A South Australian tourist has advised Trip Adviser that a night at "Harringtons 102" was "The Worst Night My Partner And I Have Experienced".
Unfortunately that tourist had obviously not read the review by a Frankston woman of 25.11.11 titled:
"Disgraceful-Do Not Stay There"
There are also 3 earlier critical reviews in 2011 on the Trip Adviser site alone. November 2010 had one describing it as "Absolutely Disgusting..Do Not Go There"
Where does this 'Accomodation Facility" (wrongly called an "hotel") differ from it's advertised claims?
We look at 5 of it's advertised claims:-
1. The Claims
-"ideal accommodation"
-"suited to the business person"
-"we offer luxury for less"
Guest Criticisms
-"There was continuous noise from traffic outside"
-"we could hear everybody walking on the stairs"
-"the traffic lights reflected through the glass bricks in the wall"
-"there was a fluorescent light shining through the gap between the floor & the door.We had to place a towel in front of the gap"
-"it was very noisy"
-"I could hear the plumbing from other rooms"
-"we had a 'window' of glass bricks with a dirty,broken plastic roll-up blind to keep the light out"
-The reception is unmanned most of the time"
"it took 20 minutes after calling for someone to open the front door"
-"it is the worst room I've ever had"
-"it has cramped little dark rooms"
-"we booked a double standard room.It was the smallest room we have ever seen"
-"this venue is a complete disgrace"
-"Absolutely disgusting"
-"the worst excuse for accommodation that I have endured (In last decade)"
-"took over 45 minutes to prepare our room"
-"the stairs are dark & not lit up"
-"the exit sign is not lit up & is falling from the wall"
-"there is no lift"
-" it had a dirty,broken plastic Holland blind,
- "the room was like a prison"
2. The Claims
-"featuring modern comfortable standard rooms"
-"an ultra modern tourist accommodation facility"
-"indulge in our Persian marble en-suite bathrooms for that extra exquisite touch"
- "modern and immaculate facilities"
Guest Criticisms
-"it was a tiny room"
-"the room was like a prison"
-"a tiny container of curdled milk in the fridge"
-"the room was airless"
-"no window,no air-conditioning & the vent in the bathroom did not work properly"
-"the shower door did not work properly;the toilet did not flush properly"
-"anything broken was left unfixed"
-"the light was gone in the small bathroom"
-"the bathroom condition was very poor & small"
-"there were electrical wires coming out from the wall"
-"the floor was wet"
-"the mattress was old & uneven"
-"to say the bed was 'warn' is an understatement"
-"the carpet was stained & dirty & the toilet flush & shower screen were faulty"
-"It was a TINY room-the bed was squashed against the wall so my wife had to climb over me to get out"
-"no window (just glass bricks),no window coverings,no bedside table,no bedside lamp,no place for my case"
-"no bed side tables,no carpet"
-"the end of the bed was about 40cm from the bar fridge & jug"
-"the room is so small,one of you has to clamber over the other to get out of bed"
-"the towels were fraying at the ends & looked old and ratty...looks like you use them to wash the car"
3. The Claims
-"(each) room comfortably appointed with telephone,television & radio"
Guest Criticisms-"The tv was snowy"
-"the tv aerial was a screwed up ball giving a fuzzy picture,
-"were only 3 tv channels"
-"was no telephone"
- 'the tv had only 2 channels that worked & gave a snowy reception from the rabbit ears"
-"several of the tv channels didn't receive reception & the cord was sticky taped across the bench"
4. The Claims
-Under the heading "Restaurant"-This property serves a delicious Continental breakfast every morning for you to make your day a tremendous one."
Guest Criticisms
-"a tub of weetbix,a tub of rice bubbles,'International' brand instant coffee & milk"
-"very basic, we had toast & a cup of tea"
--"we turned on the breakfast lights at 8 a.m.The lady promptly turned them off again.Breakfast was very basic..toast & tea
-"Breakfast-very poor affair indeed..."
-"... woeful breakfast."
