Oaks Adelaide Embassy Suites

The apartment had plenty of room, a clean interior, and enough utensils for a simple meal. There’s a small kitchen and lounge too, which made staying indoors much more enjoyable with a couple of family members than being stuck sitting on a hotel bed. Nobody goes on holiday to cook a banquet, after all. It was affordable, construction didn’t bother us because we’re usually out all day, and the tram nearby takes you into the heart of the city. We spent a weekend at Oaks and would definitely stay again when visiting Adelaide.

The lifts made this stay miserable. With only one available, waits could be 15 to 20 minutes in a hot, smelly car park, then you’d squeeze into a lift packed with 16 people. Even going one floor, from level 5 to the pool on level 4, could take ages, and the trip up felt like being packed in like sardines. The pool is small and dirty, unusable at peak times, and the spa has been out of order for two years. Oaks says it won’t be fixed. There’s a small sauna, at least. The parking is a nightmare too. Even with an allocated spot, it’s ad hoc and not guaranteed. In our apartment, the washing machine, half the stovetop, the TV, and lights didn’t work. We had no dryer and were told we could use one in another room. It’s so unreal you have to laugh. The room was noisy, with ambulances and police cars going past. Customer service ranged from mediocre to nonexistent, and apartments are serviced only once a week. The location is central, but everything else was a miss. I wish the owner had to deal with these experiences, or have their children use that dirty pool and wait for those lifts. Maybe then they’d fix it. Absolutely horrible. Shame on Oaks for treating guests this way.

Our only positive was the location on North Terrace, close to places like Rundle Mall and Elder Park. Otherwise, our stay at Oaks was the one painful part of an otherwise amazing Adelaide trip. We paid close to $1,000 for four days, including on-site parking, and left really dissatisfied. If this had been a roadside motel in the country I might have been fine with it, but I expected better from Oaks. We stayed from 28/12/2025 to 01/01/2026. Although we paid for “city views,” our window faced the apartment opposite, leaving the unit with very little daylight. The apartment lighting was poor too. The dryer didn’t work, and despite several follow-ups and a maintenance note, nothing was done. Both TV remotes had dead batteries. Reception replaced one, but Netflix and YouTube on the smart TVs were frozen and unusable. A bedroom cupboard door was broken, making it almost impossible to reach what was inside or store our suitcases. We’d paid for four days of on-site parking, but there was almost never a spot reserved for Oaks available. Reception told us to use a few private spaces they believed nobody was using. When we raised issues, reception seemed doubtful anything could be wrong with the apartment or parking. They acknowledged things only after we took them to see in person.

The venue is tired and needs attention, though the location is great. Parking was our biggest problem. We booked a space weeks ahead and paid in full at check-in, but were told none were available when we arrived. Yet whenever we saw the Oaks car park from the lift, it looked about half full. We were sent to the public car park next door, which was a long walk and felt dirty and unsafe. After we checked out, they charged us for two extra days of parking without notice or authorization. They’re ignoring our requests to refund that money.