Grootegast Holidays from £287

Very disappointing and distressing experience. On one night we returned to the hotel at around 1am and discovered that our key cards would not let us into the HOTEL BUILDING itself. Our cards appeared to have been set to expire a day early, despite our checkout being the following day. We repeatedly rang the entrance buzzer, but nobody answered because reception closes at 11pm. We also tried the mobile key, which initially wasn’t working either. We were two women standing outside alone at 1am. It was dark, the surrounding streets were virtually empty, and we had no way of knowing how we were going to get inside or who could help us. We felt extremely unsafe, vulnerable and genuinely abandoned. Eventually, after repeatedly trying the mobile key, it finally worked and we managed to enter. However, guests should NEVER be left unable to access the hotel they have paid to stay in, particularly in the middle of the night with no staff available to assist. This wasn’t simply an inconvenience with a room key — we were locked outside the entire hotel. If reception closes at 11pm and the hotel relies on electronic access overnight, there needs to be a reliable emergency solution when that access fails. What should have been an enjoyable stay became an extremely stressful and frightening experience. I would not feel comfortable staying here again because I would not trust that I could safely access the hotel late at night.

The hotel smells bad so the staff constantly sprays this air freshener around that smells like bug spray..the towels r frayed and have holes in them..my single room was very small and so was the shower..there is a big hole by the front steps that is dangerous..8 steps to get into the hotel..the breakfast was OK.

very nice

When we arrived, there was a light out in our room. It was fixed the next day but I really could have used it at night as it was the hallway light in front of the closet. The guest services person took an order for room service for the second morning as we had to leave before the breakfast opened. Instead of a blueberry muffin, I received blueberry pancakes. Instead of a small mango/yogurt parfait, I received a dish of some kind of yogurt and a dish of mangos. Needless to say, I did not eat breakfast. The best thing about the hotel was the location. We have stayed in and loved other Mandarin Orientals. This was not up to their standards.