Swiss-Belhotel Woolloongabba, Brisbane

The room was advertised as having a separate bedroom, which is why we booked it while travelling with our toddler. We wanted to put our child to bed and still have the living room for ourselves. Instead, a TV stand sat in the middle of the room, with the bed on one side and the sofa and kitchenette on the other. That doesn't count as a separate bedroom. We'd booked and paid for early check-in, and the hotel had confirmed it in writing. At arrival, reception said no rooms were ready and we would have to wait. They did get one ready after about 40 minutes and didn't charge us for early check-in, but the service was still poor. When I raised the bedroom issue, the young woman called her manager. From what I could hear, he told her to tell us to suck it up because we'd booked the best room and should be grateful. But our friends travelling with us had a room with a proper second bedroom behind a door that could be shut. The manager, and the staff member passing on his comments, were caught out in a lie. We left after one night and found more suitable accommodation at a much more appropriate venue. We lost our prepaid money with Swiss-Bel, but kept our sanity and our toddler's sleeping pattern intact. We left a couple of our child's books behind. When I called reception four hours later, the same young woman said she'd check with housekeeping and get back to us. We've heard nothing since. The location is convenient, but the reception staff's treatment of us and the blatantly false room description mean we wouldn't recommend this establishment to our worst enemy. See the attached photos of the room description and what you actually get in terms of separation.

If I could give minus stars, I would. After my partner was flown to hospital following a serious accident, I drove 1200km to be with her and booked a pet-friendly room at the last minute. I was then told pets weren't allowed, threatened with being kicked out, and charged over $400 extra. The receptionist was incredibly rude and inconsiderate. I had even booked in person to make sure they were happy to accommodate my little dog. It was the icing on an already horrible day. Stay clear!

The rooftop bar and restaurant shown in the description isn't really there. It only opens for breakfast, and there's no bar. Breakfast was another letdown: even though I paid extra for it, hot food wasn't included, so bacon and eggs cost more on top of the continental spread. The room also had no coffee machine despite the listing and photo, and the shower was weak with its handheld part missing. The advertising is very misleading. For that price, I could have booked somewhere much nicer, and that's what I'll do next time.

The room was spacious, nicely furnished, and the whole hotel was clean and tidy. The gym was well equipped, and the staff were lovely, helpful, and kind. My room's windows were fully frosted, so there was no view, though the booking site hadn't mentioned that. I was told a room with a view would cost extra. Breakfast was complimentary but very poor, with no hot choices such as boiled eggs, and staff kept trying to upsell other menu items.