Hotel Alpha

The room was tidy and comfortable, with everything we needed, and the service was helpful. The location was convenient too. For such a reasonable price, it felt like a great value, and I was glad we chose it.

The hotel is in a great spot, and my room was clean and pleasant. The reception team were really helpful.

We all got bitten by mosquitoes during the night, which was the most irritating part of the stay. The room had no minibar, bottled water, or blankets, though at least towels and dental kits were provided. The mattress was so hard it felt like there wasn't one, and the chair had upholstery but no padding. At 5 p.m. I couldn't arrange breakfast for our late night checkout. There was hot water then, though the pressure was weak, but when we left at night the shower had no hot water. I wouldn't recommend staying here.

I won't be coming back to Hotel Alpha. What happened with the laundry service was the main reason: I left clothes at reception expecting to collect and pay there, and said clearly that I needed to use a card because I had no cash. On my last evening an elderly lady asked me to pay her in cash. Staff said cash was the only option and that I had to pay her directly. Asking for a receipt seemed to upset both her and the receptionist, which felt very unprofessional. I went out to an ATM, and an error there blocked my card. About 40 minutes later I returned, and somehow I was then able to pay by card. I also never got the invoice I requested. When I raised my concerns, the staff didn't seem to understand or care, and I was left with a blocked card at a foreign bank. I asked who the woman was and was told she was a cleaning lady handling laundry. For a hotel that says it takes cards, this arrangement was surprising, as was contracting laundry to a cleaning lady. The hotel response to my review made things worse. It showed no respect or common courtesy, so I changed my rating from two stars to one. There were some good points: the place was clean and the rooms were spacious and attractive. But calling it a four-star hotel feels overrated. Some staff were unfriendly and impolite, and breakfast was mediocre. It also seems to have internal management or administrative problems. The laundry payment situation left me deeply disappointed.