Royal Palm Villas

Recently staid at the Royal Palm Villas for 2 weeks for work. How can you run an accommodation venue when there is almost noone around. I doubt that I would even have had my sheets changed if I hadn't asked. We didn't get any cleaning at all during the 2 weeks. I even had to ask for extra toilet paper. 1 1/2 rolls for 2 weeks was not enough. When I questioned this ( by phone as there was never anyone in the office when I had the opportunity to get to it) I was told that these were not serviced apartments and anything provided initially was as a starter pack. I guess most of their guests don't stay more than a few days. The unit was okay, although the maintenance could have been better and the internet dropped out for 6 or 7 of the days we were there. My feels they should drop of the word ROYAL as there was nothing Royal about this accommodation.

Don't stay here unless you are happy to feel that you are a major inconvenience as a guest. Their website says : "On-site management is here 24/7 for your convenience. Reception operates from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm Saturday and 9am to noon Sunday, but we are pleased to provide before and after-hours check-in and meet and greet, as needed". This is a joke. We got caught in traffic and realised we could not get there by 5. At 4.30pm we called and the manager grudgingly said he would make a plan, when we got there at 5.30 the keys were in our room door but we had to ring to get a code to get in. No drop box which they need because reception is basically untended for most of the day. My husband is easy going but was not impressed with the manager's attitude from the get go. Lots of similar stories from other guests and he is incredibly defensive about any criticism on reviews, ie don't worry about rust on the pan it's still okay. We had to phone again after check in to get an internet code, again begrudgingly given, the internet was also incredibly slow. The front rooms with a balcony might be okay but the back rooms are pretty basic. The bathroom walls and incredibly noisy fan definitely needed a clean as did some of the dishes, the self catering stuff is basic. Our bedspread was stained and we couldn't get one of the lights to work, maybe the bulb had gone. We didn't bother to ask because of the delay in trying to get a washrag to do the dishes which took hours. Overall the room seemed dated though the manager's response to reviews is that they are being upgraded. Marks on the wall seemed to indicate a change in furniture in our room. There were other small issues too like a completely outdated safety plan on the wall. It seems like the properties are privately owned but are managed by two people. Both are charmless. The only way to reach them is by phone and apparently they manage other properties too. We paid about $200 a night and for what we got it was well overpriced. Other guests were paying about $150 or less and even at that price it was expensive. We booked through Wotif and tried to post a review there but interestingly they would not post it which to me gives a warning about their reviews. Nobody we met at the place was even remotely happy with their stays either. There are way better options available.

Rude, incompetent staff, uncomfortable beds and no sound proofing on rooms. Just a few of the reasons you should not stay here. I’m fortunate to travel regularly, and having the basics right is more than enough for me but Royal Palm Villas Cairns missed them all, and is likely to be the worst accommodation I have stayed in. All information I was provided with says check-in from 14.00. We arrived at 14.05 to find no staff. A sign at reception says we’re likely out back or upstairs and to call the number. I call and they’re not even on the property. We need to wait 10 minutes for them to get here. Not want you want after travelling. Once the lady arrives, she looks up my booking. She finds it easily but is determined I haven’t paid, despite all of my receipts and emails from ********** stating I have. After some time she calls another manager and fortunately all is sorted, but being treated like a liar is poor customer service. She then asks for a credit card to put against the booking for any incidentals, standard practice and I hand it over. However rather than any secure procedure to do so, she takes a picture of my card on her phone. Needless to say that card has now been cancelled with the bank. The check-in process is complete and she shows me to my room. A quick inspection reveals 1 double bed to sleep 2 adults. The booking is for and always has been for 3 adults. She informs me they don’t usually accept bookings for more than 2. She has a think and says she can provide a rollaway bed. There isn’t one on sight but she’ll bring one later, along with sheets and a third towel. Fine. After arriving back at the apartment after exploring Cairns, the bed is there, but no third towel. I again call and will be told one will be provided when they visit the site in a few hours. I’m hot and sweaty and this is not a great experience given that I’d like to cool off in the shower. I set up the bed to discover an almost paper thin mattress. The most uncomfortable bed imaginable, you can feel every bit of metal in the frame below. I took to sleeping on the sofa, which although significantly more comfortable was not designed for a 6’3” man. We discover more and more issues with the room. The blinds are old and broken with some slats missing, meaning the morning light was not blocked out from the room. The bathroom door does not close, and if we attempt to move it the door jams and gets stuck and doesn’t slide along. There’s absolutely no soundproofing in the rooms, you can hear every noise from neighbouring apartments, think kids screaming, doors slamming and chairs moving, along with the noise of pipes every time another apartment uses water. There goes the little sleep I was hoping to get on the sofa. The room is also in need of a deep clean, the level of dust and filth built up on the air conditioning unit is repulsive. Any one of these things could be looked over, but when confronted with this many issues and rude staff, this makes the Royal Palm Vil