Wednesday, February 18, 2015

KHANI pays up for Kicking Hole in Fence.

Our Mr Soheil (Sam) Khani attended the compulsory Mediation Conference at the Hobart Magistrate's Court to fight the claim that he had kicked & punched holes in the side fence of neighbours Tony & Valentyna Jacobs on several occasions.

He very loudly & verbosely proclaimed that he never had, nor ever would, do anything like that.

However when confronted with a Court transcript of evidence by his wife in a previous proceeding that she had seen him kick holes in the fence (but only when angry) he suddenly remembered once kicking such a hole.
He subsequently paid into Court $150 as an agreed payment to the Jacobs'.

Meanwhile little appears to have changed at 102 Harrington St except that the owner Mr Khani has grown a long white beard.

We share with you the laments of 4 of his recent guests:-

“A Horror-ington 102 Experience”
1 of 5 starsReviewed 15 July 2014 via mobile

For anyone who would like to "enjoy" their trip to Hobart should avoid this hotel at all cost. I recommend Narella Backpacker near it proved more comfortable. During my 4 nights stay at this miniature replica of H.H.Holmes's Murder Castle, I had a great time making my own bed, buying breakfast (one at hotel is awful - weetbix, bread and jam with milk), and plugging my ears while sleeping to keep out noises from banging of doors. There was just a lady staying on second floor but no other guests. There was No lift, No hot shower at night, No lock on door, No utensils, No WiFi on 3rd floor, No staff on standby at night and worst of all, No Refund! Never be lured by the decency of the ground floor; it's just a trick to attract gullible tourists.

1 of 5 starsReviewed 2 January 2015
I booked this hotel for the price, it was the least expensive where I could have a room and a private ensuite for the time I was in Hobart (Christmas week). On the positive side, my room was ready when I arrived (around noon). It was clean and the bed was comfy. But that is all for the good stuff.
The room needs a little maintenance, there were holes in the wall, some paint was scratched off the wall. Not very inviting. After the woman at reception showed me my room I asked her the wi-fi code. She gave it to me straight away, but when I tried to connect my device, I couldn't find the network, not the name she gave me, nor any other. It's ok I said to myself I was going to ask her on my way out, but surprise, reception was closed when I got downstairs. If we needed to reach her, we had to ring a number. Well, that is fine when you have a phone, but when you come from another country you don't always have an unlocked mobile phone, so you usually only use it with wi-fi... When I went back later, she told me there was wi-fi only at reception, not in the rooms, but it is advertised otherwise online (wifi is available in ALL areas).
The room was never cleaned the time I was there (I don't mind using the same sheets or towels for the 5 nights I stayed), but there were no sweeping, no emptying the bin, no cleaning at all.
Also, there was rarely someone at reception, so if you needed anything you had to call. But there are no phone in the room! I was checking out early, so I wonder where I would leave the key and all, but again there was nobody to answer me. I met the woman by chance in the stairs, so I asked her then... What would have I done? 
Probably leave the key at the counter... I don't call this service.
It was also advertised that breakfast was included in the room rate, well every morning I got to reception (different hours - 7am or 8am), there was no breakfast, there were tables set up but no food in sight...and no staff around.
I could not change hotel as it was too expensive elsewhere and I would probably have to pay for this room anyway (was too late to cancel) so I stayed there for the five nights I had paid for, but I booked tours so I wouldn't have to spend too much time in that establishment. I wouldn't recommend this hotel and I wouldn't call this place luxury apartments as the sign says outside. 
It's rundown and has no service.
  • Stayed December 2014, travelled solo
1 of 5 starsReviewed 1 January 2015
We stayed here because we had to. Hobart was booked out for New Year's Eve. Never again. False advertising. These are far from luxury rooms. Drains smelled rooms dirty. It looked like something from Kings Cross in the sixties. It saving grace was it was very close to the city and Taste of Tasmania
Stayed December 2014, travelled as a couple
1 of 5 starsReviewed 29 December 2014
My partner and I stayed here for 2 nights. We arrived at 8pm on a Friday night there was no one at reception. We were locked outside in the cold, had to call a phone number & wait for someone to attend which was 15 minutes in the cold. The receptionist said there was no elevator. Walking up the stairs it was very creepy and reminded us of a mental instituation. We had a room with a balcony. The room was tiny and the heater took about 25 minutes to go on because the generator was so far away. The room was old & smelly. The balcony was small. When we checked out we were unable to leave our bags at reception as no one attends the reception. You need to call them for someone to come & because of that we had to spend the rest of the day carrying our luggage around. I would never stay here again. Location was in the city but not near the water front. Next time I will stay somewhere on the water. This is extremely budget accomodation.
Stayed September 2014, travelled as a couple
1 of 5 starsReviewed 18 April 2014
terrible, had to phone someone to get in the hotel. No wi fi in the room as stated on website.had to sit in the lobby..very budget hotel..at 110 dollars per night..small rooms with no windows. -( breakfast is weetbix and instant coffee.
Room Tip: Very budget hotel..poor service!!


