Hi all, one of my first posts here so I am hoping this is the appropriate place to post this.
My SO and I booked in to stay at the Mercure Welcome Melbourne for 3 nights over the Australia Day weekend. It was very expensive - I paid a total of $577 for a standard room for 3 nights - but I compared it with 4.5-5 star hotels in the CBD and found it was a little cheaper (approx $20-$30) per night, everyone having raised their prices for Australia Day and the tennis. Based on the information presented to me on their hotel information page, and the photos they displayed of their rooms, I decided to book the hotel.
We arrived after midnight as our flight was a late one. My first clue that I may have made a mistake was that the front entrance to the hotel appeared to be at the end of an alley. We went in and I felt a little better as the lobby was quite well presented and the staff were pleasant. Even the hallways were sparkling clean and modern. So it was even more of a surprise when I entered our room. I felt like I had accidentally stepped into another hotel.
The room would have fit right in at a 2.5 star motel. It was tiny, for a start, even for Melbourne CBD. The bed - which incidentally was billed as a Queen but was almost certainly a Double - took up the majority of the room, leaving little space for a tiny half-wardrobe (it had no doors) and a small desk which was more like a bench. Our view over the "desk" was of an airconditioning unit. There was also a mini-fridge tucked into a corner, its door clearly having been kicked in by the previous occupant, containing not much of anything. The carpet was old and worn. The ceiling was made of cheap concrete such as you would see in public toilet blocks, and had pipes running across it. The bathroom was probably the smallest bathroom I have ever seen, so small that my SO, who is a little over 6 foot, actually had trouble using it. The shower was combined with a bath that had clearly seen better days, judging by the black marks.
Having paid $200 for this room, and after having viewed pictures that purported to be of a standard room, I was shocked. However, as it was 12:30 at night and the bed, although small, was clean, we decided to sleep there and leave immediately the next morning.
After a mostly sleepless night involving clanking pipes and easily audible noise from other rooms we went down to the front desk and asked to check out. We also requested a full refund, explaining we were very unhappy with the room and had been lead to believe it was of a much higher quality from the advertising. We spoke with the duty manager, who offered us another room. Of course we declined, having no reason to believe the standards of any other room would be better than our original one. We were told we would have to call the revenue manager, who was not in, to get a refund. Despite this clearly being a tactic, there was nothing we could do about it so we left.
It is worth noting that I was able to easily find us a room at the Rydges (4.5 star) for $20 less per night. This room was lovely, as spacious as you would expect for a standard room, with a proper Queen bed and a bathroom you could actually move in. To top it off, there was also a restaurant on site which after having eaten there I would rate as one of the best I have ever been to in Melbourne. So we did end up having a very nice trip and I would most definitely recommend the Rydges to anyone.
I contacted the number I had been given for the Mercure "Revenue Manager" who told me she didn't know why I had been given that number and that I would have to email the General Manager and put my request in writing. I did so, and was offered one free night in the Swanston Hotel, a 4.5 star property right next door. I responded right away explaining that this was woefully inadequate in terms of comparative value and also considering we would have to fly to Melbourne to take this up! The Operations Manager's response was that he would refund our second and third nights, but not our first because we didn't tell them we were unhappy until the next morning. In the interests of finalising this whole unhappy episode, I accepted his offer.
I did a little research on the ACCC website and confirmed that it is against the law for businesses to mislead consumers as to the quality of their product in their advertising. The pictures posted on the Mercure website certainly do not accurately represent the actual rooms, and the inflation of the price seems to be well above what you would expect on a busy event weekend in Melbourne, so after I type this up I will be heading straight over to the ACCC to make a complaint. I wanted to share my experience with AFF readers first, however, to warn anyone looking to stay in Melbourne of what they can expect if they choose this hotel. (NB To be fair I did notice that their normal pricing is approx $130 per night, which is still much too expensive for my tastes after having seen the rooms but may be more palatable to those looking for a budget hotel). I would be curious to know if anyone has had a similar experience.
