Hotel Castelmar

We lost $98 after leaving for another hotel, so think carefully before booking. On our first night, loud demolition work at the neighboring property began at 05.00am. Our first room smelled so strongly of damp that we couldn't stay there, and the helpful receptionist and porter moved us to a better one. But the builders kept us from sleeping. The manager offered only another internal room, which would probably smell damp too, saying that all rooms were the same. We decided to leave before our second night, but she refused a refund. She was rude and seemed uninterested in the hotel's failure to provide a room without a damp smell. She repeatedly said the Govt building work was outside and beyond her control, which we understood, but we should have been warned when booking and refunded for one of the two nights. Guests shouldn't be left uninformed about construction and offered a smelly room without a refund. The neighboring demolition is still in its early stages.

The hotel and its location were fine, but a morning receptionist treated me very unprofessionally. I asked for one small favor, to let me make a local phone call, which would have taken half a minute. He said he was happy to help, then kept serving other guests who had shown up after I was already there. I asked several times to be attended to and later asked why he had let so many people go ahead. I told him I was disappointed and left. He gave no explanation or apology, and I never got help. The downstairs rooms are also noisy because people eat right outside your door, with only wood between them and the rooms instead of proper windows. That's part of being in a historic building, and not the end of the world.

The staff were friendly, and the location was great. My self-contained room had its own entrance and worked perfectly for me. There's secure parking across the street.

It feels like staying in another era, and the hotel is beautiful. The staff were friendly and helpful. For this price, fixing the mold with a few minutes of whitening spray and adding a small ledge beneath the AC so it doesn't drip on your face at night would make it a 5/5. Guests, move your bed 10 cm away from the wall if you want to stay dry overnight!