The Sebel Residences, Melbourne Docklands

I'm currently writing this at 2am in the Sebel Residences after being woken up by the 15th or so car that is leaving the car park that is directly underneath and also across the road at the hotel. The cars leave with a cacophony of noise that squeals and reverberates through the building. The soundproofing is abysmal, and all comings and goings are heard. There is only 4 levels so no way to get away from the noise, and it's very, very noisy. I understand the city has noises and I actually have earplugs, but this is something else. Firstly the pros, the apartment is big. The bathrooms are pretty nice. Individual aircon units are a bonus. Oh and the receptionist seemed very nice too. This is kind of where the good ends. The apartment is old, not very clean, (dishwasher smells,) the decor and fittings are extremely dated, there is no hub for charging devices, the plugs are hard to find which is weird in a modern accommodation. There isn't any way to stream or watching smart tv. Not that it would work anyway, the wifi is very spotty throughout. Browsing works but I video chatted earlier and it dropped out twice, and it's lost connection a couple of times during this review. It was also hot today in Melbourne which meant that the sink had a family of small flies in we had to get big spray for, and there are flies in the corridor also near the chute, which was just great. Also, it's not super clear on the website that the residences are vastly different to the hotel side. They are largely portrayed as similar and the site is rather confusing on the matter. But they are vastly different. As the site says they are not serviced daily but weekly. Great, that's fine. But they don't give you a weeks worth of amenities. They give you two days worth of soap, washing stuff, plastic bags for rubbish, etc. You need to call to ask for more, subject to additional costs. They don't say what incurs additional costs. There are no extra towels, no slippers, no safe in an area that doesn't feel super secure. They say on the site that the layout and images may differ from the site. I guess that should have been a red flag for me I didn't pick up on, maybe because the site has only two photos of the apartment --- one of the he dock side which costs extra-- and it's much better and nicer and gives the impression of a clean modern room. There are no photos of the regular side, which has views of two carparks. This is my bad, I should have looked at more user photos but the documentation on the site feels intentionally misleading to me. Basically they act like they are AirBNB and clean once a week, but you don't save any money or get any perks for them not servicing. They were incredibly expensive, on par with hotels in much better locations. Moreover, again the site is terrible. I looked up whether there was room service menu and the info was confusing, their site says nothing but here and on Expedia it says they do. Guess what? They don't. I'm beyond shocked this has a 4 star rating and similar reviews on here are so positive. I should have considered the critical reviews more carefully as I argee with all of them. I've travelled all over the world and never felt the need to complain to this level -- I reactivated my old account to warn people away from this place. This may be one of the most disappointing hotel apartments I've been in. I really doubt I'll book Accor again. Avoid the Sebel, save money and get a private bnb instead. This place basically feels like they tried to fob undesirable apartments they couldn't sell onto unsuspecting tourists, and the lack of care shows. Disappointing to say the least.

The place was neat and clean. The front desk staff not very co-operative to any requests. Had to ask for everything. As a diamond member basic requirements should have been provided beforehand. No restaurants inside.

My wife and I were ready for a much earned couple of days of R & R. We received all our emails and communications about check-in so we though we would arrive early (1pm), leave the car in the car park and grab some lunch before checking-in. We got to the reception desk and were told our room would not be ready until 3pm. I questioned this as the Accor app said 2pm. The gentleman said that they have trouble in updating the check-in times on the app. I accepted that and said we were going to get some lunch and be back at 3pm. Whilst at lunch, I checked all my emails and other communication, and they all stated 2pm, so it wasn't just the app!!. We arrived back at 3pm to check-in and get our keys, to be told there would be a short wait. We sat in the reception area for 30 minutes and then were called up to the desk. We were told the room is ready but the keys were on there way and would be another 6-8 minutes. After waiting 15minutes, a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes after the advised check-in time, we finally got our room. As an Accor member, not happy.

Service was nonexistent; requested assistance both personally and by room phone and got no response; only when I made a scene in reception did I get any service and then only the barest to get me out of reception; the broken dining table was never fixed although reported four times

We booked a 2 bedroom 2 bath water view for our family (4 adults) to come interstate (one lives in Melbourne) to spend Christmas together. The disappointment in the room was huge, we paid 4 star price for 3 star maximum room. Mould on pillow case, dining chairs flaked off, kitchen oven smelt oily, cigarette butts on balcony, glasses for three, cups chipped, a rollaway squashed in lounge, 2nd bed apparently could not be spilt. We asked to be moved but were told not possible. I have always considered Sebel in high regard which is why we paid the extra and booked with confidence, I will reconsider this in future.