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!

Beware Harrington 102 --"Broken Toilet Seat in Several Places", Dirty and a Health Risk!

From Agoda.com:

Compact, nowhere to sit except the bed!! No window Location 3.3 Extremely disappointing!. Have never been caught like that before when booking on-line. This room didnt even have a chair or a window!We travelled around Tassie for the week and happy with the other accommodation bookings on line but this was a disgrace to Tourism Tasmania!! Shouldnt be accredited. Report this review

You get what you pay for...almost!!!!

Central to all activities

3.3

The room was appalling and a health hazard. Firstly noticed grit on floor. Room was exceptionally TINY. Toilet seat broken in several places. Shower door broken and would not close. Shelf in shower on such angle as to not able to hold soap,shampoo/conditioner etc. No milk left in fridge as to make tea/coffee. Poor TV reception. Noisy - with loud music, laughter etc emanating from other rooms. Unable to sleep from TV noise from adjoing room. All in all would never stay there again, nor would I recommend to anyone else. We declined breakfast as the whole place was so dirty that we did not want to risk health.

Harrington 102 gets ANOTHER bad review, once again!

No surprise here, Soheil Mehrab-Khani aka Sam has garnered another very negative reviews from his accomodation facility (it is not a registered Hotel) again.

Be warned, Mehrab-Khani has a long history of doing the wrong thing, whether it's building code violation or providing sub standard accommodation.

This latest review from Trip Advisor should serve as a warning -- beware of dealing with Soheil Mehrab-Khani and his accommodation facilities at Harrington 102 and the new Hobart Lodge.

From Trip Advisor:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g255097-d300914-Reviews-Harrington_s_102-Hobart_Tasmania.html

“Never Again!!!!”

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

I had the unfortunate experience of staying here last night. I travel to Tasmania 6 times a year for business & due to my usual place I stay at being full, had to settle with this pathetic excuse for a hotel.

Upon arrival the lady at reception asked for payment immediately after telling her my name. I told it should be sorted as it was organised by a lady at my work. She said she was experiencing problems with her internet & hadn't received any notification at all & insisted that I provides credit card or I won't get the room.

Should've walked out at that point. Room was tiny, small space on floor for suitcase, glass bricks for windows, no iron or irning board, bathroom was filthy with no soap holder in shower, no towel rail & loose toilet roll holder that kept slipping resulting in toilet roll falling onto floor.

I was told breakfast is served from 7am but when I went down at 7.10am nothing was ready & the guy who was supposed to be doing it was too busy talking to, cuddling & kissing his girlfriend. When she saw me, she managed to pry herself away from him & sit on the couch so he could do what he his paid to do. He couldn't move any slower if he tried & it took him about 15 minutes to do so. During this time I went & packed my bags & took them out to my car & when I saw what was on offer wondered why I even bothered. By this stage he was back on the couch watching TV with the girl.

Went back to room & brushed my teeth & couldn't get out of there quick enough. When leaving, the guy, who was now alone & having a smoke outside just told me to leave key on reception counter. No goodbye, did you enjoy your stay, have a good day, NOTHING!!!

Will be telling anybody & everybody that I hear of coming to Hobart to avoid this place like the plague!!!!!!!!!!

• Stayed January 2014

Mehrab-Khani's Hobart Lodge -- Beware: New Accommodation Facility, Same Bad Service.

Soheil Mehrab-Khani aka Sam is offering the same bad service including surcharge with no prior warning being docked from credit cards, dirty floors, dirty toilet and with this new accommodation facility which "appears quickly built with dodgy doors and locks." (no surprise there!)

Complaints from Hobart Lodge range from lacking hygiene to owners having an "angry face" and looking like "he did not want to be there.

Some googling on Soheil Mehrab-Khani will clearly show he has 2 criminal convictions, both related to violence and a string of building and modifying without approval court cases.

