THIS HOTEL IS CYLINDRICAL BECAUSE THEY'VE CUT EVERY CORNER!
I really wanted to like this hotel. The location is excellent and the pool and surrounding gardens are genuinely lovely. Unfortunately, what started out as a promising stay (from the photos) turned into one of the most unsettling hotel experiences I've ever had.
On my second night, at around 10pm, I encountered two men entering the rooftop pool on the 3rd floor. They asked me to hold the door open as I was returning to my room next door after a moonlit swim because they were laden with several carrier bags. I thought they were staff.
The following morning, around 8am, I returned for a sunrise swim and recognised the same two men. They appeared to have spent the night sleeping on the sun loungers. They were smoking and drinking - polishing off an entire bottle of whisky at around 10am. There was no staff presence and seemingly nobody had checked the pool area for approximately 12 hours.
I didn't feel safe swimming and reported what I had found to reception. Rather than feeling reassured, I was interrogated by reception staff and told there was no manager on duty. Their reaction was remarkably casual - they seemed fairly nonplussed, simply saying, "We'll send someone up."
What concerned me most is that the lifts are not guest-card activated, meaning anyone entering the bustling hotel lobby can gain access to all guest floors. My room was on the third floor, adjacent to the pool.
I later asked reception about the men. "Oh yes, they're gone now." No apparent apology, concern or urgency and still no manager available. When I left the following day, I specifically asked to speak to a manager and, once again, there was nobody on duty.
Unfortunately, lax security and two unidentified men bedding down for the night at the pool wasn't the only problem.
The thin mattress was so old and worn that the coiled springs were digging into my back, hips and elbows. The bedding was a scratchy brown blanket rather than a proper duvet. An enormous construction site next door started work at exactly 8am every day.
The pool itself has seen better days. The sun loungers were worn, tired, smelly and in need of replacement. Even the blue pool slide advertised by the hotel was bone dry and completely out of use.
There was no drinking water provided. When I asked for a bottle for the first night, I was told no. When I asked about a filtered water tap, I was told no - I could boil the kettle, drink the bathroom water or go to 7-Eleven. Their lackadaisical response was borderline laughable!
One final warning for non-smokers: cigarette smoke is a significant issue. The Level 2 corridors are thick with smoke which permeates the hotel. If you are sensitive to smoke, I recommend requesting Level 3 or above, which benefits from an open atrium allowing air to circulate. Smoking around the pool was also constant during my stay.
The Wi-Fi was patchy and there was absolutely no Wi-Fi around the pool.
The irony is that the hotel has a beautiful rooftop pool and an excellent location. I gave both 5/5 because they genuinely deserve it. But I gave the service 1/5 because the lack of security, staff presence and management response left me deeply uncomfortable as a solo traveller.
There wasn't a single corner of this hotel where I didn't feel like something had been cut back and, by the end, I couldn't help wondering whether I'd inadvertently booked myself into a budget youth hostel rather than a 3.5-star hotel, as advertised.
What makes this all such a shame is the hotel's potential. With its riverside views, excellent location, beautiful rooftop pool and gardens, this could be an exquisite venue with a complete refurbishment and, crucially, the right management team. The bones are there - it just desperately needs care, investment and proper management.
Beautiful location. Lovely pool. Enormous potential. Very uncomfortable stay.
