Frequently Asked Questions

1. To check in you must go to Ronald McDonald House Auckland Domain and our family liaison staff will advise you where you will be accommodated. We now have two facilities and are unable to guarantee which facility you will be staying at, as this very much depends on our occupancy levels at the time of your arrival
2. Our administration is open from 8:30am until 9pm daily. Please ensure you arrive within these times
3. Please also check your pre-arrival letter for additional instructions for everything we go through here (as things may change)
4. If you arrive early, or indeed at any time in the morning, your room may not be immediately available. Ward rounds (when children are discharged), don’t happen until mid morning and we also do a thorough clean of rooms between families. Don’t worry if your room is not ready - we can still check you in and orientate you. We’ll store your luggage until your room has been cleared and thoroughly cleaned. In the meantime you can use the House facilities or go up to the hospital. Usually by the time you get back to the House your room will be available
5. If you’re arriving the night before you are due at the hospital and we have your booking, please arrive no later than 9pm as we have limited staff cover in the evenings
6. To ensure your stay at Ronald McDonald House Auckland is a comfortable one, we ask you to allow 20 minutes when you arrive for check-in and orientation. One of our Family Liaison staff will meet with you and take you through the House rules and give you a contract to sign. This acknowledges you have read and accepted our House rules
7. If you’re staying at the Ronald McDonald Family Room® the staff there will also spend time with each family member explaining how the accommodation works and showing you to your room (this will take a much shorter time, so allow 5 minutes maximum)
8. We ask everybody who is booked into the House, Family Room or one of the nearby motels to sign an agreement. This is so everyone staying with us understands the level of behaviour we expect, and so that everyone can have a comfortable stay. The rules aren’t onerous but cover things like child supervision in the House or nearby motel, use of the fitness centre, visitor rules and our drug and alcohol policies. (Click here to download a PDF of House Rules)
9. You will also be told about regular House events like our free weekly family dinners that are cooked by volunteers, our regular van service for family shopping trips (thanks to the kindness of our trust partner kids @ Heart and our free of charge visits to Auckland Zoo and Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World
10. Lastly, you will be taken on a tour of the House so you can find your way around and you will be shown both the car park and the location of your room. You will be issued electronic access keys to the House and be allocated a space in the kitchen for your personal food stores and shown the family laundry. Unfortunately the Family Room doesn’t have dedicated parking but your ward staff can assist you with this for short term periods.

• There are beautiful shared kitchens and dining rooms for families to use. In them you’ll find all the equipment you’ll need to prepare your own meals
• We have an onsite laundry for families which is open from 8am-10pm
• We have a Fitness Centre at the Auckland Domain House which family members can use provided they have agreed to and signed the ‘Rules of Use’. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted to use the Fitness Centre
• Internet Access is available from 7am-11pm daily. There are two computers with free internet (broadband) access for families to use but these do get busy so please bring your own computer if you need it to stay in touch regularly with your work, family or friends.

How can we keep in touch with friends and family?
Every room in the House has a phone. Your friends and family can call you directly on this by dialing +64 9 365 8300 then your extension number. Your phone extension is the same as your room number. You can make local calls from your room by dialing 1 for an outside line. Your phone also has a data-port socket for you to connect your laptop to an existing internet account via your laptop if you need to.

All Family Room bedrooms also have a phone. You will be given an extension number when you check in. Please ensure that your admitting ward has this number so they can stay in touch with you around the clock if need be.

If you have a mobile phone please bring it with you, as you cannot make toll calls from Ronald McDonald House® Auckland or the Ronald McDonald Family Room® phones.

Some families elect to make collect calls home. Alternatively, calling cards can be used to make calls home from the House or Family Room — these are a cost effective option.

Please ask your family and friends to send mail for your attention to:
c/- Ronald McDonald House Auckland
PO Box 110119
Auckland Hospital
Auckland, 1148

About the support services available to you
Are you in touch with the relevant support services for your child’s needs? Ronald McDonald House® Auckland doesn’t offer counselling or financial support for families other than a willingness to listen and emergency supplies of food items, nappies and the like.

Our mission is to offer a comfortable space while you are in Auckland away from your home, during the period your child is receiving treatment at Starship.

If your diagnosis is known and you haven’t already been in contact with the relevant support group for your child’s condition, let us know and we will introduce you and/or give you the contact details you need.

Each ward within Starship has a Social Worker. They can help you with other types of support you may need, such as with WINZ or issues related to financial hardship. If you need an interpreter these are also available in the hospital.

If you wish to see a Chaplain while you are here ask our Family Liaison staff to contact your choice of faith. See Starship’s website for a comprehensive list of links to support groups.

What do I need to bring?
Be sure to pack enough clothes and personal items for an extended stay if you are unsure how long you are going to be here. In the House we have a laundry for your use, but not in the Family Room which is for short stay accommodation only.

You do not need to bring any linen or towels as we provide these for you. Toys that are special to your child are fine, but don’t worry about bringing too many as we have communal play areas.

You will need to provide food for your family’s needs while here so it is a good idea to bring a bag of staple food items. Once you are here there are supermarkets nearby you can visit for a shopping trip if required. New World will kindly pick you up during the weekend. Each week two family dinners are provided and bread, milk, tea, coffee and cereal are available to all families.

Please bring a computer if you need it to stay in touch with your work, family or friends. We can show you where you can connect to the internet in both the House and the Family Room. We have two computers onsite with free internet (broadband) access for families to use but these do get busy.