Be warned before you book Hobart Lodge. Meanwhile the first reviews from Booking.com are in:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/au/hobart-lodge.en-gb.html?aid=318615;label=New_English_EN_ROW_Hotel-OAIlk_J4_GKPAUB%2AV8wv0AS25582900945%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t2%3Aneg%3Akw_inurl%3Abooking.com%2Fhotel%3Aws%3D;sid=2f65aefc9a52853735e89e7294c144f6;dcid=1;srfid=080c545937094634b23ab65823ecb86015f84c2aX1;tab=4

• Angelina

  Family with older children

    Chatswood,Australia

  23 January 2014
  Proximity to lots of restaurants in North Hobart.

  Caretaker, Sam looked like he did not want to be there. Not friendly or helpful. I had booked 2 rooms: one had a dirty toilet even though allegedly cleaned. The 2nd apartment had dirty floor next to bed- muddy foot prints and area under sink had disintegrated piece of sponge. Laundry is mean to be open from 8 am to 6 pm but opened after and closed before making it impossible for guests to use it especially when one is out sightseeing during the day.

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  4.6

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• Jae

  Young couple

    Gladesville,Australia

  15 January 2014
  There was terrible place in the world. We stayed 3 night,they had surcharged without notice. So we asked that issues to agency. When we arrived, staff (the owner & wife) had angry face instead of greeting and complained what we request extra surcharge to agency. *internet signal always lost and just use in front of door. That mean can not use in the bedroom *need to ask more towels and hot drinks every day, but reception open late and close early. *there was too noisy outside unit. couldn't sleep well.

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  3.3

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• Brenda

  Mature couple

    SHEARWATER,Australia

  10 January 2014
  Only been opened a week and obviously Management are still experiencing some construction problems and lack of knowledge in accommodation letting. Location great, bed extremely comfortable, great kitchen-lacking in cooking utensils, bowls. Convenient parking.

  No towel racks, no lounge area (watch TV in bedroom), charged a surcharge on cr card without prior notice (this has now been refunded due to my official complaint). Brand new (unwashed ) tea towels provided. Appartments obviously let out before any inside detailing completed, ie sawdust in cupboards in bathroom, paint over metal window frames, grouting not cleaned off tiles, hole in ceiling next to Tastic. WOULD I STAY HERE AGAIN? No not at the current price.

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  6.3

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• Cathy

  Mature couple

    Bertram, Australia

  6 January 2014
  Location

  No towel rail, no block out curtains and no wi-fi.

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  6.7

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• Anonymous

  Mature couple

    Australia

  28 January 2014
  Great location, close to the bus stop and restaurants, supermarkets. The street is quite at night. *** The building is new, new carpet, good shower. Bed linen and towels change when necessary.

  Many things. Management does not know much about service. *** As a guest you feel that you do not have anything to say or wish. There is not enough furniture and the kitchen is barely equipped, no strainer, not enough pots, good cutting knife missing, no big bowls. In certain spots very dirty, like under the sink, disintegrated piece of sponge (cleaner used too strong chemicals to clean- excuse from management). Cleaner came once and did not clean under the sink. *** WIFI and laundry are not for the guests. WIFI is password protected and there is no code in the room and the signal is not that good either. Laundry is a joke, it is locked at all times and you have to chase the manager if you want to use it and pay $7.50 first. But you are also encouraged not to use it and use alternative laundromats in Hobart. *** Snack bar are the normal coffee and tea and cheap sweets. No milk *** There is no place to leave your luggage if you have to check out later. *** There is no love in this building, dodgy construction, weird management. I would not go there again, sorry.

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  4.6

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• Anonymous

  Mature couple

    Australia

  23 January 2014
  The position, the bed was very comfortable. The manager was very helpful.

  The entrance and outside areas of the apartment are very unappealing, the fully equipped kitchen needs bowls, strainer, wine and champagne glasses not plastic wine glasses. Cleanliness was barely OK.

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  7.5

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• Anonymous

  Young couple

    Australia

  15 January 2014
  It was located in a lovely part of north hobart where if you wander down the street you'll find nice pubs and cafes as well as a really lovely cinema. The apartment itself had aircon and heating and a really comfy bed!

  The building appeared to be quickly built with dodgy doors and locks. Also we were placed downstairs which was below street level; this dampened our experience as we were not told this would be the case.