Thursday, June 12, 2014

Mehrab-Khani Served With New Summons

Follow up from last story:

Former neighbour has taken out and served a Summons for damages caused by Mr. Khani kicking and sometimes punching holes in their joint fence.

Mr. Jacobs said that the first five or six holes were caused back in 2010 when Mr. Khani in fits of apparently uncontrollable temper lashed out on the fence on several occasions.

On one memorable occasion Khani smashed a hole about 60cm high and 20cm wide with his bare right hand high near the rear of the fence.

His arm was in plaster for about the next month.

He later claimed in court that there was no connection.

Jacobs said he had a builder effect repairs and requested payment but didn't persue after Mr. kihani made no reply to a letter. He said he decided to let it go unless there was a repetition.

On Regatta Day this year Mr. Khani who was working at the front of 178 Brisbane Street was screaming out "waycist" to Mr. Jacobs as he was about to drive off. ( He has the same trouble with the letter "R" as Michael Palin in "The Life Of Brian".)

Mr. Jacobs said that as he left Mr. Khani put two fingers up and flexed his right arm and thrust it upwards.

The hole in the adjoing fence was kicked soon afterwards.

The Summons has included the cost of paint to paint over graffiti previously sprayed by Mr. Khani onto the front of the Jacobs property.

Mr. Khani had until April 21st to pay the claim or file a Defense failing which a Judgement by Default can be entered against him.


Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Khani smashes a hole in neigbours fence--again!

In what appears to have been a fit of rage, Khani has smashed a hole into his neighbours fence.
This is the second time he has put a hole in the fence, the last time he appeared to sustain an
injury and carried a plaster cast on his arm for a month.

This time he appears to have used something else to bash a large hole in the fence.
Neighbour Tony Jacobs reports that this is the second incident where his fence has been damaged and he has had to pay for repairs.

A summons has been issued against Khani.

Photographs to follow.

Khani's Hobart Lodge "not recommended" --Trip Advisor

From Trip Advisor

“Not recommended”
1 of 5 starsReviewed 12 April 2014
QueenslandCoaster

A relatively modern establishment, let down by poor design elements:
a) There is no lift even though there are three floors. Forget trying to carry your luggage upstairs if you are an older traveller

b) There is no extractor fan in the bathroom/toilet, which opens off the kitchen area

c) The kitchen sink is on a free standing unit that does not have a bench attached so washing up is tedious

d) There is a two-seater couch but this is in the bedroom directly below and facing away from the wall mounted TV. If you want to watch TV you must do so from the bed

e) The King bed is actually two single units pushed together. The mattresses are very soft and potentially dangerous for anyone with back problems. Pillows and spare "blankets" are are ludicrously thin.

The establishment is also let down by bad management and meanness:
a) No onsite manager. Before you arrive you have to call a number and the person at the other end will tell someone to meet you in the car park and let you into your room

b) Skirting boards were covered in thick dust and the inside of the fridge was dirty. I don't believe they employ professional cleaners because as people checked out I saw the manager carrying a standard household vacuum cleaner into the vacated rooms

c) There was no milk provided to make a hot drink on arrival
d) Only two thin towels were provided for a three night stay and zero room service or cleaning over those days

e) Only one saucepan was provided in the kitchen and very few kitchen utensils in the drawer

d) The wine glasses were plastic and scratched

e) The hair dryer was in a kitchen cupboard - an unhygienic practice

f) We only lasted one night of the three but were refused any refund
There were some positive points:

a) The kitchen utility knife was sharp and large enough to be useful

b) There was an excellent stove top and conventional oven in the kitchen, including a rotisserie and a roasting pan

c) Excellent location close to restaurants and shops, but quite a drive is required if you need a supermarket

Room Tip: Keep to the ground floor rooms if you must stay here
See more room tips

  • Stayed April 2014, travelled as a couple

Hobart Lodge -- Polish Couple Treated Very Badly

From  Booking.com on 6th March:

Katarzyna
Couple
  Poland
March 6, 2014


NOTHING!!! This is the worst place to stay in Tasmania. 
Do not choose it!!! The worst hotel, I have ever seen, I have ever been to.

I have chosen the Hobart Lodge, because of free Wi – Fi, 
that I need every day. During the reservation process via 
booking.com, I was asked if I need to have some request. 

