Hotels: Shamrock Hotel

Hotels: Shamrock Hotel

Another popular place that many people will visit in Asia is the city of Hong Kong or more correctly termed as the special administrative region of China, Hong Kong. It is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Hong Kong also has a very comprehensive transport network which makes going around the area pretty easy. Most people go there with the main objective as shopping, with a bit of sightseeing in the itinerary and we will cover this in the review on the place itself. For now, here is the review on the hotel that I stayed in during our visit to Hong Kong. Do note that actually Hong Kong is divided into two regions which is the mainland, which borders China, and Hong Kong Island itself. This hotel is in the mainland Hong Kong.

Details of Hotel

Name: Shamrock Hotel
Location: 223 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Jordan, Hong Kong
Number of Stars: 3 stars
Room of Review: Standard
Highlights of Hotel: Near MTR, Located in tourist area, located in shopping belt, nightlife
Date of Review: Beginning March 2014

This is the hotel's main door and actually its quite easy to spot as long as you go down the correct road. Just try following the map given in this blog and it should be fine. In anycase, this is one of the bigger hotel as it has its own building which is maintained by the hotel itself. There are other hotels that just take a few floors off a residential or shopping building which might or might not look older.

Comfort 3/5

From the pictures of the room here,

Pardon the mess

Even has a cool looking chandelier... interesting location at the aircon vent

Apparently, in Hong Kong, rooms are supposed to be miserably small... i have heard stories about how only one person can be standing at a time and the other must be seated on the bed to have space to move around... Fortunately, this was not the case of Shamrock hotel! In fact, it seems that this hotel room was actually even bigger then my hotel in Taiwan!

So as you can see here, there is more then enough space to leave your bags around. The room also has a control panel right next to the bed that controls the air con temperature and lights and everything else including an in build alarm clock. Of course in the end it all boils down to how much did i pay for this hotel so we will cover that in the last category.

Airconditioning and bed softness was all pretty comfortable with nice thick blankets although it was slightly creeky. Would recommend keeping the windows closed most of the time though as there is nothing nice to see outside the windows and it seems a bit messy. Room was also not entirely new and has a slight bit of musty feel.

Service 3.5/5

Services that i was able to experience in this place was door opening service and also holding on to your luggage before check in and after check out just in case you wanted the additional shopping time.

There is 24 hours service and the staff are able to understand English with little problems. There was also a rack with information on tourist attractions although it was not very detailed. Overall they seem rather profession. There is also the need to put a 300 HKdollars deposit though and checkout was fast and painless.

They do daily cleaning of the rooms as well as replenishment of towels although this is the kind where you need to dump the towels into the bathtub for replacement. They didn't help to tidy up the room however. (I had one hotel whereby the staff actually folded all the clothes that were strewn around and even arranged all the clutter on the table. Not sure if you appreciate that though)

There is no water provided to you though although there was extra pillow and blankets. The lift was quick to get to the floors and there are two lifts so this is a plus for this hotel.

Front desk

Lobby sitting area... or actually WIFI area.

Overall they seem pretty willing to please although they are similar to Puri hotel in that they are not totally able to exceed expectation and go the further distance.

Amenities 3.5/5

Starting at shower amenities, this is what you get for the price.

Yep there is a tub

As you can see, its compact and yet spacious enough for a tub. Didn't manage to utilize it during my stay there too but you can see this hotel does provide quite a bit in terms of amenities. Soap, shampoo and tooth brushes were also provided.

There was also a kettle and cups that you can use to make your tea if you are that kinda person. There was also enough alternate towels for floor mats as well as two big towels for the normal bath.

There was a full bar fridge provided under the television that is permanently switched on that you can use to keep the drinks you buy outside cool. No microwave or other cooking amenities nor was there any laundry capabilities although they did have the laundry bag so you probably can get your things cleaned... for a price.

