J
Google
Disrupted sleep, poor amenity management, weak Wi-Fi, and cleanliness concerns
Stayed at the Holiday Inn for a two-week work trip and unfortunately, the stay was riddled with issues that shouldn’t exist at this price point.
The most disruptive problem was a sizzling or crackling sound in the room — like water hitting a hot pan. It occurred randomly throughout the night and was loud enough to repeatedly wake me, especially in an otherwise silent room. The irregularity made it impossible to ignore like ambient white noise, and it severely impacted sleep quality.
Service was inconsistent. Two staff members at reception was noticeably unfriendly and disinterested, while others were more courteous. Overall, hospitality felt lacking.
Basic in-room amenities were missing. Items such as toothbrushes, shower caps, cotton buds, and bedroom slippers were not provided by default. Guests have to request these individually, and they are not automatically replenished, even during longer stays. Similarly, complimentary bottled water was capped at two bottles total, even across multiple nights. Guests are expected to purchase additional water, and the downstairs water dispenser had a noticeably odd taste.
Shower water pressure was weak, making it difficult to enjoy a proper shower.
The laundry facilities were in poor condition. The washing machine had visible stains and a foreign object lodged inside the glass door, while the dryer had a thick, uncleaned layer of lint, suggesting a lack of regular maintenance. Usage is AUD 5 per cycle, which feels excessive given the state of the machines.
Lift security is inadequate. Room keycards allow access to all floors, and there’s no restriction to prevent unauthorized access. On one occasion, an unrelated person entered the lift with us and selected a floor immediately after we scanned our card.
Entertainment is also a letdown. The Chromecast functionality is sluggish and borderline unusable. Streaming media from personal devices was nearly impossible due to what appears to be network latency or under-provisioned bandwidth. Additionally, the system displays every room’s device name in the hotel, forcing guests to manually scroll through dozens of room numbers just to find and cast to their own TV. This lack of device segmentation on the network poses both a usability issue and a mild privacy concern. A more secure and user-friendly isolated VLAN or room-specific pairing system would significantly improve the experience.
The only highlight was breakfast, which was consistently tasty. However, the menu never changes, so guests staying more than a few days/weeks will find it repetitive very quickly.
All in all, while the hotel may be acceptable for a short stay, the noise disturbances, service inconsistency, lack of basic amenities, poor tech setup, and cleanliness issues made it a frustrating experience. Improvements are sorely needed.