Grand Mercure The Hills Lodge

I am a very regular patron at The Hills Lodge for many years now. In fact, I stay there so frequent, you could say it’s my second home. I live in Port Macquarie however I have a well established business in Sydney with a office located at Bella Vista. I travel down to Sydney at least every second week and in some cases every week. Being such a regular traveller to Sydney it is very important for me to stay somewhere I feel comfortable, looked after and at home. I want to express that the staff at The Hills lodge have made me feel all these things and more as they are always very friendly accommodating and helpful. There is one staff member however I feel stands above the rest, and is one of the main reasons I continue to return and stay at The Hills lodge. That person is the Facilities Manager Chris Davis. I have stayed in basically every luxury hotel in Sydney and I cannot say I have experienced the same level of service that I get from Chris. Chris has always made it his goal to ensure, I as the customer is completely satisfied with such attention to detail. Chris has made it is job to know exactly what I need to make me feel at home for example which room types I like or what type of pillows I like. Chris knows I like the fan in my room, he knows I like bottled water in my room for when I go to the gym. All this is prepared in my room before I arrive without me even asking. I have always felt well looked after and accommodated which gives me such relief when I stay. These little things and attention to detail make my constant travelling away from home much more pleasurable and the reason I continue to stay at The Hills Lodge.

Jacqueline from the restaurant is an asset. All staff were friendly and reliable, only negative is that there was a shortage of staff of an evening and for breakfast. We watched people enter and leave as they weren’t acknowledged by staff who were busy either getting orders or making coffee. There should be 1 person to meet, greet and sit while others are addressing customer needs. The wait for simple things sometimes was lengthy. At times we saw other tables insist on their orders coming out quickly as they were in a hurry and yet we waited over 45m for our order placed before them (& we were also on a time limit). The continental breakfast is not communicated (we had a full breakfast and didn’t realise we could access this table). Overall staff were great, but you really need an extra person morning and night.

25 December 11:50pm I arrived at Hills Lodge after my husband had booked me in online. I requested an upgrade for my room which I mentioned I was willing and able to pay for but was informed I was in the last room available for the night a queen standard. This was a 15+ minutes conversation which matters because I had informed the front desk team I had just been discharged for severely swollen legs and high blood pressure needed to rest immediately. A lovely porter assisted me with my bags and acknowledged my interaction with front desk had been challenging and difficult to understand. When we arrived at the room the bed was not made the sheets were sloppy tucked under the pillows and the sheets werehanging out of the sides and there was a big dip in the middle like someone had been sitting there , I was SHOCKED I told the porter who tried to convince me the bed was made and it had just been made in a rush. I refused to settle in as I could tell it was an unmade bed , I then saw a bin with RUBBISH in it, 2 Pepsi cans, KFC packets and showed him, he checked the bathroom and saw towels on the rack and open soap at the sink. He apologised and told me he’d call reception to organise another room. He tried to convince me this was unusual for the hotel. I was still aghast as the cost did not correlate with this tardiness. The front desk then organised another room for me down the hall “an upgrade” they said. It was a suite with a separate lounge - however to my surprise I had been told there was no more rooms available when I checked in 30mins before and there’s no way they would have prepared a room in 20mins. The room was presentable but the curtain had a big red stain on it (forgot to take a picture) and the carpet dusty and old. I told my husband of my experience but because it was 1am on Boxing Day and the state of my body I had nowhere else to go. I stayed there till the morning and left early for personal reasons and thankful I did not have to stay another moment there. A few days later I called the hotel and told them my ordeal - the manager was polite but I was disappointed in how he kept trying to excuse the front desk’s behaviour. He told me how another guest had given the front desk guy a glowing review. I was not rude when I called him but just factual and encouraged him to make improvements for his team and in how they receive guests. His comments made me wonder why would the front desk treat me like that. I was unwell, with a baby in hospital and a husband away. Did I not deserve compassion and good customer service. It made me wonder was it the colour of my skin? I’ll never know but one thing I know is to encourage you to speak out if something looks wrong! You’re paying for this service and if you’re going to stay at Hills Lodge - good luck. I would not personally use my hard earned dollars to stay there. Very disappointed customer. Hills Lodge - excellence matters not sure how you got 4 stars but please DO BETTER!

Loved everything about our stay here. Our room was comfortable and quiet and the amenities good. It is great having access to room service and a bar menu as well as a restaurant. Very handy location for visiting our family in Baulkham Hills. And close to the Home Centre for shopping.

Der Ort Castle Hill ist etwas außerhalb von Sydneys (ca. 45min zum Flughafen und ca. 30 min zur Innenstadt. Dort kann man sich entspannen und erholen. In der Nähe zum Hotel gibt es gute Restaurants und typische Pub's und Shopping Malls. Das Zimmer ist sehr groß, sauber und mit Doppelbett, Couchecke und Flatscreen geschmackvoll eingerichtet. Das Bad war gross und gepflegt eingerichtet. Das Hotel verfügt auch über einen grossen Pool, der sehr sauber ist. Ein gratis Hotelparkplatz ist ebenfalls vorhanden. Das Hotel ist eine gute Wahl und geeignet für einen Aufenthalt wenn man für einige Tage etwas enspannt und ausserhalb von Sydney verbringen will. Ideal auch für Ausflüge in die Blue Mountains.