They do have a closet that you can use to hang your clothes with a safe this time provided with English instructions. THERE IS ALSO NO FREE WIFI IN THE ROOM which is why the lobby is crowded with people looking for internet connection. A sad thing for a hotel in this time and age.. In fact its so sad i shall deduct a 0.5 score right now. This will not be an issue if you are planning to get a data plan for like the 4 or 5 days that you are here in Hong Kong.

Overall, they have slightly better then average amenities. Obviously, pools and other recreational facilities are pretty rare in these kind of cheaper hotels and this is non-existent here.

Location 4/5

There are two aspects of location that are particularly strikingly good. The first is that it is literally almost next to the station for the MTR.. like a bit more then 20-30 steps to the MTR entrance. You probably can see a pattern that I love hotels near the public transport. Also the location of Jordan is between two pretty good shopping area which is Tsim Sa Tsui and Mongkok. Mongkok is where the night market is and TST is the more expensive shopping area. It is also quite easy to get to Hong Kong Island itself from here so this is probably another of the pros of this place. There was actually a night market street called temple street in walking distance from this hotel so it might be an additional plus to the hotel.

The other advantage is that this place is directly along the route of a few buses that come from the airport itself. So instead of spending 100HKD for the fast rail after which you still need to change train, you can actually take a 33 HKD for A21 or 39 HKD for A22 bus straight down ALMOST to the door step of the hotel. The hotel will be like maybe 50 m from the bus stop itself. Just get out when they say Jordan.

Just to make it clear though, because this area is in the shopping belt, meaning that you have small shopping centers all around, it is also apparently located pretty near to the red light district of Hong Kong. That being said, it seems that in Hong Kong, you are not allowed to publicly solicit for business so it is overall pretty safe and I did observe some police presence in my time there.


Cost Efficiency 3/5

The cost of the room was actually just above 300 SGD for 2 nights there whilst in taiwan I got the room at Puri hotel at SGD 330 for 3 nights. Over here you probably have to consider, what are you here in Hong Kong for. Disneyland train stop is actually closer to the airport and there is also an outlet shopping center nearer to the airport and this is about 40 mins away by train. So if you are bringing kids along you might prefer to stay closer to the airport especially if you are not spending too many days there. On the other hand, the public transport to Ocean park as well as Victoria peak which are other popular tourist destinations are on Hong Kong Island itself which is where this hotel is closer to. Young couples might prefer this hotel for the reasons listed above.

The over cost is just SLIGHTLY a tad bit pricy but if you really are conscious about the room size this price might be just right for you.

Comfort: 3 (Does feel slightly old, but not till its uncomfortable. Rooms seem bigger)
Service: 3.5 (Service is there, but not exceeding impressive)
Amenities: 3.5 (No wifi is a big deal, but actually provides quite a bit of good amenities)
Location: 4 (Fabulous central location for most of the activities that one will do here)
Cost Efficiency: 3 (Pricey, probably for room size and location but there is overall a good feel because it is really easy for you to get anywhere.)

Overall: 3.4 (Incidentally, this hotel actually got worse then Puri hotel although it was bigger. Probably because this hotel didn't manage to score in the small parts which was like Wifi and probably the price point too. None the less i would say this score indicates that it is a fabulous place if you want a above average comfortable room to stay in but if you plan to spend alot of time in the room, maybe not a good idea.)

Thats the end of the hotel review section of my Taiwan and Hong Kong trip. Shall start on the other categories soon, probably weekly.

Hotels: Puri Hotel Ximen

Hotels: Puri Hotel Ximen

Introduction

There are many places and countries to visit in the world. For the people living in Asia however, one place that they will visit in their lives is probably Taiwan. Taiwan is actually quite a big place and when you go for tour fairs, there are many choices of whole island tours of Taiwan that can be from 6 days or more or tours for smaller sections of Taiwan that can be for 4 days or more. For those who are not interested in the hurried itinerary of a tour group especially if they are going with friends, you can always op for a simple holiday in one of the many main cities of Taiwan.

