Hotel Univers

This is still a decent hotel, in a very good location (lake shore, park, practically opposite street to the Mall) yet the rooms nedd refurbish, towels and bad were clen yet shall be replaced with new ones and the breakfast is just average.

UniversT weeklong stay Very friendly staff. Comfortable studio room.Great location near shopping and restaurants.

Overall accessibility

Twin room, lake view, first floor, refurbished, lake/patio view with small balcony with door. The room was nicely refurbished and looked big due to full length mirrors on wall. The size was adequate for two people. Officially rated 3 star, apparently with air conditioning. We saw the air conditioning unit after a couple of nights, but had been opening the balcony door to keep the room cool enough for sleeping. We found this okay, but did not bother trying the unit as our many friends complained that theirs was not working. Keeping the door opened served a secondary function of providing an escape exit (see below). The bathroom was okay, but very small with no shelf space and the door opened across the sink. You need to stand slightly towards/in shower to close the door and get to the toilet. We found debris on the room carpet on arrival, a small clear plastic bag and carpet threads(?) or black hair, and found similar threads in one of the beds. There were 3 coat hangars on a stand by the room entrance door with space for one suitcase, but no coat hangars in the small wardrobe where we found two hand towels, two bath towels and a foot towel. We also had two chairs (one with loose trim) a small round table and small desk space near the window/ balcony area. Servicing room - we stayed 4 nights and the room never appeared to be cleaned, and the beds were not made up, but the towels, toilet roll, soap and shower wash were replaced except on Saturday. June 2023 - The hotel is being refurbished, the stairway entrance to reception is closed and there are no stairs useable below floor 1, therefore only the lift can be used to go from floor one to reception or the exit area (patio) below. One evening it took 30+ minutes to get to the first floor due to the queues for the one lift. Many people tried to use the emergency stairs instead (to save time) but found them padlocked at the ground floor. We tried this ourselves one day to get out of the building and were surprised to find many trip hazards, damaged steps, random shopping trollies on landings and obstacles in the escape areas, plus a padlocked exit beyond a parked car. A staff member was surprised to see a customer there and had to point the way back into the building’s restaurant facility! Another guest had already asked for the emergency exit to be unlocked. Breakfast facilities were okay (2-3 star). The only way to get there was down in the lift, and walk around the patio. Staff - patio bar staff were lovely, friendly and helpful. The reception staff had ‘attitude’, refusing to give anyone sharing a room more than one key card between them and claiming not to have enough key cards! What would they do if we lost one? They also lied about the status of the emergency exits, claiming that they were open. This hotel has potential - nice area, nice patio, a lake and nearby shopping mall with a taxi rank. However, there are cheaper hotels close by that are in better condition - this information fro

The hotel has renovations taking place in the foyer.The main stairs and reception are closed,and there is a temporary counter,reached only by a single small lift. My room , on the fourth floor ,was only accessible by this same lift.I later found out that BOTH FIRE STAIRS are behind LOCKED doors. Finding that the hotel is in a dangerous and illegal condition hardly requires any further review,but I might remark that there is no functioning airconditioning. The “ scenic “ recreation lake is a source of noise from bar music,shouting children etc , so that leaving windows open is not so pleasant. The rooms have been refurbished with good beds,but most of the other new furnishings are poor,with an especially unfinished bathroom. Breakfast was the only fully satisfactory aspect to the hotel.

I attended a conference at the hotel,which otherwise I would have left shortly after my arrival at 1700,even at the forfeit of the payment,taken in advance. Reception was at a temporary counter ,reached only by a tiny elevator( no stairs) ,supposedly because of renovation to the main entrance.The sole employee was curt,and refused to issue a second key.No information was offered about the disturbed layout of the building,and it would have been impossible to find the breakfast room without accosting a waiter outdoors. The only positive feature of the room was the firmness of a new bed.All the decor was new,but fitted to a low standard.The tiny bathroom had no shelf or other dry place,the WC flush only worked at half power,and the hot/ cold was piped in reverse.When hot water was finally obtained ,it had a foul smell. The room was hot,despite facing north. Airconditioning did not work, and the staff appeared uninterested in this.Noise from below ,where outdoor bars were playing music, made leaving the window open unpleasant.The area has a lot of insect life. The hotel has an uninviting location between a shopping mall and a noisy recreational lake disfigured by pedalos,inflatables etc.It is beyond walking distance of town centre.