Rating MIQ Videos, Part 1

I’ve gone down a YouTube rabbit hole and decided it would be fun to rank all of the New Zealand MIQ videos I found. There are a ton to review, so this will be Part 1 in a series. It’s wild to see all of the different versions of this genre. Most are singles or couples traveling together. The one I’m really looking for? “The Insanity of Living in a Hotel Room for Two Weeks with Children.” I want to see that before and after picture of the state of the hotel room! (Side note, if you’re interested in an American family that survived MIQ with a two and a half year old in tow, check out this post.)

But I digress. Here is round one of YouTube MIQ videos:

Karl Rock - This is a deplaning and first day video by a Kiwi who has been in India. Karl stayed at the Sebel Manukau, a three star hotel that looked much better than that. In fact, it looks fabulous with a lounge area and kitchenette in his room - complete with dishwasher! This was a fascinating video just to hear his personal story with covid, plus the video quality is excellent. 9/10

World Nate - This is a video about the Christchurch Crown Plaza. It’s basically a room tour - and a nice 4 1/2 star room. But there wasn’t much in the way of extra space in the room. In this hotel, they were given cleaning supplies and the food quality looks great. The video quality is better, but still a bit shaky. The real standout for this video is the humour and comedy they include. There are a few tips on things to bring (HDMI cord, exercise equipment, extra cutlery.) 6/10

Reddot Diaries - This is an arrival video that shows the process from the airplane to the hotel. The background music was a bit repetitive and became a bit difficult to listen to after a few minutes. The Rydges hotel room was a standard hotel room with no extra lounge or kitchenette spaces. It’s a very basic video that walks you through the process step by step, but generally it isn’t a standout. 5/10

Alex the Vagabond - This is interesting as Alex in a New Zealand citizen, but American. The video quality is top notch and he does a good job explaining the basics of MIQ. Alex stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Auckland. He also answers a lot of followers’ questions that make it seem more personal than your typical MIQ video but didn’t show too much of the room itself. 8/10

Katie Anzelmi - This is a talking head video full of how the process works - not so much a tour or personal experience video. It’s a bit dry and almost scary and intimidating at times, but there is A LOT of good info to be found here, though some of it is already out of date as the process is constantly being reviewed. 7/10

Are there any YouTube videos you’ve found relatable or extremely helpful? Let me know!