One of these cities is Taipei which would be the area of interest in this review. Along the way i will list down some of the considerations that i made in choosing this hotel and see if these are the same considerations you have

Details of hotel
Name: Puri Hotel Ximen
Location: 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Ximending
Number of Stars: 3.5 stars
Room of review: Standard Twin
Highlights of Hotel: Close to shopping area, restaurants and MRT station
Date of review: End Feb 2013

This is the hotel entrance

Comfort 3.5/5

This is the bed room

As you can see, the room is REASONABLY sized, with two good beds... actually the begs are fantasy.. its the kind of bed which is very very soft.. those you sink into. Also the provided blankets are extremely thick and feels kind of fluffy.

Everything is very very well placed so there is more then enough room to move about the place but you probably won't be able to fit more then 2 extra friends into this room if you wanted to.

Note that not all rooms have windows, but to be honest given the location of this hotel, your window will have little of a view. None the less for those who are slightly claustrophobic this might be a consideration for you, to request for a window at least.

The toilet which is pictured further below is pretty well spaced and you wont feel TOO squeezy inside although the shower and toilet bowl are pretty close to each other and the water can flow from one end to another. At least the decor is nice.

There are no extra pillows or blankets given in the room itself. The aircon is pretty good and strong but since it only functions when there is a key card inserted, you should make sure you have one key card in all the time. Thankfully, the hotel actually provides you with two key cards so you can actually leave the place and have all your switches and air conditioning powered up.

The lift also seems kind of old and fortunately we were on the first floor. We did see some people waiting for the lift so its quite likely that if you were on the other floors, you might take just that bit longer to get out of the place thanks to the slow lift.

As the hotel is small, there is actually some sound seeping through from other rooms although it was never significant for us that it hindered us from sleeping. Just for your information here.


Service 3.5/5

Services provided by this hotel includes, water replacement daily, bathroom replacement, daily cleaning of the rooms.

The staff are also pretty friendly looking, and on our last day, they were recommending methods on how to get back to the airport early in the morning. They might not be too conversant in English though. It is good also that at night the receptionists are guys, so you might feel a bit safer. The guys also look really nice and friendly so I wouldn't worry about them.

Still, there are areas for improvement like to help you open the door (although the door is tap once and it will open automatically), and also maybe bringing you to the room itself and introducing you to the amenities of the room. Will tell you more later.

All in all, they seem "ready to serve" but it is more of those where you can ask them for anything and everything, but they will not aggressively volunteer their services. They are also not really aware or aggressive on giving recommendations on where or what to eat.. they did recommend a famous oyster bee hoon to us which means they are somewhat aware, but in the morning when we asked where we could do breakfast, we were directed to some place which only had one open shop.. So this can be someway they improve, maybe have a map inhouse that can help tourists find their bearings and eat some of the recommended food here.

Amenities 3/5

This is the shower

Lets talk about the shower amenities first! Shampoo and soap are all provided as well as toothbrushes, shaver and shower cap. There are also towels for both face and body and a floor mat. Its interesting that the mirror is heated so it will actually not fog up, which is a very interesting consideration they made.

There is tea and cups provided with a kettle for those who like their tea in the room. They also have a safe and a mini fridge.. problem is they did not really come and tell us how to start up the fridge and remember earlier how i said that the key is needed for the electricity? Yep.. that means that if you are using the fridge, you must have one key inside the slot at all times. Its also those kind of 6 pack fridge as opposed to a bar fridge so you should expect to only put only some drinks inside. The instructions to the safe was also not entirely clear and we actually had problems getting it to work for us. Of course you can just ask the staff member.

There is no cooking or microwave here... probably cause this is taiwan and if you want anything, you can really just go outside and buy... unless its 1+ am.. in that case your only choice is the nearby macdonald as everything else is closed.

There is also no explicit closet here but they provide you with 4 hangers at the mirror for you to hang your stuff. After dumping all our luggage on the floor there was still enough space to walk around so I would say its still ok. They also provide a desk with a chair for you to do any work or writing.

