D300739****
14. september 2023
Very disappointed with my stay here.
First impressions weren’t great - the room was tired, and it had been quite poorly redecorated. Chipped and cracked floor tiles. Walls badly marked. No hairdryer. The mirrors and glass shower screen stained and scuffed. The bedding was very well worn. The safe didn’t work (no power). The back was missing off the TV remote control. A photo on the hotel website shows a fridge in the room - there wasn’t one. We thought about asking to move, but figured the other rooms would likely be the same. We were only staying two nights, so decided to put up with it.
The poor first impression continued when I decided to visit the “fitness centre”, which is described on the hotel website as “well-equipped”. In reality it’s a solitary multi bench flanked by two treadmills! I hadn’t come to run, and there was a guy sat on the multi bench playing on his phone, but this was enough to effectively prevent me from being able to do anything. So I gave up and went back to my room.
Whilst getting ready to go out, more poor first impressions followed. The water in the shower never got hotter than lukewarm, and the hotel only provides 2 bath towels. No hand towels.
Next morning I was awoken by a banging noise at the window. We hadn’t paid much attention to the curtains being closed when we checked in, as it was getting dark, and there was a note in the room (undated) saying the windows were being cleaned, so I assumed it was something to do with that. Imagine my horror when I opened the curtains to see a filthy dirty window and a bunch of guys working on a new building literally one metre away - they’d accidentally knocked our window with a pipe they were carrying. The building is so close we could shake hands. It cuts out almost all the natural light and there’s no privacy curtain, so we had to keep the curtains closed the whole time.
To escape the sadness of our room, I decided instead to give the gym another go, hoping it’d be unoccupied. I was in luck! I had the multi bench to myself!!! Too bad that some of the attachments were missing, thereby considerably reducing the number of exercises possible.
Other ‘highlights’:
- The air-con was on, but it didn’t work (oh and another missing back on the remote!)
- There was a TV on the wall but no remote to turn it on
- No towels, sanitiser or paper towels
- Water machine but no cups
- No exercise mats, and the flooring is a kind of nylon carpet, so it burns if you rub against it too much.
I went back the next morning to go for a run on one of the treadmills. The one on the left was downright dangerous - it was really jumpy, and kept speeding up/slowing down. Someone could easily have a nasty accident.
Breakfast buffet was okay, although they reused fruit from the previous day. You can tell - it tastes a bit acidic, it’s a bit slimy…..I was also pretty disgusted to notice that someone had tried one of the yoghurt pots before deciding not to eat it. Not really the hotel’s fault but still pretty gross.
The Wi-Fi had an infuriating habit of suddenly stopping. Also, sometimes it connected without a password, sometimes it would suddenly ask for one.
All in all, it was miserable, depressing experience. Yes, we could’ve complained, but we really couldn’t be bothered kicking up a fuss about the room after checking in, nor again next morning when I opened the curtains. Instead, we cancelled our second booking - we’re due back in a few days after a trip to Lake Toba. There isn’t a chance I would stay at this hotel or any other Swiss Belhotel again.
The management need to get a grip and look at how this plays out for their guests. The hotel has four elevations - only one is facing (virtually touching) the construction site, so why on earth are they still using the rooms on this elevation? Seems they just want the money - a lot of the other guests were there for a conference, so maybe they’re unlikely to complain if their room is paid for by someone else.
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