Auckland hotel sign confuses American tourist

The Auckland hotel sign left many Kiwis confused. Photo / Facebook

An American tourist left New Zealanders baffled after asking what an unusual sign in an Auckland hotel meant, only for Kiwis to say they had no clue.

It’s common for American tourists to experience culture shock and confusion at things New Zealanders see as very normal. What isn’t normal is for visitors to ask about things Kiwis see as equally bizarre.

An American woman, named Olivia, experienced this when she posted a photo to New Zealand Travel Tips (NZTT), a private Facebook group of a hotel door with a sign that read “Toaster Station” on it.

“I looked this up online and in this group but can’t find an answer,” Olivia wrote, adding that she came across the door on the seventh floor of the President Hotel in Auckland, where she was staying.

The door was allegedly seen on the seventh floor of the President Hotel in downtown Auckland. Photo / Facebook, Google Maps

Olivia said she thought the sign was literal and led to a place you could toast bread but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“I thought maybe it was like a little coffee nook where you could toast a bagel to go along with it but when I opened the door there wasn’t anything like that,” she wrote. Instead, she could only see other doors that looked like they were used by maintenance staff.

“What is a Toaster Station?” she asked the group’s 83,314 members.

Olivia added that she had asked two other Kiwis and a family who had lived in New Zealand for five years but none of them knew what it was.

People who commented also seemed to have no idea what a ‘Toaster Station’ was and many asked her to ask the hotel and report back.

“I have NO idea, and I live in New Zealand,” one person wrote. “You’re going to have to ask reception and report back,” another added, while someone suggested they phone the hotel and then let the group know.

Some offered humorous takes on what the room could be used for.

“Maybe it’s a room where you can smoke weed and get toasted in lol,” someone joked.

“I think it’s maybe just meant to be a joke.”

Several pointed out that the door also had a ‘Fire Exit’ sign on it, drawing associations between someone getting ‘toasted’ while trying to escape a fire.

According to a spokesperson for CPG Hotels, which manages President Hotel, the traveller’s initial guess was allegedly correct.

The room is meant to feature a kitchenette with toasters, refrigerators and other amenities for extended-stay guests.

Olivia claimed she couldn’t see any kitchen appliances, however, since the kitchenette area is only accessible to select long-term guests via a key card, it may have been behind one of the doors she saw.