Mercure Grand Hotel Seef - All Suites 4 stars

İ initially found this hotel to be quite warm and welcoming on arrival until it became quite the nightmare in the following days. Firstly İ chose this hotel due to mediocre reviews, location and price. When İ arrived İ found it rather basic but warm and comfortable. The reception staff greeted me warmly and concierge immediately sorted out my baggage without making me wait. The gentleman at reception Qutob, was kind and professional and ensured an upgrade for me, late check-out and efficiently processed my check in which I loved. I'm used to certain perks as a silver Accor member as well as being a dedicated travel agent partner hence the properties in the GCC or Gulf region are ever willing to deliver above and beyond. Regarding the payment for the booking, İ was asked to pay the full room charges upfront which is generally expected upon check-out with only a credit card authorisation taken upon arrival. İ asked if İ could pay half the amount and the rest following as the card I wanted to use had reached it's limit and İ needed sometime for the transfer to make the limit available. The receptionist Qutob gladly obliged and this was appreciated. What ensued the next few days was shocking. I had slept much of the following day and had only approached reception the next evening to ask for room cleaning and for the room temperature to be turned up as it was quite cold. I wasn't reminded to pay the remainder of my room charges and had genuinely forgotten to do so. Mind you the suite was comfortable and spacious but the cleanliness wasn't as per expectation and the Furniture looked like it hadn't been thoroughly cleaned. I however tend to wipe down surfaces myself in whichever hotel I stay in as a personal habit of mine. The following day I hadn't been feeling the best and spent quite some time asleep. I was woken a few times by the phone ringing but took no notice. A concierge member had come to my room at which point i had to get out if bed not fully dressed to ask him to please allow me to rest and that I would attend reception later. I then proceeded to shower and prepare myself to leave my room that evening. Within that period two security guards approached my room, banging loudly on my door. Again I wasn't appropriately dressed so I opened the doort slightly and saw two men standing at my door. One of them looked at me, smirked to a degree and said you should talk with reception. I wasn't greeted or apologised to for disturbing me. They just stood there in an intimadating fashion. I asked them to allow me to continue preparing myself and I would come down within the hour. I was then badgered again by reception to my room phone. I took the phone off the hook as I would be going downstairs shortly. A few minutes later the room lost it's power. Mind you i had just finished my shower and needed to dry and manage my hair, dress etc. İnitially the room phone wasn't working but then it managed to call through. The gentleman who had checked me in Qutob spoke with me and I proceeded to discuss the situation with him. İ asked him why the hotel sees it fit to treat it's guests as criminals when clearly there was nothing untoward done by my end. Furthermore, İ asked why such unorthodox and unprofessional measures such as sending two security guards to my room, constant harassment, and cutting of room power was necessary. He said that İ had promised to cover the room charges and had not done so. İ told him i would be coming down shortly to do so and already have a card authorisation approved on the booking initially. There was clearly no way İ would be running away from paying my bill and as a silver Accor member and travel agent partner İ am familiar with hotel policies and procedures. İt is in my interest to abide as İ am a frequent guest. This was the first time İ had encountered such an odd situation regarding room charged. The gentleman was trying to calm me down as at this point İ was infuriated. He then told me the room power was cut due to the room key not being renewed. This is totally not accurate as any card that fits into that slot can activate room power. Qutob then insisted on me coming down to pay my bill and İ told him İ would once I am fully dressed and able to come downstairs. He didn't seem at all willing to be empathise with me. İ couldn't believe the tone of this person and his willingness to continue arguing with me. His tone asserted that İ was trying to evade my bill which certainly wasn't the case. İ had spent 10-15 minutes in total darkness by the time the technician came. He entered and approached the switch board having turned on a switch and restored power. I'm not sure if the power can be turned off centrally but it seems as though it was the case as İ was told the room power needed my room key to be renewed which made no sense. When İ had spoken with reception on the phone the second time regarding the power, İ communicated to him that İ do not feel comfortable staying at the hotel due to their treatment of me and their intimadating tactics. İ felt alone, uncomfortable and disrepected not to mention undervalued as a loyal guest and partner of the hotel group. İ asked if I could check out of the hotel and not continue my stay. As a service recovery measure the hotel staff could have allowed a late check out to the time İ requested to check out due to the circumstances or allowed a half day charge. İ told the receptionist İ would not be paying for the remainder of my stay that day to which he threatened to call the police. İ was shocked and appalled at the behaviour. He also suggested İ was being rude and treating the staff as servants. All İ had done was reacted to the disproportionate measures taken towards me after having recently woken up and not feeling at my best. This was all too much for me When İ went downstairs I proceeded to pay and then had an exchange with the Duty Manager Qutob. He didn't allow me to escalate above him when I asked to speak to someone else higher or equivalent as clearly there was a communication breakdown. He told me I shouldn't be treating him this way and that he shouldn't have trusted me with paying a portion of the bill. I had become angry and slightly rasied my voice at this point because I was shocked at how they could be treating any guest in this manner. A security guard then came close to reception as if to monitor me which was again insulting and pathetic in itself. The hotel was a bar with dubious clientele that had attempted to lure me to their car when I had come down for a cigarette the previous night. They should be monitoring such inappropriate guests of their nightclub harassing hotel guests and not a woman on her own. Finally a manager by the name of Arjun came to reception. I managed to attract his attention. He listened to my concerns and apologised for my experience. He offered me dinner or a drink on the house and quickly and very calmly managed to de escalate the situation. I am so thankful to his kindness and understanding. He gave me his business card and would forward my concerns to the GM. My advice would be to avoid this hotel for other options especially if you're staying alone as a woman. This is certainly the first and last time at this property.

The staff was extremely welcoming and accommodating. They assisted me in all my queries and provided great customer service.

Mercure Seef has been our family's go-to hotel when we're visiting Bahrain. This time however, my family was denied entry for several hours even though I had booked a non-refundable stay paid well in advance. The Accor website doesn't provide space to enter names of actual guests, so although I booked for my family who all have identification bearing same last name, the hotel receptionist demanded a copy of the credit card, and payment receipt. Long story short, I provided the info he requested and my family was finally let in. Never had this situation in any other hotel world-wide.

Easy to travel to / from my business meetings Not far from airport Clean room and very friendly staff May want to consider room cleaning earlier time as my room was cleaned twice after 4 pm

The staff is helpful