Serenade Hotel

Uncomfortable and overpriced

I travel a lot, stay in many different types of hotels, and this one was probably the worst I've stayed in, in many years.

This is a brand new hotel, and the room decor is quite pretty overall. But the rooms are small, and many of them don't have windows. Mine didn't. The beds are so hard it's like sleeping on a wooden mattress, and my back and neck will hurt for a long time after this. The hot water in the shower only lasts for about 5 minutes, so if you like hot showers, or there are more than one of you, turn the water off while you lather! The ventilation in the bathroom brings in cigarette smoke smells from the outside, and the towels have a slight Vietnamese food-smell....If you need more than one toilet paper roll during your stay, call reception and ask for one ahead, so as not to get stuck with an empty roll, like I did. You get one, that's all!

The sauna and spa that is advertised is not open yet.

The breakfast buffet is terrible: a tiny choice of nothing much, cold omelette, no orange juice, only juices no one likes in the morning (watermelon, peach). It's extra if you want expresso or green tea, you have to settle for what's there. If you tell them your omelette is cold, they will say no, and put their fingers on it to prove it. The restaurant staff does not speak any foreign languages, so it's very difficult to ask for any thing. They will hover over you and take your plate away while you are still eating what's on it.

The front desk staff is not much more helpful. Their english is terrible, and if you want something, it's a struggle. They organized a day trip for me, which was terrible: the company they went through provided a guide that didn't speak english, it was a horrible excursion from start to finish.

Oh, and I found a baby cockroach in my room. House keeping kept moving our things around in the room, actually walked in on me without knocking first, and woke us up every morning sixish with lound chatter.

When I went to pay, they wanted to charge me 3% extra for paying with a credit card, and tried to charge me extra for my kid, although it says on their brochure kids under 12 stay free if sleeping in their parents bed.

We were fooled by the photos of a nice decor, by the manager who was super nice on skype, but in the end, he was a jerk who tried to con us, and the hotel is more than twice as expensive than it's worth.

It's a rip-off!!! An uncomfortable one at that!

Unique Quality: Very good location