ibis Styles Canberra bintang 4

This was my second stay. My first experience was way better than the second. On my first stay my room was in the 500’s part of the building which was actually decent. But my second visit room was room 716. A TOTAL DUMP !!!. I had to make a last-minute reservation due to my travel plans and was able to get a deal online. My booking was for a Superior Room. There was nothing in the description that said that any special deal bookings get a run-down crappy room that is falling apart. The carpets were not cleaned, the room looked very gloomy and the walls had scuff marks with chipped walls. Definitely looked like a room out of a horror movie. The room had a very bad odor and gave us a bad headache. When we brought it up with the reception, it was just a “Sorry about that”. It’s the booking rate, as the 500’s rooms are more expensive. Well, they did not mention initially when the booking was made. I have traveled around the world and stayed at several hotels, but this by far tops it all as the worst dump ever. Don’t be fooled by the pretty pictures that are on their website.

The carpets in the hallway are dirty. The rooms are dated. the amenities are very very basic. Reception - meant to be open until 10pm, was locked and no reply on the phone by 9:30pm. If you are travelling and land after 7pm in Caberra - forget getting a meal, or anything to drink at all....if you want breakfast - make sure your meeting is not at 8am, you won't have time for for breakfast. Pain over $200 per night.

The IBIS ticks the box for the business traveller who only needs a bed and a good hot shower. My room had a queen sized bed but only one chair. Good job I was travelling alone. The bathroom was tiny with virtually no bench space. Again, good job it was just me. I had a ground floor room and it was noisy. Water from showers through pipes above and slamming doors travelled. A quick check of the filter in the room’s a/c unit showed it was filthy and clogged with dust. It’s not hard to clean these things and makes them much more efficient and healthy. The room had an odd smell and after the first day I asked housekeeping for some air freshener. They were very helpful and gave me a can of that old “Original” scent Glen20. Yep that was the smell!!? The restaurant was extraordinarily disappointing with very few options including a chicken schnitzel, a fairly simple burger and butter chicken (which was ok). No steak option. The chairs in the dining room needed a serious clean too. Certainly not a premium product but location is good within 10 minutes of the airport.

I thought this would be a nice upgrade from the backpacker hostels I usually frequent when I travel solo but I was sorely mistaken. The website photos create quite a false facade; the accommodation buildings are sh*tholes. I felt like I was walking into a dodgy block of council flats and as soon as I opened the door I was overwhelmed with the smell of stale cigarettes. Ironic, given the abundance of signs proclaiming the "hotel" is smoke-free. The doors to all the unoccupied rooms are left open until a guest arrives and as I arrived in the evening, anyone at all had been free to waltz in and out of my room as they pleased all day. Very substandard furnishings: cheap kitset cupboards put poorly together, curtains hanging glaringly off the railings, art hanging quite clearly off-centre, broken bedside lamp. Some power outlets were installed upside down, probably because they were installed at carpet level along the bottom of the wall - which I think may actually be illegal? The walls might as well be made of crepe paper for all the noise they block out. I could hear whole conversations of my neighbours, TVs from adjacent rooms, alarm clocks, shower jets. The carpark is also very noisy and seems to attract the kind of people who don't have a problem shouting at each other in the wee hours while wearing pyjamas. I wasn't given a 'do not disturb' sign for my door, nor provided with any information about checkout. Reception staff were wholly unenthused and uninspired; even with three of them behind the desk check-in seemed to be quite a daunting prospect for them to manage. There were some redeeming features: the wifi was good, the location is very handy to bus stops (I used the bus exclusively during my stay), and the water temperature was quick to respond to tap adjustments. The shower pressure was unexpectedly intense (closer to water blaster than shower), but probably better to have shower jets too strong than too lackluster. I didn't use the TV, AC, or phone, but I see other reviews have shown problems with all three. I would avoid booking here in the future. I'm relieved I came here as a solo traveller - I'd have been very embarrassed to bring my family. Spend a bit more and book somewhere decent, or save some money and stay in a hostel. This place is a pig carcass wearing a branded coat.

Worst hotel experience I have ever had. Check in took more than 20minutes, 5 people behind the reception checking in 2 people. Once in our room - TV wouldn’t work, no body wash in the shower, carpets were filthy. We used the 2 teabags that were supplied and requested some more the next day, we are still waiting…. The room was noisy, as it was positioned directly above the main bar/lobby. Not fun with 3 kids. The car parking is very dodgy, with signage everywhere saying that the hotel takes zero responsibility for any damage to cars, doesn’t give you much faith. Especially when the carpark was so full that you have to park in what felt like a back paddock. On the second night I was left locked outside in the rain with my 5yo son because the after hours entrance wouldn’t accept my room key. The “after hours “ phone number on the front door is for reception not available after 10pm. There were other guests that could not get to the area of the hotel where they were staying. A third party security company had to come and let people in. This took over 1 hour. When we told the manager in the morning he offered us a free breakfast, however breakfast had already finished being served. By this point we just wanted to get the hell out of there!