Location 4/5

The whole reason this place was chosen was because of location location location... Its location is so fantastic, after leaving this exit, you probably just need to walk about 80-100 steps and you are there. Note that you need to turn right into a smaller alley and the hotel will be on the left. It is slightly blocked by the billboard signs so you WONT be able to see the hotel's name till you walk slightly into the small road.

But anyway back to location, this hotel is one stop away from Taipei Main station and from the main station you can go almost everywhere. Hotsprings at Beitou, yep. Pingxi rail, yep. Airport via High speed rail or public bus, yep. Night markets are also pretty convenient although this hotel is nearer to Shida night market as opposed to Shilin although Shida is said to be the 2nd biggest night market... Nonetheless lets not forget the fact that you are actually right next to Ximending which also has a movie theatre along the area. Thanks to the strong rail network however, you can pretty much be where ever u wanna be in max 1 hour.

Basically, living near a shopping area has this benefit. Do all your eating and touring for the entire day towards evening, come back at 10 plus.. OH too early?? Just go out of your hotel and walk the streets for awhile and get some snacks. Tada. Full use of your time. If you stayed in the more traditional main area hotels you probably wont be able to justify leaving your room at 1030 and since you need to be back before the public transport stops, you might only have maybe 30-40 minutes of extra shopping time.

There also seems to be a bar area behind the red house at Ximending so this info is for those interested. Finally, this hotel is really almost directly opposite the Ximen police station so you may have a bit more peace of mind when staying here.

Cost Efficiency 3.5/5

I seen the price for this hotel range from 80 to about 100 SGD per night. My room was 100 dollars per night and it tends to get overbooked pretty quickly. It was full on the Friday we were there. Given the more modern decor and since it doesn't look or feel old, it is pretty above average kind of cost efficiency especially when you think about the convenience that the location brings.


Comfort: 3.5 (Fabulous especially if you are those who want just a place to sleep, but its above average for the common user also.)
Services: 3.5 (Has room for improvements but at least the staff are doing some work)
Amenities: 3 (The basic amenities are provided but some amenities like the safe and fridge are mini versions)
Location: 4 (This is the main advantage of this hotel and should be the major reason you choose this hotel, everything to visit is convenient from here)

Cost Efficiency: 3.5 (I personally felt i paid slightly above what i was comfortable with [was expecting just about 80 sgd] none the less i could justify this by the good location)

Overall: 3.5 (If it was slightly cheaper, this hotel would be a definite get for me. None the less its not a place for big families though as the rooms are really well arranged to maximize the space already so there is no running place for kids, but for couples and solo travelers its a decent place to stay and you won't regret staying here especially when you leave your room to begin your tour and when you come back home, you realize that you have a shopping area at your backyard.)

Hotels : Travelodge Garden City Hotel

Hotels : Travelodge Garden City Hotel

INTRODUCTION

During my trip to Australia, what made it interesting was that the intention was to do a bit of travelling by car, not to be entirely cooped up at the usual main tourist destination like Brisbane and Gold Coast, so i was provided an interesting experience as due to my trip itinerary, i had the chance to stay in out of the outskirt hotels. This hotel is situated in the suburb of Sunnybank, an area with a bit more Asians then usual.  When looking at the hotel map via Agoda, these hotels are those that are situated pretty far apart from the usual hotel areas.

Travelodge is the 2nd hotel icon from the right, just above the information box

So as you can see, the whole chunky hotel area is the Brisbane City area where Mantra on Queens is also inside, while Travelodge is really a highway away from the City area. So would this be a different experience from staying at a City Hotel? Most definitely! Read on to find out what I did in that area and whether this will suit your travelling interests!

