Grand Arden Monaco Nelson

The Honest Lawyer is just across the road, and the staff there were friendly and accommodating. The food was exceptional. The place itself had a lovely old-world charm, but service gets one star because we arrived after hours at 6:30 pm and the attached eatery had stopped serving. They said it was because of a public holiday, though it was January 2, so, hmm.

The exterior is about the only good thing here; it looks very nice. Inside, the carpet was stained and dirty, and there were spider webs in the room. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable, the pillows felt cheap, and the towels were old and worn. Reception is only open from 9 AM to 5 PM, which was inconvenient. The stay was disappointing.

The building and the area around it are beautiful, but that’s about it. This isn’t really a hotel, just a room with a bed and an ensuite. We asked to have the room made up while we were out and returned to a very poor attempt at making the bed. Hotel guests can’t use the pool, and there’s no room service or restaurant on site. Extremely overpriced for what you get.

The Honest Lawyer across the road was the one good part. The bed was uncomfortable, made from two singles pushed together, and the springs gave me back pain. The loose shower head in the open shower sent water everywhere, leaving the floor wet for the whole trip. The toilet seat was loose or broken, and there was no one on site to help when I wanted an extra towel. To top it off, we got just one teaspoon, with no more in the hallway cups and plates, and no service around until after checkout. Useless and not worth the money.