Lelux Hotel

The staff were welcoming, helpful, and friendly, and for $72 a night it was clean, convenient, and good value. I'd definitely come back if the beds were more comfortable. They were stiff and badly need replacing. My partner and I left with back and hip pain, even though we're still young. We also stayed during the coldest weekend of the year, and the thermostat didn't work, so we were freezing. The elevator is known to be rickety and unreliable too.

The lobby looks nice, but that's about it. Our view was of an abandoned building, breakfast was basic, and the bathroom felt like something from the Bates Motel, with black mold on the ceiling. The TV remote had no batteries, so I had to buy some, and the fridge didn't keep food cold. The building was a solid +27 with no way to cool it down. There were no windows to open and no AC. Don't bother with the gym either, it had five machines and weights strewn everywhere. Do better.

For $140, I expected more, even knowing this was a cheaper hotel. A hostel can offer running hot water and let you take food to go. This was a terrible experience, and I'm not coming back. My room was nice and clean, but the hotel didn't seem to be in good working order. The old, creaky elevator only worked if you pressed the buttons at just the right time. I had to let the shower run for 15 minutes to get it even slightly warm. The room phone didn't work despite being plugged into the phone jack, so I walked to the front desk three times for three separate problems. We'd paid for breakfast, but when I was leaving, I was told I couldn't take food out of the eating area, so I couldn't even grab a bite to go. It's sad when a hostel turns out to be a better experience than a hotel.

We and our friends each had a room and gave a credit card for a pre-authorization, but they held $250 per room despite the room rate already being prepaid. Then they kept both security deposits. My friend's was kept for what amounted to ordinary wear and tear on the room equipment, and their reason for keeping mine was basically theft. Avoid this place, almost anywhere else would be better. The service was horrible. Staff spoke Arabic among themselves while working, which left us wondering if they were talking about us. I found it impolite, and they seemed not to care. Their rudeness and the way they looked down on clients didn't help. The front desk was so arrogant you'd think someone should remind them they're not at the Ritz-Carlton, even if the name might make you expect a better experience. The hotel is run-down, looks bad, smells bad, and feels bad. It's among the cheapest in the city, yet they overcharge for service that barely exists. The rooms are okay if you get one with a decent mattress, but many need replacing. It seems to aim just a little above the quality and safety of an abandoned building, and barely manages that.