DETAILS OF HOTEL

Name : Travelodge Garden City Hotel
Location : Upper Mount Gravatt QLD 4122, Australia (Considered to be in the Sunnybank Suburb)
Number of Stars : 4 stars (NOTE on Travelodge Garden City own webbie, its 3 stars)
Room of Review : Standard Queen
Highlights of Hotel : Free carpark, Satellite TV (And thats about it, at least when you look at the hotel itself)
Date of Review : June 2013

The entrance of the hotel

Interestingly, you can see that it has no usual amenities like swimming pools, spa and sauna, so does that mean that this hotel is not worth the stay? Well lets read on to find out more

Comfort 3/5

Here is how the room looks like as taken from their website and this is the one that we stayed in

Unfortunately, although i do have a picture of the room I stayed in, there are some elements of the picture that cannot be used such as a person sitting there. Will try not to make that mistake in the future. None the less the room floor area is pretty above average and everything looks neat and tidy.

Only problem is, although we got a queen room, the bed that we actually got was smaller beds placed beside each other. You might go on to say "Oh but the overall bed size is bigger!". That is true and should in fact be beneficial to the score until you realise that.... You can feel the separation of the beds. This is precisely the difference between a queen size and twin beds put together. The gap in the middle is sometimes not supported by both the twin beds and as a result it will be felt and might even slope in.

This might not be an issue for some, but if you were to stay for longer periods of time, I am sure that this fact will be bugging you ever so slightly when you lay down to sleep every night.

Air conditioning and heating however is pretty good and it meets the expectations of any hotel guest. It is however located above the door way and in plain sight which is a bit gaudy looking. None the less, it serves its function reasonably well.

Service 4/5

Checking in and out of the place is extremely simple. It was pretty fast, just needing to fill up some documents and we were on your way in. For the way out, its just a simple returning of the key.

I did make a phone call before i made it down to the hotel as I was curious if they could check me in earlier. They were unable to do so but stated that they had no problems keeping hold of my luggage which is good service. There is also reception staff all the way into the night so it should be a relatively safe place.

The reception was also good as they gave directions to how to walk to the nearby shopping centre. This shows that they could at least try to help you find something to do in a place slightly far off from the city.

When checking out, I asked the same question I asked the Mantra staff as to whether i could check out slightly later. They did say to me that they would need to stick to the fix timing, but after a while, they called back and gave us 30 minutes extra to prepare to leave. Pretty good to be somewhat flexible.

Overall, the impression of their staff is that they are pretty chirpy and cheerful, and this helps brighten up the atmosphere and makes it a more pleasant stay.

Amenities 3/5

Their Toilet!

For the room we got, there was no bath tub and generally all that you see over there is all there is to it. Towels and floor cloth is provided, along with soap and shampoo. I do think their shower design is pretty smart as this was the hotel where most of the water stays in the shower area. None the less its a average shower but there is hot water and all that.

Oven and others.. actually thats all about it

There is a microwave oven and other cutlery provided as in many of these Australian hotels. Their wardrobe is kinda just open, and ironing board and iron are all provided. These hotels are probably targeting to those on business and would spend not as much time in the room. There is a large desk that is helpful for doing work too.

On the whole hotel side however, there is nothing really impressive. There is a restaurant that is probably for those who want breakfast. There is no pool for extra activity choices and there really is nothing else around in this hotel. What else is there to do? It will be covered in the location criteria. For amenities however, this is about all that you have.

Location 3.5/5

Of all the outskirt hotels, I would have to say, this hotel is probably the best price for location. This hotel is right behind or beside a whole shopping center. This takes care of all the entertainment elements should you not be interested in taking a long drive up to other places or to Brisbane area. It seems to be near the bus station also which kind of allows public transport to be used.

It does have free parking also but I would say that it will be quite a feat to try to get to this place from the airport, by using public transport in the first place. Hence, the moment you bring a car there, you probably could use it to get into Brisbane city whereby you do need to contend with finding parking places and paying for them if needed.

There are however, many nearby shopping centers nearer to this area that serves Sunnybank residents that you could choose to visit.


