I’m in Brisbane this week teaching a class for work.
Staying at the Hilton this time for something a little different (usually would stay at the Sheraton – sounds familiar hey ?)
I was pretty disappointed with the Hilton – it’s a tired old building, with tired old rooms, and generally just a tired old Hotel.
I experienced the same problem with the Hilton in Adelaide, and I’ve been told the Hilton in Melbourne is about the same too. I think that’s a problem with being one of the earlier recognised brands in Australia – their hey-day and new hotels are all 20 – 30 years old, and in desperate need of refurbishment.
They recently refurbed the Adelaide Hilton for it’s 25 year anniversary, and that helped. I hope they get around to doing the Brisbane Hilton soon too – I think it really needs it.
I know I’ve been spoilt with hotels like the Sheratons and Hyatts and such – but there are so many good and modern hotels out there now, I’m not sure how much longer these guys can compete based on past reputation alone.
Okay, time for a rating:
Room: 6/10 – functional, generally clean, but very tired looking and in need of refurbishment. Room a decent size with a desk and two chairs plus a 2 seat sofa (uncomfortable). Bathroom small and pokey. Views of nothing.
Bed: 6/10 – bed is a bit too soft, and pillows not quite right (but then, I am really fussy with pillows since I have neck trouble).
TV: 6/10 – old TV, only cable channel is CNN – *yawn*
Connectivity: 4/10 – two phones, one on desk and one by bed, both with data ports, however there is no accessible powerpoint by the bed, and can’t seen the TV from the desk. Dialup speed limited to 28.8kbps (boo – hiss). No broadband (*sob*). I really wonder how many people use that internet on your TV thing – I tried it once on a trip to Perth and it was shocking – unusable.
Breakfast: 9/10 – can’t really fault the breakfast – very nice with a great selection. The only real critisicm was that they labelled one of their cereal containers Weetbix but they were obviously Vita-Brits – there’s a huge difference and it does matter to a purist like me :D
Room Service: not rated
Location: 9/10 – right on Queen Street Mall – so plenty of shopping, restaurants, 711s and entertainment around – can’t really fault it there. Pity it’s so hard to get to with all the one way streets around – but then almost all the hotels in the CBD have this problem.
Total: 40/60 = 67%
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