Crowne Plaza Perth by IHG — Hotel in East Perth

This is my 1st time being in Perth and decided to end my last 2 nights by staying at the Crowne Plaza Perth (Being the cheapest IHG Property when booking).

The Crowne Plaza Perth is Situated on East Perth and facing views of the Swan River. Let's have a look at my thoughts below:

I have booked the CPP for my stay on 7th - 9th May 2024. It pride itself as being a 4.5 Star hotel but sadly the Crowne Plaza Perth I feel is at most 3.5 Stars and here is why.

Check-In:

I arrived at the hotel at 11am on 7th May for my check in and being an IHG Diamond Member, I was given my room right on the spot. The Staff who checked me in was professional and assisted me fast. She explained what the hotel had to offer and all it took was less then 5 mins for my check in to be done.

Check in Rating: 5/5

Room:

I had originally booked a 1 Queen size room but was upgraded to a High Floor River View with Balcony on the 11th Floor. My Room was 1103 and as I open, the room was on a standard and spacious size. Yes the Room (and the hotel) needs an upgrade totally as its looks very basic and standard for a Crowne Plaza hotel standard.

But it does serve me well for these 2 days. The Queen Bed was very comfortable. The room had a spacious balcony that overlooks the Swan River. The toilet thou was on a small size and I think if the hotel ever renovates, they should just break the bathtub and make it a shower area the make the toilet feel more spacious.

Overall, the room is good. Just needs a full renovation especially the musty carpet.

Room Rating: 4/5

Gusti Breakfast:

Honestly, thankfully the BF for me as a Diamond member was free. Because as I went down at 9am, there was barely any hot food left. I just took what was available and I sat there for 20 mins and no chef was there to do any refill. The food tasted alright but not the quality for a Crowne Plaza. More like a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express. Service was ok. I mean I just gave my room number and that was the only interaction I had with any server during my Breakfast.

Breakfast Rating: 2.5/5

Gym/Pool: I didn't use the pool but the view makes up for it. As for the gym, like I said, if they were to renovate they need to invest in new better machines and weights. They just combined 2 rooms to make it gym. With the 2 toilets by each side, it just took up extra space where they could have add better equipments. The Lights weren't even working for the 2 days I was there even thou I had gym in the afternoon. The room just felt a bit dark.

Gym Rating: 3/5

WIFI: Ok the hotel wifi is really the most annoying part of my whole stay. It has a very very BAD Connection. I couldn't even have a stable connection to do my Zoom and work meetings be it in the room or the balcony (which was the was connection ever).

WIFI Rating: 1/5

Laundry Room: This is a 1st and best part of my stay. Free laundry and Dryer to was may previous 6 nights I had been in Perth. This was truly a saviour to me.

Laundry Rating: 5/5

Overall, the Staffs at the front desk to those whom I had interacted were good and friendly. But the management seriously needs to Sit down with the Hotel Owners and IHG Management to have an uplift of the Crowne Plaza Perth. Even the CP Logo on the building and Front Building is so outdated. If they would like to call themself a 4.5 Star Hotel, they should really start improving asap.

I don't think I will be ever coming back to Perth because it isn't for me. But as for this Hotel, I feel there is potential to be better and I do hope the management takes not only my feedback but the other guest feedback too in improving.

Overall...

Update: in response to hotels reply

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, I must address several inaccuracies in your reply, as it misrepresents key aspects of my experience. Pool Light Safety Concerns Your claim that the pool light complied with safety standards is inconsistent with what we witnessed. A light with exposed wires was floating in the pool—a clear safety hazard. No electrician was present to assess the situation during our stay, contrary to your statement. Instead, a staff member attempted to resolve the issue with disposable gloves, which did not inspire confidence in the safety protocols or qualifications involved. If an electrician was consulted, we were not informed, and no evidence was provided to reassure us of the pool’s safety. Parking Charges While parking charges were mentioned in the confirmation email after booking, this is not the same as disclosing them before the booking process. This lack of upfront transparency meant we only became aware of the additional $35 parking fee after committing to the reservation. Such charges should be made clear during the booking process itself, not after. Construction Work Your response suggests the construction was limited to weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm. However, we experienced disturbances outside these hours. Additionally, no notice of ongoing construction was provided at the time of booking or prior to our arrival, which would have influenced our decision to stay. Breakfast Charges You state that the complimentary child’s breakfast was a goodwill gesture, but this does not address the fact that the breakfast policy was misleading. When booking a “room with breakfast included,” it was not made clear that this did not apply to children. This lack of clarity caused unexpected expenses, which we had to absorb despite the misleading information provided. Staff Communication While I appreciate the diversity of your team, my feedback on the pool safety incident reflects the reality that communication with the person involved was difficult. This was not a criticism of multilingualism but rather a note on the specific interaction during a critical safety concern.

Finally, your property is not consistent with what one would expect from a 4-star rating. The outdated facilities, misleading policies, lack of transparency, and safety concerns do not reflect the standards of a 4-star hotel. This rating is misleading to guests and should be reassessed.

Your response appears to dismiss legitimate safety issues and other shortcomings we encountered, which is disappointing. We shared our feedback with the hope of transparency and improvement, but your response does not reflect the seriousness of our concerns.

I stand by my review and urge prospective guests to carefully consider this feedback...

Disappointing Stay with Unjust Charges and Poor Management

My wife and I recently stayed at Crowne Plaza Perth for two nights, and unfortunately, our experience was far below expectations. While the morning manager (Leila) was professional and resolved the issue, the overall stay was marred by poor communication, unjust fees, and disrespectful treatment. As frequent travellers who have stayed in hotels across Dubai, Australia, and other cities, we’ve never encountered such disrespectful treatment before.

Unexpected Cleaning Fee & Poor Communication After our first night, we received an SMS asking us to visit reception, only to be informed we’d be charged an additional $150 cleaning fee upon checkout because the room was deemed "dirty." When I tried to discuss this with the manager (Harry, who had no identification badge), he was rude, dismissive, and repeatedly interrupted me. Despite explaining that we had young children and the room only had typical disarray (no damage or excessive mess), he insisted on the fee without justification.

Privacy Concerns & Unprofessional Behavior Shockingly, Harry mentioned that the hotel had taken videos of our belongings without our consent. He raised his voice, kept interrupting, and threatened us with the videos, creating an uncomfortable and hostile situation.

Neglected Room Service The room service was severely lacking:

No bin emptying (we had to complain to get them collected).

No toilet paper or tea/coffee replenishment.

Staff claimed they "couldn’t touch anything," leaving us without essentials.

Positive Note: Morning Manager’s Professionalism Thankfully, the morning manager (Leila) was understanding. She reviewed the room with me and, after inspection, agreed no extra cleaning was needed with the room service manager, waiving the fee. Which highlights how unnecessary the earlier confrontation was.

Final Thoughts & Warning for Families

If you’re traveling with kids, think twice—this hotel may penalize you for normal family clutter.

Use the "Do Not Disturb" sign to avoid the headache, but be prepared to bring your own toiletries and garbage bags in case room service is withheld.

Privacy risk: Belongings may be recorded without consent, which was shocking even for their head office when contacted same morning. who has access to these videos? Are they stored securely? and for how long? I don't know even.

While Leila’s intervention helped, the overall experience was...