ibis Bulle la Gruyere

Everything from the service to the rooms and breakfast made for a bad stay. They call this a two-star hotel, but it should be one star. I wouldn't recommend it, especially to tourists hoping to enjoy their trip. The manager was particularly disrespectful and treated us badly. We'd paid for our lodging and it wasn't checkout time, but she raised her voice aggressively and told us we couldn't sit in the lobby, that we had to go outside or stay in our rooms. Staff were rude and unprofessional, and customer service was very poor. Breakfast was terrible, cold, and low quality. We were told it started at 7:00 AM, and weren't allowed to eat before then. But when we went earlier, the food was completely different, hot and good quality. The night before, a guest went to use the hotel's pizza vending machine and couldn't get back inside because the main entrance door wouldn't open. She politely asked the front desk attendant to open it, but he rudely told her to do it herself. She explained the door wasn't working. A locksmith came 30 minutes later and confirmed it was defective. The rooms were extremely poor and unclean. The sheets smelled damp and dirty, the sink didn't drain properly, and there wasn't enough soap. Nobody told us the A/C had been out of service since October, so the room was uncomfortably hot. We were told to leave the balcony door open, and had to sleep with it open all night.

I'll never stay at this location again. The A/C didn't work, and the employee couldn't do anything when we complained. We had to go without it for four hours until it was cold enough outside to open the window. We slept with it completely open and could hear all the outside noise until 2:00 am. The bathroom smelled of humidity, and nearly all the liquid soap was used up. At 6:35 am, we went to the breakfast area and saw two other customers having breakfast, so we started getting ours. A lady came over shouting that our group was supposed to eat at 7 am. She was super rude, and that's no way to speak to a customer.

It was quiet, clean everywhere, and the hotel looked new. The bed was comfortable, and I liked the big shower with its glass door. Breakfast was good, and there were enough parking spots at CHF 5 per day. It's easy to find after leaving the highway, and a short walk gets you to the city centre. I was very satisfied. I gave it four stars instead of five simply because it's an ibis three-star hotel, not a higher category.

I've stayed at Ibis hotels for years, and this was my worst experience. At the front desk, I felt like a nuisance instead of someone they welcomed. The hotel didn't feel welcoming, and the mattresses and linens were very old and worn out. After years of staying with Ibis, this is an experience I won't repeat next time I'm in Bulle.