Cost Efficiency 2.5/5

At a price of SGD 140+ per night, this is perhaps the most costly room of my entire trip when looking at cost efficiency. Mantra at queens is 10 dollars more per night, but saves on your car prices and transport costs in terms of fuel and public transport as you are able to walk to places. For Travelodge, you need to have a car none the less to really go around as 1 big shopping center is  useful for a day or even for your whole trip worth of food choices, but its not a place for things to do. Also looking at amenities, it is not very well equipped as it lacks a bathtub and swimming pool or fitness corners.

As stated on their website however, this is probably more intended for business users and perhaps big groups that need many rooms and can easily afford a bus service to pick them and bring them into Brisbane city. Or for people who dont need to stay in the city as they probably only wanna spend on day there, and move on to other places for entertainment such as the theme parks. Granted the theme parks are closer to Travelodge then any other hotel in Brisbane due to their further South location, but in those cases, you should have been staying in Gold Coast instead.

Comfort : 3 (You will be able to sleep here, its cosy, but it can really be better)
Service : 4 (The people are nice, they seem to like their job and serving people)
Amenities : 3 (Its the bare minimal for someone who will need to stay in the room for a while such as for business conferences, not for enjoyment though)
Location : 3.5 (You can have things to do, and for the usual tourist spots its just a drive away, just slightly more hassle)
Cost Efficiency : 2.5 (The price is pretty steep for this place, I am not entirely sure why)

Overall : 3.2  (It is quite interesting to consider who are the people who would find a need to stay in this area, but if you do need to stay here, this is a fair choice. There are a few more motels in the vicinity that are about 10 dollars more or less so you probably cannot get that much better deal elsewhere. That being said, this place might still be preferable cause at least there is a shopping center that is walking distance away. If you were to stay here, you will still be able to get a good night sleep, but that's about all that you should really expect. Nonetheless, I am appreciative of the fact that due to my needs to attend an event in the vicinity, I was glad of the presence of Travelodge Garden City Hotel.)

If you stayed here, feel free to leave a comment too!


AGODA review below.

Travelodge was a place that we booked because we had to attend some event in Sunnybank area. When I was scouting the other possible areas in the Sunnybank suburbs, I settled on Travelodge because unlike all the other hotels, this is the hotel with direct access via walking to a shopping center. This is its one biggest attractive point that sets it aside from other places. 

The hotel itself has pretty friendly staff with a fast check in and out. Parking is free and safe and there are a few other places that one can go for a short shopping trip within driving distance. You could even go down to Brisbane City for a day or two via car although parking would be the only issue. 

Unfortunately, it is pretty above average priced and at those prices, you could get a hotel in Brisbane area itself. The queen bed that was given to us was not really a single bed, but two twin beds together and it was felt when sleeping. All in all, its an alright place to stay should you need a place to lodge in Sunnybank!

Hotels : Mantra On Queen Hotel

INTRODUCTION

Hi all, now begins another type of review that I think should be good to embark on, which is to review on the hotels I have been. This would be similar to those that you can read online on Agoda.com or Bookings.com but I think it would be nice to give a personal down to earth review that has more details to those who might plan to go to the same places. This was a problem that i had when i was choosing hotels, as some of the reviews were already outdated or the only pictures available are those of the hotels itself. So these review will help put things into perspective. Not only that, I will also mention items such as location and convenience so that future patrons can have a better idea what to do.

As with every new category of review, there needs to be a set of criteria to follow to allow for some comparison and consistency. Hence I would now have to come out with the criteria to do the rankings and this criteria might be subject to change or improvement as time goes by. Nonetheless we all have to start somewhere, so here goes.

For hotel reviews, I think it will be useful to start with some general details of the hotels itself and these information can be found on the hotel booking websites or the hotel sites themselves.