KHANI ACCOMODATION APPROVED BY ONLY 2 of 12 REVIEWERS IN 2014.

Bookings.com seems to have become the main source of business for HARRINGTON’s 102.

In the 2 weeks to January 16^th--12 guests reviewed it on that site.

Here are their stories.

Australian couples on 4^th & 8^th liked it’s city location & found the Khani’s friendly.

10 other reviewers saw it very differently.

An Australian couple described the Khani’s as “rude & aggressive” & said they had to wait in the street ½ an hour to get entry.

A couple from Deloraine said of Soheil Khani “he just did not care”.

A Swedish couple on Jan 16^th said that they were given the impression that the response to any requests made them feel that that they were disturbing the staff.

The same couple were incredulous that the bathroom was not cleaned during their 7 day stay.

Other facility complaints included:-

-power points dodgy…unsafe, not working or exposed

-unsafe wiring (a different visitor)

-dirty mouldy bathroom tiles

-tiny room

-2 people have trouble moving in the rooms

- a chair with 3 legs (which was 1 up on a Lane Cove couple who got no chair at all)

-shower screen dodgy

- room old, tired & not clean

-no curtain on window & thus no privacy

-no windows

-like a prison cell

-no fresh air

-terrible bed

-extremely noisy

-facilities far less than advertised

-facilities like washing machine, wi fi & room inclusions either broken or withdrawn

There were the usual complaints about the “self serve cereal & toast breakfast”.

One Australian couple suggested that they scrap “breakfast” as it was so bad.

Several noted the place as over priced.

One couple listed many faults & ended “need I go on”.

Another couple noted it was their “worst accommodation experience ever”.

Meanwhile there has been a 2^nd Review of the “Hobart Lodge” 399-405 Elizabeth St.

The people, from NW Tas, complained of sawdust in cupboards, no towel racks & no lounge area & said the price was too high.

That couple are to be congratulated because they obtained a refund  for a surcharge applied to their Credit Card without notification.

It’s unsure if that was from their Bank or Mr Khani, presumably the former as getting money due from Soheil Khani is extremely difficult.

Mr Khani sure likes to rake in the dough.

No one is going to die from paying too much but what about the risks from the alleged unsafe & dodgy electrical wires & power points?

And, if there are dirty, mouldy tiles that ain’t too good for your health either.

Where are the HCC, Tourism Tasmania & Workplace Standards?

A SAD END FOR 2013 AT THE KHANI'S ACCOMODATION

A couple of frequent travellers to Hobart from Venus Bay,South East Victoria have previously strongly recommended places like St Ives Apartments ("exceptional value").

They stayed just 1 night at 102 Harrington in late 2013.
Here is their review in full-

“Worst Australian accommodation we have ever stayed in.”

"The previous reviewers were not exaggerating - this place is the PITS! Central it may be, but we would have preferred to have given our $210 to charity and slept in the car. Thankfully, we were only there for the one night, so we tolerated it with humour, but we met people who had never been to Tasmania before and had booked for multiple nights, poor folks. What a bad experience for first time visitors - the Tasmanian licensing authorities really should have a good look at this place. 

As said by others before me, there is no "anything" and polite requests for simple things such as a cup are met with a defensive attitude and excuses. I will not ramble repeating things that others have said - simply believe them, it's all true!"

Room Tip: Just don't go there.

Isn't it so sad and so wrong as they recorded that "First time visitors to Tasmania" have this "bad experience" at a place that is "the PITS"?

Why don't the Tasmanian Licensing authorities have the good look that is suggested?

Again there is a complaint of the attitude of the Khani's.

This couple so criticised over the years by so many visitors have just declared their property at 399 Elizabeth St to be the "Hobart Lodge" and are offering "Apartment Accomodation".

Children are strictly banned.
It got 1 review in it's first week-in fact on January 6th 2014.

Amazingly - it was critical - no towel rail,no block out curtains,no wi-fi!!!

Deja Vue?

WATCH THIS BLOGl

SOHEIL KHANI’S HARRINGTON”s 102 Accommodation facility Continues to Outrage.