I ask for the possibility of checking in little earlier, 
because I was traveling with my friends all the night. When I 
came to the Hotel in Hobart there was no one in the reception!!! 

I mean there was no reception at all. No one told me about it
during reservation! The Hotel was closed. There was a sheet of 
paper with telephone number to call. 

I had to call from our 
mobiles to ask somebody to come and open the building for me and
my friends. And wait until someone will come. For about 15 minutes 
came man in age 55 - 60. 

He let us come inside the building with our 
luggage and inside the room. But unfortunately the room was not cleaned 
after previous tourists. 

It was about 13.00 and the owner of this hotel 
started trying to find someone who cleans the rooms. 

I asked him to let us leave our luggage at the hotel and we 
told him we would like to go to the city. But that man, 
probably manager of that place did not agree for that. 

He was very impolite for us from the beginning! He did not 
let us leave the luggage inside the room, what is more he did not let us 
leave the luggage inside the hotel. He told us to get out with all our luggage. 

We had to wait with all our luggage on the pavement near the street, 
outside the hotel. We were crouching with our luggage on the pavement for 
almost one hour waiting until the room will be ready!!! 

We were very tired, we could not change our clothes. 
I would like to remind You that on website about the Hobart Lodge 
there is written very clear: "we help with transport from the Airport 
and we provide a luggage office". We have never met with such behavior!!! 
Never!!! 

Rude manager of the hotel. It never happens!!! And this place has 4 stars! 
The manager of that hotel left us with our luggage just on the street and then he went by his car.

Friday, January 31, 2014

KHANI TRIES AGAIN to SELL 102 HARRINGTON St

Following failed efforts through Knight Frank (who eventually refused to act further for Mr Khani) & through Colliers the property is now listed for sale by PRD Nationwide of Montrose.

The address is withheld but "available on request". You would think Harrington 102 would give you a clue as to the address! Hint, think of a street...!

Price "By Negotiation" but he hopes to get at least $1 million
Some of the descriptions are great examples of word manipulation that the world now sees so much of.
To sooth opposition to gambling proponents now advertise "gaming".

Psychology has shown us that we can feel differently about a policy depending on how it is worded. In fact words that mean the same thing can provoke completely different responses. So for example, people are more likely to approve and vote for "gays in the military" than "homosexuals". Likewise, people are happier with the concept of "income sharing" than "income splitting", and "drilling for oil" becomes "energy exploration."

Persian marble sounds far more exotic than Iranian marble. But looking at the "Persian Marble" from the owners own web site (see last post and reviews before), you overwhelmingly couldn't care less where it's from, given the condition of the bathroom.

PRD Montrose state in their spiel that the "Hotel" (it is not a registered Hotel) has a "state-of-the-art entrance lobby". Lonely Planet says this about Harrington 102, "After the shock of the naff postmodern office facade subsides..."

Here is one of the photo's from PRD Montrose, hardly state-of-the-art:



The site's window advertises "Luxury Accommodation".
Lets look at a few photo's posted at Trip Advisor:




This is not luxury as I understand it, nor it it ultra modern as the owner Soheil Mehrab-Khani portrays it. This is not even subtle advertising, it is blatant misrepresentation, and many reviews that the room does not match the description.

Now, the Real Estate Ad boasts "Contemporary Magic".

From wikipedia:
  • Magic (paranormal), the use of paranormal methods to manipulate natural forces (e.g., witchcraft)
  • Magic (illusion), the art of appearing to perform supernatural feats (e.g., magic tricks)
  • Magic in fiction, attributed to extraordinary beings or objects (commonly, as magical or magically)

Magic In Fiction would seem to be the best fit!
 
A string of ex guests have complained of unsafe wiring, dodgy power points, and risks to life and limb through lack of a fire escape.

Is the "magic" that nobody has been injured?

The Real Estate Ad also lauds "immaculate presentation"

We know what "immaculate conception" means, but does "immaculate presentation" really describe things recently reviewed like-
-holes in the wall where fittings have been removed,
-mouldy bathroom tiles,
-squeaky doors,and
-claustrophobic rooms with opaque glass windows?

As the most recent review above states, "We declined breakfast as the whole place was so dirty that we did not want to risk health."

It's enough to make Mehrab-Khani very angry-



Harrington 102 --It's Own Website Has Filthy Bathroom Picture

The "Persian" Marble (sounds a lot better than Iranian) that is advertised in the Harrington 102 web site has a filthy picture of their toilet/bathroom. There have been numerous complaints about filth and dirt at this accommodation facility (see last 2 reviews for example), and the Harrington's own web site has this photograph:


No view of the broken shower door that won't close or the toilet seat broken in several places as per the last review, but I think we get the idea!