This ‘accommodation facility’ seems to have suffered a dramatic fall in patronage following a wave of Complaints & Reviews to major travel Websites like Trip Advisor where it is ranks last of all reviewed accommodation in Hobart.
But some tourists continue to stay there many, it seems, reserving through the “Booking.com” site where it is wrongly described as a “bed & breakfast”. “Bed & breakfast” accommodation is within a home where the owner(s) use the majority of the residence.
In just July & August this year “Booking.com” has received these complaints:-
ROOM SIZE
July 9th-“very small rooms”
July 30th-“cramped room”
August 15th-“the room was barely big enough for 2 people to move in”
DEFECTS
July 28th-“the electric cables needed hiding”
-‘the shower door needed fixing”
-‘the vents needed fixing back in place”
LACK of BASICS
July 4th-“when you run out of toilet paper that’s it,no more regardless of duration of stay”
-“2 single beds pushed together, not a queen”
July 12th-“no clean towels”
-“bed never made”
-“room wasn’t serviced for 5 days of my stay”
WHAT MR KHANI REPRESENTS-
On the “Harrington 102 website" - Modern & Immaculate Facilities”
On “Wotif”-“Ultra Modern”
On both the “Wotif” & “Hotel Club sites –
“Ideal & Inexpensive Accommodation”, &
“Suited to the Business person”.
Queen beds are listed.
PORKIES
On July 6th Martin thought the explanation of ‘password issues’ might explain the absence of the advertised Wi Fi access.
But on August 4th another Aussie traveller recorded that Wi Fi didn’t exist.
On July 12th an attempt was made to placate Mark of Tweed Heads by saying that a cleaner had just quit.
On July 9th Paul from WA complained of the false claim outside of a “luxury hotel at bargain price” when it was “very basic”.
He could have added that is not an “Hotel” either.
BREAKFAST
On Aug 4th an Aussie complained of the “breakfast” being just “sliced bread for toast, add hot water to instant coffee, etc”
She did better than Kerrie of Deloraine who reported on July 8th - no breakfast (& no electric blanket & the need for ear plugs because of the noise).
WHAT MR KHANI REPRESENTS-
On the Hotel Club Website -“Restaurant. This property serves a delicious Continental breakfast every morning for you to make your day a tremendous one”
WARNINGS
On July 4th a guest said I “strongly recommend not staying there”
On July 12th Jan of Tweed Heads said “I’ll tell my friends not to stay there”
These were obviously not read by a guest who said-
On August 4th “I don’t normally write reviews but after this hotel, I consider it only fair to other travellers that they be made aware of short comings of this establishment”
IS this Accommodation Facility accurate in claiming “Very Reasonable Rates” & “Inexpensive Accommodation”?
It’s compact rooms are advertised for $125 per night; currently available for $79.
It’s top room is advertised @ $195;currently available for $160.
The very highly rated Astor Hotel, Macquarie St starts from $57.
Other low price city area accommodation @ present includes:-
Cascade Hotel $56
Tower Motel $58
Marquis of Hastings $69
Shipwrights Arms $75
Blue Hills Motel $78
Central Bar & Café $85,&
Fountainside Hotel $89.
At a higher level The Macquarie Motor Inn starts at $83.70 and The Mercure at $99.
Nearer the top the Casino starts at $106, new Hotel Collins at $124 and the Grand Chancellor at $139.
Still who could forego the charms of being woken as Cheryl from Augusta, WA says she was on about July 10th by another guest who was screaming out “CRAP MOTEL”?
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeleteI compliment you on you’re an analysis of complaints re “Harrington’s 102”.
But should these people really complain?
The history of comments surely shows that anybody staying there more than 1 night surely enjoys the experience of sub-standard facilities,defects that are taped up,minute spaces,scungy “breakfasts” & sometimes outright abuse from the proprietor.
I mean get real !!!
So what if you only get 1 toilet roll no matter how long you stay,or your room is never serviced,or you freeze,or stifle,or get abused for taking a picture of the “hotel” at 6 a.m.,or get woken by a fellow guest yelling that the place is “crap”?
Don’t these people get a lifetime of interesting story telling?
Won’t it sometimes be looked back on fondly as a feature of their life’s experience?
Would not anybody who had stayed at Fawlty Towers & received first class service, courtesy,good food & lodging been disappointed?
In this modern world many accommodation providers compete to provide a perfect experience.
Many visitors leave Tasmania without experiencing anything like the stories they have heard in so many ‘Tasmanian’ jokes.
I can tell you that when growing up in the Tasmanian midlands in the ‘50’s,most homes had an outdoor dunny with container to be emptied by Dad & a hook on the wall holding strips of newspaper.We were glad to have the strips of newspaper & happy if we didn’t encounter spiders.
Even today,travellers on the Trans Siberian Railway receive only rolls of pink paper that can be fairly described as a cross between toilet & sand paper.
And that is one of the World’s great travel experiences.
There is a complaint of only one roll of toilet paper regardless of the length of stay.But there is no complaint of the quality of that 1 roll.Guests of Mr Khani could always economise on usage or bring their own as recommended for the Trans Siberian.
This establishment may not be providing the wonderful facilities which it claims,but it is surely giving a lifetime of memories of an experience so rare in the developed world these days.
And,Sir-I am a seasoned traveller,
Yours Faithfully
Anthony Jacobs