A big disappointment, STAY AWAY!
We stayed here for four nights and paid quite some money for our room. The hotel is advertised online as "design hotel", so we had high expectations.
None of them were met.
- Getting an answer to a question asked via e-mail is harder than it ought to be, it took us two attempts, spread out over two weeks, 9 work days, to get one.
- We were "welcomed" by receptionists who seemed to be in, frankly, a foul mood; a smile is something we didn't get once during our entire stay.
The first thing they do is teach you how to behave; if you take anything out of the minibar you'll be charged automatically (have these people ever heard of guests who don't know American drinks, or simply need to check the ingredients?), if you store own food or drinks in there, they'll charge you $25 - excuse me?!
- Wifi is an additional $10 per day, which is unbelievable if you take their room rates in consideration. Would it hurt them to make it complimentary? I don't think so. In the information age, places such as Starbucks and McDonald's manage to make profits without charging $10 per day for a 512kbps connection, why can't the Allerton?
- "Housekeeping!" knocking on our door 3 times between 9AM and 10AM, although we repeatedly tell them not to. "Do not disturb"-signs are nowhere to be found. Badly organised housekeeping in general; we had wine glasses and garbage bags standing in the hallway for two straight days.
- The worst thing, by far, however: they drop the bill in front of your room in the night before your departure. Yes, everyone can just walk by and look at your private data. We complained at reception, but more than an "I apologise" without eye contact, a smile or any offer of compensation, was nowhere to be found.
Hotels with small rooms and scratchy blankets, even if they're expensive, can be great if the service and staff are great. This, however, was not the case. And for all the commentary the hotel's customer service writes on here to ensure disappointed guests how sorry they are, I do not believe them. If you truly are sorry, why am I sitting here today writing a negative review? Why don't you change things, or at least offer compensations, on the spot, when people complain? First lesson in social conduct: when someone speaks to you, YOU LISTEN.