Details of Hotel

Name : Mantra On Queens
Location : 570 Queen Street, Spring Hill QLD 4000, Australia (This is actually the Brisbane CBD area)
Number of Stars : 4.5 stars
Room of review : Hotel Room
Highlights of Hotel : Sauna, Swimming pool, Spa, Fitness Center, Car park (charged at 20 AUD per day), restaurant at hotel ground level
Date of review : May 2013

Below are the criteria set for hotel review

Comfort 4/5

As you can see from the above picture, the room is a bit more nicely shaped then your usual hotel room, and it has a small sofa chair that seats one right next to the bed. It also has a tiny table top with a chair that you could probably use to do some work over here but overall it is a bit of small surface area. With regards to comfort, the television is well distanced away from the bed and the bed is large and is a singular complete bed. Do note that in some of my other hotel review, you will see that some of the beds are actually two smaller beds beside each other to form the queen size or king size bed, and in some cases you can actually feel the gap. Mantra at queens however has no such issue.

Pillows are plentiful but note that the blanket is actually the brown cloth. There is no additional blanket below the white bed surface. This is unlike the hotels i been to in Thailand where there is a outer and inner blanket.

The bed is pretty good, not too hard, nor was it too soft so it should be able to provide you with a cozy sleeping environment.

Next important issue for comfort is the air conditioning and heater system. In Mantra the air conditioning is hidden from view but is controllable. It does pretty well at keeping the temperature at whatever you set to, which was about 26 degrees for us during this winter period in Australia.

The room is spacious enough to allow good walking room and even if you want some more people over for a while.

Service 4/5

For a 4.5 star hotel, service becomes a very big issue. Checking in was pleasant and the staff was cheerful and very helpful in introducing the area as well as drawing out important areas on the map.

During our stay there, we had some problems with the washing machine. Calling the reception at 11 plus in the night, we had a cheery receptionist girl who wasted no time in coming up to help us try to solve the problem. Admittedly she was not trained in how to fix the washing machine, but she did good in actually volunteering their laundry services to help us wash and dry our clothing, at no extra charges.This is what we expect of a 4.5 star hotel in terms of service and she did this on both nights that we were there.

There was also no problems in helping us get an early check in when we reached there before 12 noon. Also, at the end of our stay there, we did not realize that the check out time was supposed to be 10 am. However, with a call to the reception, they allowed us to check out at 11 with no extra charges which is a very understanding and reasonable gesture by the hotel. Admittedly however, there should have been some way to inform us about the checkout time at mantra especially for those like us who come from overseas and are not used to the Australian style.

There was housekeeping daily and everything was done very neatly with refills of tea and coffee as well as toiletries.



Amenities 3.5/5

For amenities, Mantra was good in providing coffee, tea, microwave, as well as all the cups and cutlery for some sort of cooking within the hotel room. However, there was no facility for cooking such as electrical stove although this is understandable for a hotel room.

Shampoo and soap are all provided as well as ironing and washing machine that has the drying function. Of course some points are taken off due to the fact that the washing machine didn't work while we were there but all in all, it was pretty complete for a hotel room of that size.

The bathtub was actually strangely small and there is a bit of awkwardness in trying to keep the water in the bathtub when showering as the glass did not really prevent water from coming out. Hot water was readily available however and there was good water flow.

There was not too many spare power sockets and I probably could count about 3 spare sockets in the entire room.

Television and channels were probably the standard as all 4 hotels I visited had about the same mix of shows complete with working remotes.

The hotel did have a tiny tiny pool and sauna but these are really not used much during the winter periods. Nonetheless, its good to have the option.

Location 4/5

This criteria is pretty interesting and i would say it might be pretty subjective in a sense. Good location basically depends on whether you would actually want to go to various places. But of course if you are from overseas, you probably would want to explore much of the place. So this current points is indicative of how close the place is from the many many unique or must-visit places of Brisbane!

