Mercure Melbourne Albert Park

I enjoyed a two week stay at the Mercure Albert Park in Melbourne. The staff are excellent. The hotel is lovely but the staff made the experience as good as it was. They are all so friendly, polite and did everything they could to make my stay as enjoyable as possible.

Check in was quick but I was disappointed with checkout. I wanted to pay with debit not credit and after a long wait was told that wasn’t possible. So you charge a fee for credit card use, but no alternative payment option is available. Cleanliness can be improved. Only standard terrestrial TV channels.

Very convenient location when the conference I was attended was located at the same venue. The rooms however, are very dated and the air conditioning does not work very well. The bed was very comfy and the staff were very helpful and lovely. Would have been perfect if the aircon had been working.

While the hotel offers a convenient location, friendly staff, and a good breakfast and dinner selection, the poor room maintenance and inconsistent servicing significantly impacted the overall experience. Positives: Excellent location. Enjoyed the buffet breakfast and the new dinner menu at Windows Restaurant. Friendly and helpful reception staff. Efficient check-in and check-out process. Generously sized room. Negatives: The lift and lift lobby area in Mercure Tower 2 felt very dated and poorly maintained. Room maintenance was below standard. My safe wasn’t working; after replacing the battery, the maintenance team discovered the battery cover was missing and secured it with black tape. My colleague’s safe also failed and had to be replaced. The ironing board was extremely worn out—the foam beneath the cover had disintegrated, leaving yellow bits. I used it to iron a black dress for an evening reception, which ended up with unwanted lines and mesh patterns from the ironing board due to the poor condition. I asked for a replace ironing board which was no better. Room servicing was inconsistent: Day 1: Bed made, rubbish not removed. Day 2: Bed made, towels changed, but teacup not cleaned/replaced and no tea bag replenishment. Day 3: My personal (non-disposable) shower cap was mistakenly discarded, bathmat removed with no replacement, and again no tea bag replenishment. The wardrobe was dusty, including a layer of dust on top of the safe inside. All lighting in the room was manual, which felt outdated. Overall: For a 4-star hotel, the lack of maintenance and inconsistent room servicing were a bit disappointing. Thankfully, I spent minimal time in the room due to a busy conference schedule.