LLast TouristLocation & amenities:
The location is the biggest asset of this nice independent hotel. It's near Toowong shopping center and the shops and restaurants that surround it, which include chemists & a 24 hour 7-11 convenience store. The hotel itself is home to the Katsuco Japanese restaurant on its ground floor- famous for its good Japanese food.
There is free parking for guests, but the lots are limited (approximately 25 lots). There is free street parking along Sherwood road on the same side as the hotel.
Hotel design, ambience, service:
The hotel lobby is cozy and compact, with a small seating area in front of the reception desk. Depending on the day of the week & time of day, the staff range from invisible to proactively polite & are generally nice. There is a lift to take you to your rooms over the three floors that it spans.
Room design, comfort, acoustics: (deluxe King)
The rooms are decently sized- with adequate room for luggage and sufficient points for charging. There is an ironing board, kettle, room safe, free tea bags, the usual soaps & conditioners and moisturizers provided. The bathrooms are well designed with a nifty smart/switchable/ dynamic glass looking into the bedroom. The shower head is a rain shower type - definitely giving it cred. The mattress and pillows are very comfortable indeed- standout & remarkable. There are blackout curtains which work well. As for the acoustics- overall decently quiet given the location at the corner of a busy crossroad. Noise from the corridor does seep in depending on your neighbors. There is also the usual mild hum & grumble from the bar fridge & whine from the air conditioner. The occasional street car cacophony can be heard during the day, but generally it's quiet at night. So a good night's sleep is mostly achievable.
Overall: At the risk of making it more popular than it already is, this is a highly recommended property outside the city, with free parking. Will return if in the area!
ゲゲストIt was a bit painful from the get go checking in. You have to go to a different hotel a block over. There is nowhere to park to check in. I called the number to be put through to a call centre that isn’t on site.
Call 1: yes you can park in the visitor parking just buzz and they’ll let you in.
Call 2: while blocking the driveway I’m unable to find a buzzer that reaches reception. Operator sounds confused, I hang up and someone is coming out so I sneak in.
Call 3: I’m parked in visitor parks, go up the lift and come out at another building. She again sounds confused. If I go out the door I won’t be able to get back in without a fob, so I’m asking which way I should go. There are no signs to tell me how to get to Ivy and Eve apartments. I eventually find a worker who takes me around to reception. Sorted. Or so I think.
I check in with reception. The girl was really lovely and informative. So I think, until I reach the carpark of the next building I’m staying at. The sheet of paper she gave me says “your allocated car space is 131 and is located on 55. I drive in looking for level 55, car space 131. Neither of these exist.
Call 4: Where is my carpark? Am I missing something. Keep in mind every time I call I’m asked to give all my details so they can verify my booking so by now I’m pretty tired of it all. She finds my booking and says oh yes you’re in park 55 on level B1. (See photo for why I was confused!)
I drive around the carpark looking for a 55. It doesn’t exist. All carparks are labelled with a sign saying Art house and 4 numbers. Ok maybe it’s the last 2? Nope doesn’t exist. After driving around for a bit I realise there are numbers on the ground of the carpark that are completely different to the signs (I didn’t look at the ground because the signs said art house)
So finally I work out that this is my park. Another confused guest stops to ask me where his park might be and I explain it’s the floor ones not the art house signs. So I wasn’t the only one.
Ok so park the car, go upstairs to room 1106 which of course is on floor 10. Makes sense lol. As soon as I open the door I’m hit with a wet musty kind of smell. Like the place had been flooded and not allowed to dry out properly maybe? I opened all the windows and when that didn’t work I went and bought some air freshener to hide the smell a bit.
We left all the doors open all night and next day and the smell improved. The lounge chairs are not comfy if you’re looking for a stay in watch Netflix type staycay, but the beds are really comfy. The place was pretty immaculately clean so that was nice. And washer dryer were great to have.
If I had have known I’d need to go through all that checkin at another building I would not have booked. Maybe I missed the part that mentioned this? Ahh well we enjoyed our stay in general, it just didn’t get off to a good start.