Mercure Kawana Waters

I’ve stayed here regularly for overnight trips to the Sunshine Coast, but this visit was well below average. At check-in, the staff member was so unfriendly that we felt like we should be grateful she’d even made time to hand over our keys. Our room overlooked the car park, an apparent upgrade, LOL. There were hairs in the bathroom sink and watermarks on the floor. The TV was broken, with a cracked screen, and the room phone wasn’t connected. We tried to call reception, then rang from our mobiles. We were told they were fully booked and couldn’t fix anything that night, but would report it to the managers in the morning. Then the shower water smelled horrible, like sewerage. The next morning, the front manager hadn’t heard about any of it, but tried to sort things out. We were moved to another room later that day. It had a lovely lake view and everything worked, which we appreciated, but the cleanliness problems remained, with stained tiles and horrible-smelling shower water. The front manager said he’d follow up with the hotel manager about compensation for the first night. At checkout, nobody mentioned a refund or compensation. I’d used points to make the stay more affordable, and it didn’t feel worth the roughly $180 asking price. I asked to speak to the manager, who was quite abrupt and didn’t apologise. They said they do checks, but sometimes things happen, and offered points because we were platinums and had used points for the stay. I accepted, but it felt begrudging. There was no real apology for the drop in standards, and we were left feeling as if they were doing us a favour even though we were paying with our own money. This isn’t unique to this hotel. All Accor hotels seem to be showing the same problems at the moment. Customer service and hospitality are lacking, and I doubt we’ll be back soon, which is a shame because we used to travel there a few times a year for short breaks and appointments. A very disappointing stay, but common to Accor Plus properties at the moment: higher room rates, less service, care and quality.