to the South-East from the other balcony.
Both balconies have clear, see-through zippered awnings that can be lowered and raised on hand-cranked rollers if it becomes windy. The cooked breakfast of your choice can be served either here, on one of your private balconies, or in the downstairs dining room with other guests. We provide a complimentary selection of local wines and fruits, together with a cheese board.
You can either use our guest PC installed in the large work desk of the Balcony Suite or your own portable computer on our 802.11g and 802.11b
wireless internet connection ("WiFi"). The Balcony Suite tariff also includes bicycle hire.
The Balcony Suite's bedroom has a Daikin, reverse cycle, inverter air-conditioner built into its East wall for cooling in Summer and heating in Winter. To ensure a peaceful and comfortable rest, all windows throughout the Balcony Suite have noise insulating, double glazing by Koemmerling of Germany utilising low emissivity glass. Argon, an inert gas, fills the glazing gap.
Normally the Balcony Suite has one "Black Maxipaedic firm premium double wool pillowtop posturised sleep system" queen-sized bed. (The Balcony Suite is popular with Honeymooners but is certainly large enough to introduce a second single bed upon at least 24 hours notice.)
Opposite the bed is a comfortable sofa and large desk. The large, LCD flat screen TV with Nicam stereo receives programs from Al Jazeera (in English), BBC World, Central China TV9 (in English), Deutsche Welle (in German and English), Māori TV (in English and Māori), Russia Today (in English) via geo-stationary satellite transmissions together with 23 other local and terrestrial digital television channels with three of them currently displayed in High Definition.This TV will also show your movies, play your music MP3 files and display your photos (up to a maximum size of 15,360 x 8,640 pixels) when you connect your USB pen drive at the right hand side and then select "MEDIA.P" on this TV's remote controller.
There is a cordless, direct dial DECT phone next to your bed and a small safe with a digital lock in the closet. We will wash and iron your clothes upon request.
Your private bathroom usually has a fine and restful view of sheep grazing on the ridge in front of the Centre of New Zealand while having a soak. The full length window over the bath is double glazed and the floor is the original, highly polished Matai planking from the century before last.
In your private bathroom is a Philips DC200 FM Radio that can also play music from an iPod when docked. This has a USB port for direct MP3 and WMA playback from a USB mass storage device (such as a USB key). The USB port is conveniently located on top of the unit, beside the iPod dock which supports most iPods with a dock connector - includingiPod Touch, iPod classic, iPod nano 3rd Generation, iPod 5th Generation, iPod with colour display, iPod nano, iPod mini. This Clock Radio is also preloaded with a number of relaxation music pieces: rain showers, ocean waves, spa music and more - so you can enjoy your soak in relaxed comfort.
Entry to the Balcony Suite's bedroom is via a small double-glazed hallway that opens to the additional en suite shower compartment. This en suite is long and narrow and has an additional shower, WC and wash hand basin with Australian, British, European (240 volts) and USA (110 volts) type shaver sockets above.
Help yourself to coffee, tea, Ovaltine, hot chocolate, Milo, fruit juice, spring water, biscuits, etc., in the downstairs Dining Room at any time.
Room service is available at no extra charge to guests staying in the Balcony Suite. If you've paid the Balcony Suite tariff and wish to have your breakfast served al fresco on the East balcony so that you can see the sun rise over the Centre of New Zealand - just say the word. Alternatively you can eat breakfast in the dining room with our other guests.
Balcony Suite guests can also order (for a moderate charge) other meals and snacks cooked 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
Kiwis value their
"clean and green" image so we ask that you turn off your lights, TV, stereo and airconditioning unit when you go out.
Please do NOT switch off our laptop or then we'll have to go and get George to enter several different Broadband passwords...
Ask us for beach towels if that's where you're going.
If you have any laudry to be done, please ask us for plastic bags and tell us if any items require special attention.
We keep the fruit bowl and biscuit jar well stocked in the guests' dining room so just help yourself. In summer you can also pick your own strawberries and cherry tomatoes in the back garden.
"...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..."
We would rather be modest and let our Guest Book speak for that aspect.
We would like to close by mentioning our beds and our breakfasts.
Our beds are comfortable and the orthopaedic mattresses and double glazing will ensure you get a good night's sleep - so you should ensure that you set the alarm clock radio if you have an early start (the instructions are in the top drawer of your desk).
Please also do not forget to tell us the previous afternoon or early evening what you would like cooked the next morning and where and when you wish it served since, within reason, we'll serve you whatever you fancy for breakfast.
All guests can also avail of Swedish Massage and Deep Tissue Therapy for a small additional charge.