Warmer weather has brought more tourists to Hobart but many who stayed in Mr Khani’s establishment have written bitterly of the experience continuing the pattern of  many years.

 

“DREADFUL” is a word oft used.

A young Brisbane couple on December 13^th said that “everything was dreadful”.

They were the exact words that had been used by a group of friends from the Margaret River area of WA in October who added that the room was “horrible”.

A visitor from Taipei  in December also described the breakfast as “dreadful” echoing a lady from Melbourne who in November described the breakfast with the same “D” word.

It’s distressing that these tourists suffered this way in Hobart but if they’d read previous reviews like that of Claire from Melbourne on Trip Adviser in February they’d have seen her opinion that it was not just “just dreadful” but also “just terrible” and the room “cold, tiny, noisy & smelt bad”.

 

WHAT IS Mr Khani’s breakfast described so invitingly on the Hotel.com website as “a delicious continental breakfast every morning for you to make your day a tremendous one”?

Sophie from Ivanhoe, Victoria described it on December 3^rd as “home brand cereal, instant coffee, no fruit”.

Warren from WA described it in October as a “Black & Gold cereal brand breakfast”.

A Queensland guest in October described the breakfast as “awfully short” & said that the lobby smelt like “smelly fish”

The Taipei visitor also criticised the breakfast & pointed out that it started too late for people taking an early tour. He had the added complaints that Mrs Khani took a dislike to him because he used the advertised wifi to watch You –Tube & that she would thereafter glare at him & fail to give crockery & cutlery.

But overseas guests didn’t suffer alone. A young couple from Brisbane complained on December 13^th that they were ”given a long face” every time she saw them for the sin of using the advertised wifi in the lobby.

 

Was this treatment by the Khani’s the norm?

There was the odd compliment, one person noting that she got her change for the washing machine , but many were bitter like the Queensland lady who found the Khani’s “absent & unhelpful” .That was better than a couple from Frankston who in September found them “very rude & showing no hospitality whatsoever”.

The gentleman from Taipei found them “unfriendly” & felt “really insulted”.

 

Failure to measure up to what was advertised.

This has continued to be a common complaint.

A Hong Kong couple on December 1^st had checked the web site & reported that the places was not as shown in the photos.

A Richmond NSW couple also found the “photos are misleading”.

The Taipei guest complained that there is not free & unlimited wifi “in all areas like they promise in their advertisement”

And, this is a place where Soheil Khani still has  a big sign in the window proclaiming “LUXURY ACCOMODATION”.

Where is Consumer Protection?

 

Other specific complaints included:-

-A $4 credit card fee imposed without prior notification (by several guests),

-cold rooms,

-“claustrophobic rooms with opaque glass windows,

-run down with holes in the walls where fittings had been removed,

-the facilities awful, very unsafe wiring, no service,

-“no house keeping, dirty bathroom with squeaky door, unsafe electrical connections”.

 

Some of the recent Classifications were:-

A guest in August found - “Tiny room, very lacking in everything…no windows, no coffee, no toilet paper, no milk, no lift, no lamps, poor lighting, broken tv…should we go on”.

Melanie of Frankston 23.9.13 “One of the worst places I have ever stayed. Cheap & nasty”.

Warren of Perth WA on 25^th October declared it Hobart’s “worst hotel”.

William of Wannup,WA 28.10.13 “…I could go on for ever. The worst hotel I have stayed in”.

Gavin of NSW the very next day – “no staff to provide breakfast, rooms dirty, no sleep, worst ever stay”

Dianne ,Melbourne 15.11.13 “The price is outrageous for what I got”.

Ken of Brisbane said on 27.11.13 that he got there too late to find anywhere else but left after that night & that he’d “stayed in caravans that are better”.

A couple from Brussels in December 2013 “..sub par..not as advertised..claustrophobic..low rate breakfast..charged $4 to pay by credit card..not impressive.”

A UK couple in December were more restrained reporting to the Agoda Accomodation site that it was “completely different from how it was advertised ..and disappointing”