My SO and I booked in to stay at the Mercure Welcome Melbourne for 3 nights over the Australia Day weekend. It was very expensive - I paid a total of $577 for a standard room for 3 nights - but I compared it with 4.5-5 star hotels in the CBD and found it was a little cheaper (approx $20-$30) per night, everyone having raised their prices for Australia Day and the tennis. Based on the information presented to me on their hotel information page, and the photos they displayed of their rooms, I decided to book the hotel.
We arrived after midnight as our flight was a late one. My first clue that I may have made a mistake was that the front entrance to the hotel appeared to be at the end of an alley. We went in and I felt a little better as the lobby was quite well presented and the staff were pleasant. Even the hallways were sparkling clean and modern. So it was even more of a surprise when I entered our room. I felt like I had accidentally stepped into another hotel.
The room would have fit right in at a 2.5 star motel. It was tiny, for a start, even for Melbourne CBD. The bed - which incidentally was billed as a Queen but was almost certainly a Double - took up the majority of the room, leaving little space for a tiny half-wardrobe (it had no doors) and a small desk which was more like a bench. Our view over the "desk" was of an airconditioning unit. There was also a mini-fridge tucked into a corner, its door clearly having been kicked in by the previous occupant, containing not much of anything. The carpet was old and worn. The ceiling was made of cheap concrete such as you would see in public toilet blocks, and had pipes running across it. The bathroom was probably the smallest bathroom I have ever seen, so small that my SO, who is a little over 6 foot, actually had trouble using it. The shower was combined with a bath that had clearly seen better days, judging by the black marks.
Having paid $200 for this room, and after having viewed pictures that purported to be of a standard room, I was shocked. However, as it was 12:30 at night and the bed, although small, was clean, we decided to sleep there and leave immediately the next morning.
After a mostly sleepless night involving clanking pipes and easily audible noise from other rooms we went down to the front desk and asked to check out. We also requested a full refund, explaining we were very unhappy with the room and had been lead to believe it was of a much higher quality from the advertising. We spoke with the duty manager, who offered us another room. Of course we declined, having no reason to believe the standards of any other room would be better than our original one. We were told we would have to call the revenue manager, who was not in, to get a refund. Despite this clearly being a tactic, there was nothing we could do about it so we left.
It is worth noting that I was able to easily find us a room at the Rydges (4.5 star) for $20 less per night. This room was lovely, as spacious as you would expect for a standard room, with a proper Queen bed and a bathroom you could actually move in. To top it off, there was also a restaurant on site which after having eaten there I would rate as one of the best I have ever been to in Melbourne. So we did end up having a very nice trip and I would most definitely recommend the Rydges to anyone.
I contacted the number I had been given for the Mercure "Revenue Manager" who told me she didn't know why I had been given that number and that I would have to email the General Manager and put my request in writing. I did so, and was offered one free night in the Swanston Hotel, a 4.5 star property right next door. I responded right away explaining that this was woefully inadequate in terms of comparative value and also considering we would have to fly to Melbourne to take this up! The Operations Manager's response was that he would refund our second and third nights, but not our first because we didn't tell them we were unhappy until the next morning. In the interests of finalising this whole unhappy episode, I accepted his offer.
I did a little research on the ACCC website and confirmed that it is against the law for businesses to mislead consumers as to the quality of their product in their advertising. The pictures posted on the Mercure website certainly do not accurately represent the actual rooms, and the inflation of the price seems to be well above what you would expect on a busy event weekend in Melbourne, so after I type this up I will be heading straight over to the ACCC to make a complaint. I wanted to share my experience with AFF readers first, however, to warn anyone looking to stay in Melbourne of what they can expect if they choose this hotel. (NB To be fair I did notice that their normal pricing is approx $130 per night, which is still much too expensive for my tastes after having seen the rooms but may be more palatable to those looking for a budget hotel). I would be curious to know if anyone has had a similar experience.