5. The Claims
-"an atmosphere that is unique,professional & stylish from the moment you arrive."
Guest Criticisms
-"really the hotel is poor value"
-"the woman in charge has no soul",
-"they tried to find every way to save a few cents to the discomfort of patrons"
-"you get no help from reception"
-"At 5.30 a.m.a demented woman shouted at me not to take pictures (of the hotel)"
-"it shouldn't be allowed to trade..the small rooms are definitely substandard"
-"they are very rude and unreasonable"
-"run by an unmedicated psychotic patient"
The quotes above are from about 20 reviews on several accommodation sites. The 6 recent reviews referred to from Trip Adviser are the one from my last post and the following:-
5-11-2010
“Deserves no stars”
Reviewed 5 November 2010
1 person found this review helpful
Absolutely disgusting!!! Don't be fooled when you read there are reception hours, no one is ever on the reception and you need to call the number and wait for them to open the door. This took 20mins. Took them forever to fill out the form so that we could stay, whilst this was happening the owners were rudely talking amongst themselves in a foreign language. The owners left and gave us our key to the room. The hallway up the stairs is dark and not lit up, the exit sign is not lit and is falling from the wall and there were electical wires coming out from the wall. We opened our room to find a small prison like room. There was a double bed, no bed side tables, no windows, no carpet, the light was gone in the small bathroom. It didnt even have room for a chair. It was very cold and very unwelcoming. We called them to say we were not staying in a place like this. We ended up paying for another room at wrestpoint that night. We went back to Harringtons in the morning and again no one was on reception and had to call a number. They did not come out and wouldn't even consider giving some of our money back. They are very rude and unreasonable. DO NOT GO HERE."
7-2-2011
“Warning! an abomination...do not stay here”
Reviewed 7 February 2011
1 person found this review helpful
This venue is a complete disgrace... I am a medical doctor and travel frequently for both business and pleasure. This is without a doubt the worst excuse for accommodation (and I use the term very loosely) that I have endured in the last decade. I pre booked two nights several days in advance before my stay, and was met by a dishevelled scatty looking woman, who scurried downstairs to open a locked door when I arrived. My girlfriend and I were cold and hungry after a long road trip, at this point. She firstly did not recognize that we had a booking, and in a surprised fashion she asked to see my printout from the internet (which had already been paid by visa card), and did not seem to know we were coming at all. After fluffing around on an ageing computer which she did not really seem to know how-to operate, she eventually told us that she "may have a room, because someone left...I just have to clean it up first...can you wait?" I was unhappy and concerned by what seemed to be an introduction infested by gross disorganization, and a fundamental lack of professionalism...however I was polite and obliging - perhaps she would only be 15 minutes or so. Ever the optimist, I endured an extensive 45 minute wait while she haphazardly ran up and down the stairs in the process of preparing our room. Eventually my girlfriend and I left and informed her that we were hungry and going to eat. No apology was received for her gross display of incompetence. When we returned the floor was wet in the closet sized room that contained no window. We spent some of the night watching some quiet TV. In the morning I noted that one of the tings we were promised was a free "intercontinental breakfast" - this sadly consisted of a tub of weetbix, along side an adjacent tub of rice bubbles, and international roast caterers blend instant coffee, with free milk (I assume it was carnation). Smouldering silently I sipped a bad cup of coffee as I had inner visions of soon making my way to Hudson's. I then proceeded to make my way over to the grossly incompetent woman who seemed to be in charge of this hell-hole. I asked calmly for a refund as I communicated that I did not wish to endure another night at- -this .....establishment. I asked for a refund for my 2nd night as I -thought she may have the decency to offer this however I was yelled at and accused of being "-too noisy" -I didn’t realise -this hotel was run by an unmedicated psychotic patient."
25-11-2011
“Disgraceful - do not stay here!”