Mantra on Queens scores high because it is basically on the very outskirts of the CBD area, so its not in the place with many of the main hotels. Yet it is within walking distance to the Queens street mall area, about 10 to 15 minutes, walking distance to one of the stops for the free red ferry city hopper and unlike many of the other hotels in the CBD, this one is close to Chinatown, where there are many shops selling food not only of the chinese culture but many many various foods like vietnam cuisine as well as fast food. Perhaps the furthest location of interest from Mantra would be southbank where there are many eateries and shopping. Still, it makes for good walk and is probably not more then 30 minutes of walk and you can always use the ferry to get there also.

It is also in between the train stops of central station and fortitude, so no matter where you get off, if you are using the train, you will need to walk there. Of course if you stay there for many days, then the time where you will spend carrying and lugging all your luggage will be pretty minimal. Aside from that, right below the hotel is Europcar rentals. So if you have a second leg to your trip like I did, you don't need to rent a car on the spot, but can get one when you are leaving. Remember though that parking at Mantra is charged at $20 per night so I personally won't recommend it cause parking in the city area is troublesome and probably not worth the time. Get there via public transport and leave there via a rental.

There is even a woolsworth (super market) right opposite the hotel that saves you a lot of effort if you want to cook food or get instant noodles or supplies like that. I believe the apartments might have cooking facilities but please check this yourself.

Cost Efficiency 3.5/5

My two nights there were at about 150 SGD per night. So this is probably not a cheap choice especially for long stays. But Brisbane itself is probably a good place to visit for about 3 to 4 days maximum unless you plan to do a lot of shopping. Plus it did have all the amenities such as washing machine and dryer so you can travel slightly lighter.


Summary

Comfort : 4 (Good beds and all around cleanliness. Almost everything functioned properly)
Service : 4 (Cheery staff from start to end, plus very helpful at solving guests problems)
Amenities : 3.5 (Nothing too fancy, but at least they are there as an option)
Location : 4 (Pretty convenient and I guess it is already one of the best locations around)
Cost Efficiency 3.5 (Pricey, but you do get quite a lot of things that you will use like washing machines, driers, and you could save on the transport since you can walk)

Overall 3.8/5 

Overall, my experience at Mantra was a good one. When I entered, I did feel that I was going into a highly rated hotel, but that was only after the difficulties in finding out where the entrance was in the first place. The cheery service that was provided from then at giving us our early check in, helped improve the impression. Even after the washing machine did not function properly, the accommodating and helpful receptionist was there at the late hours to troubleshoot although she didn't know much, but more importantly, she volunteered the hotel's resources to help us get our clothes washed. This should be the service standard expected in every hotel. Wrote a feedback card at the end of everything and I even received a response to my email after that. Mantra obviously wants to improve and do well, and for that I wish them all the best. Maybe some day, I will visit their other branches and do another review for you guys.

Thats it for the first review on the hotel i stayed at in Brisbane. Share your comments if any. I will try to get up the other reviews soon!



This is the review for agoda that i just attached for a summary

Mantra is located in walking distance from the following places, CBD area, Queenstreet Mall, Chinatown, Ferry terminal for free red citihopper ferries, Southbank. In fact, the furthest location that should be visited is Southbank and you could ride the ferry there. Besides that, Mantra would probably be one of the few hotels that is closest to Chinatown area where you can fulfil your asian food cravings. It is also in between central station and fortitude valley so if you take public transport there on the first day, you probably do need to lug your luggage for a bit. But after that, you do not need to worry about transport as the rest is all walkable.

Aside from that, Mantra has good customer service. We had problems with our washing machine at 2300hrs and even then, Hayley at reception was able to come up to our room and attempt to help us. Even though she didn't solve the problem, she offered to help bring our clothes to the hotel's laundry and we could collect it from reception the next day. It is this kind of service that makes Mantra a 4.5 star hotel. 

All in all, for all the sights of Brisbane, put 3 or 4 days in Mantra and you can have a very carefree shopping experience. However, don't bother driving around as parking is charged. We enjoyed our stay there and I believe other people will too.

For a more complete review, visit http://d-d-reviews.blogspot.sg/2013/06/hotels-mantra-on-queen-hotel.html