Booked for three nights as a diamond elite member.
I’ll split this review into two, the first part being the review of my guest experience and the second, the hotel and IHG’s response to the shooting that occurred at the hotel during my stay.
The hotel is shabby, dated and tired. The hotel is poorly maintained and operated and managed exceptionally badly. Just one example of how dated it is (of the many): Ancient TV/in-room entertainment that isn’t even programmed or setup - instead there is a PRINTED channel list you need to consult. Literally printed, on bits of card. It was like something from the late 90s i.e. 30 years ago
The rooms have a strange smell. There is some combination of a drainage / damp smell with a subtle undertone of stale cigarette smoke. Since checking out, I see that a number of other reviewers previously called this out. The reason for it is really simple, the ducted air system combined with the decades old AC units are not fit for purpose. This fact seems to have bypassed hotel management.
There is inadequate soundproofing between the rooms. For example if you are in the bedroom of 414 (a one bedroom suite) be prepared to hear EVERY sound in 412. Yes, everything.
The (outsourced) valet will spend more of her time blocking the front door gossiping with her two girlfriends who have decided to visit on shift than doing any valeting or having any awareness of the hotel’s customers. No acknowledgement, no apology, no attempt to move to let you enter and exit unhindered. Just rooted to the spot gossiping with her two pals while you try and manoeuvre round them.
As well as the valet, the bar and restaurant, Blake’s Kitchen + Bar, is also outsourced. I visited on my first morning for breakfast. What a mistake that was. On entering there was no more than 6 covers (including my party of 2) in the whole place and there was a waiter, a waitress and a barman on shift, joined later during service by a second waitress. Interacting with this team was like existing in the twilight zone. Simple things like ordering two coffees from the waitress and her reappearing 2 minutes later to take drink orders that she’d already taken and having absolutely no memory of. None. In a space of 2 minutes. Anyway, we had one west end breakfast, one avocado toast, one black coffee and one latte. On ordering I gave the waitress the hotel’s voucher for complimentary breakfast for two by virtue of being a diamond member.
The whole service was slow and disjointed. Cue the barman, the guy who saunters round the place like he’s “the Dude” but actually did his training watching old reruns of “Cheers”. You know the one, they want to come across all confident in their bar, swanning around with some false air of superiority but you soon discover there’s absolutely no substance underneath whatsoever. I asked for the check when we had finished. I’m presented with a check for a glass of wine and a round of toast (who knows, maybe that’s standard breakfast for their patrons). I ask for the correct check. I am presented with a check that says “non-diamond voucher” $18 and an avocado toast. I ask “the Dude” for the correct check, again. Over comes “the Dude”, with a third check which still isn’t correct - “the Dude” has not a clue what he or the rest of the staff are doing - spends all of his time blaming the waitress or the system. Now we’re on check number 4, I’m charged $9 x2 plus tax for two breakfasts which the hotel has provided on a complimentary basis. We’ve been here over an hour already (25 minutes simply trying to pay) and I can’t bring myself to explain the simple math to him again, I pay the $20.52 that he has decided is owed to him and leave. Maybe he decided he needed to supplement the tip he knew he wouldn’t be getting. Who knows?
I can tell you that the location isn’t unsafe, it is positively dangerous with threat to life shootings occurring at the property, casually brushed off by management as if it was a daily inconvenience. Which leads us on to the actual shooting.
A few hours after checking in there was a shooting at the hotel, leaving the front doors shattered and bullets embedded all over the front of the property. Vehicles parked outside were also sprayed with bullets. Local news started to cover the story at around 06:30 the next morning. At approximately 08:15, I approached the front desk and asked to speak to the property manager or duty manager as I wanted to understand what had occurred and what information or advice about safety and security measures were being provided by the hotel to its customers. I was told by the receptionist, Sara, that no manager was on site (despite the hotel having been riddled with bullets just a few hours before). I was told someone would be there by 08:30. At 08:35, I approached the front desk again to speak to the manager to be met with the receptionist sobbing and crying before I even had the chance to speak evidently having lost all emotional control at the gravity of the situation to be told again, that no manager was on site. Needing to leave to get to my first appointment, I asked for the manger’s cell phone number.
I contacted IHG as this is an IHG property. In a series of recorded chat messages, I simply asked “I would like to understand what safety information and assistance is being provided to guests following the shooting on the property last night”. In written response, the case manager from IHG simply said “my office cannot intervene or resolve the issue while you are still a guest. Therefore, IHG will not contact you regarding the incident that occurred at the hotel.” This is despite telling them more than once that no management was on site at the hotel. Thanks IHG.
I called the hotel manager, Sean, 8 times between 08:35 and 10:00 and he either chose not to pick up or I’d been given the incorrect number. I finally spoke to him by repeatedly calling the hotel directly and arranged to speak to him upon my return to the hotel.
I returned to the hotel around 14:30 and had a conversation with Sean in two parts - the service issues and the shooting. On the service issues his responses were very odd - he just agreed with everything I told him and made no attempt to explain what he’d be doing to improve the service or to provide any solutions. On the shooting he happily told me that the hotel was providing no information to customers to support their safety and security as he didn’t want people to speculate. When it was pointed out to him that the incident was already being reported on, his response was that he couldn't control that, when explaining to him that there would be an information vacuum that would drive people to speculate and he could provide simple reassurance to prevent that, his response was that it had been determined there was no ongoing threat, I said ok, amazing, why don’t you just tell people that then? Tumbleweed.
I asked to be outbooked to another property and was told nothing could be found. I left the property at 16:10, less than 24 hours after checking in for a three night trip. I was comped, rightly, for the one night stay.
In summary: the hotel is dated, shabby and some of the rooms smell. The property does not befit the brand. Most services (including the bar and restaurant) are outsourced and terribly operated. The property is extremely poor value for money. The area around the hotel is extremely dangerous and the front of the hotel was the scene of violent shooting during my stay. Hotel management is weak, inexperienced and naive. Hotel management’s and IHG customer care’s first priority IS NOT your safety and security, it is their ill conceived and badly implemented attempts at reputation management.
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