Reviewed 25 November 2011
Unfortunately I was double-booked from my original accommodation and as Cold Chisel were in town, I had no choice but to stay there unless I wanted a night on the streets The reception is unmanned most of the time and there is no lift. The room was tiny - the bed was pushed against one wall, with no window (just glass bricks), no window coverings, no bedside table, no bedside lamp, no telephone, no place for my case but on the limited 'empty' floor space about 1 metre in depth. There was the tiniest container of curdled milk in the fridge which I asked to be replaced and 2 teabags. I spent as little time as possible in the room catching the late night picture show returning around 11.30pm. I was unable to sleep as the lights were shining through the glass biricks from outside and streaming underneath the large gap in the door. The room was also noisy - I could hear the plumbing from the other rooms - toilets, showers and taps and the constant drone of an over-worked fridge as it had been crammed into a space with no ventilation. The room was airless - the only option being to switch on an air-conditioner and have cold air blowing over me. As I could not sleep I got up at 5.30 am and went out to take some photos around Hobart and get some air. As soon as I crossed the road and turned round to take a picture a demented woman shouted after me to not take pictures.... Had she been watching me??? I had already decided to give their "free" breakfast a miss - it looked less than appealing. I had to collect my cases and face another torrent of abuse as I was leaving - the woman is not quite right. If you have any choice in the matter - give this place a big miss, it shouldn't be allowed to trade. They might have 1 or 2 decent rooms but the small rooms are definitely substandard and are most probably in breach of quite a few Accommodation Standards Laws."
27-3-2011
“Don't bother...”
Reviewed 27 March 2011
1 person found this review helpful
My friend and i needed last minute accommodation close to CBD Hobart on Friday & Saturday night. We shouldn't have bothered with Harringtons 102.
Arriving at 9pm to our 'luxury accommodation' and filling out a mountain of paperwork (being charged $3 to use my credit card), we were escorted up two flights of tiled stairs (no lift) by a lady who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else! She shuffled around and we entered a TINY room - glass bricks for a window with no curtain/blind. The bathroom was very basic - shower door didn't work properly and only 'half flush' on the toilet was operating. No lightbulb over vanity (it had been removed) and no exhaust fan. Only half roll of toilet paper on holder, so we had to ask for more first thing the next day. Before bed we tried to watch a bit of tv on the tiny screen (two channels) and snowy reception from the 'rabbit ears'. Our sleep was restless as we watched the traffic light colours changing on the wall through the glass bricks, the nightclubs in the area started to hit fullforce at 1am and the constant stream of people walking up the tiled stairs and closing doors didn't help. You could hear everything through the paper thin walls.
Breakfast was in the main foyer and when we arrived at 8:00am the first morning, no-one seemed to be about and it was dark and dingy, so i turned a few lights on. Not long after the same lady shuffled out of the back and immediately tured them off again. She started setting up breakfast (although it was meant to be 7:30am-9:30am, so i expected it to be already set up). She neglected to ask us how we slept, what we were doing for the day or if everything was satisfactory. The menu was very basic, but toast and cup of tea got us by. The next morning was the same routine.
This hotel is obviously run by a family and the lady in charge seemed to have no soul when going about her business. It came across to me as a venue which tried to find every way they could to save a few cents at the discomfort of their patrons. Missing lightbulbs, 'half flush' toilet option, one teabag/coffee sachet in the room for cuppa's, no window finishings, no 'set-top box' for tv reception, no iron/hairdryer in room, no lift, no help from reception at all!
We should have spent the extra $10-$20 and stayed at Mid City Hotel (where i've been a couple times before.) Do yourself a favour and give Harringtons 102 a miss...."
2-5-2011
“Maybe try elsewhere”
Reviewed 2 May 2011
1 person found this review helpful
Stayed there for one night because everywhere else was booked out. The room had no window, only glass bricks. Room v noisy, could easily hear all steps and noises from the tiled hall. Big gap between the room door and the floor, so that the fluorescent light from the hall showed through, reminding us of a hospital. Had to place a towel in front of the gap so as to be able to sleep.
To say the bed was worn is an understatement.
Too high a price for such experience."
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g255097-d300914-Reviews-Harrington_s_102-Hobart_Tasmania.html
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