Econo Lodge Lilydale — Hotel in Melbourne

Rated low as we never got to stay at Econo Lodge and the communication unfortunately was completely unsatisfactory. I booked the Econo Lodge more than a month in advance to the check in date. I sent them a message on the same day I booked it , to ask of the possibility of an earlier check in as we had a wedding to attend to at 3pm so appreciated an earlier check in than 2pm if possible to allow more time to get ready rather than just "drop our bags & leave" (completely understandable this is not always possible & this was not the issue)

Did not hear back from them (even though it said they had a 24hr response time). Left it, then the night prior to check in, I tried messaging again to ask. Still no response so I called. Got through to someone straight away who was very accommodating and advised they would definitely be able to provide an earlier check in of 12.30-1pm. Gratefully accepted 1pm. Then called back a few mins later after speaking to my partner to ask if we could actually have 12.30pm. So I have now messaged twice and spoken to the same person twice. 4 contact points so far (only 2 successful) After I had already spoken to the same person twice confirming earlier check in would be possible, then they finally replied to my message - but advising that we would need to call on the day when we are on the road to ask about early check in. Obviously we did not want to do this as we didn't want to turn up to find out early check in was not possible and have to wait in our car for an hour. If early check in was not possible from the start this would be fine, as mentioned previously, we understand it is not always /& usually not possible and just wanted to ask the question.

I replied straight away explaining that I had just spoken to someone on the phone twice who had confirmed early check in would be possible both times so if they would clarify - again no response.

On the day of check in we called while we were on our way there to clarify if we would be able to check in earlier or not.. spoke to a different person this time - & this is the reason I have deemed their communication completely unsatisfactory - this person told us that the Econo is undergoing renovations and that we would need to stay at the Yarra Valley Motel! This was the FIRST time this had ever been mentioned to us!! As we were driving there and only because we had called them again! Which begs the question, why did they never call or message to advise tand that hotels have renovations but we were completely frustrated as we had not been advised previously and this was the first we had heard of the renovations and that we would infact, be staying at a different motel - even though I had tried to contact them twice prior to calling - spoken to someone twice and no mention, recieved a message back from them FINALLY and still no mention of the renovations & that we would infact be staying at a different property!

We can't comprehend how something as important as renovations and that your guests therefore need to be moved, is not advised to the guest until the day of check in and only because we called them again and it was finally advised - they had not made ANY ATTEMPTS to contact us to advise - surely you would know atleast a few days prior to allocating rooms - had we been advised when we made the booking or atleast with some sort of notice, then we would not have been upset. Had we not called them when we were on the road, they were going to just wait until we got there to advise us which is completely unacceptable.

We will say that the Yarra Valley Motel was fine & we didn't have any complaints about the room except that there was a lot of traffic noise from the main road which made it a bit harder to sleep. Just a real shame that our stay was heavily tainted from the unprofessional & lack of respect for guests in terms of...

A terrible experience. Woken from a deep sleep at 11.45 by extreme undesirables checking in to room above me. Very noisy,swearing, up and down very noisy, dodgy external stairs outside my room. After 30 minutes I phoned motel number and was told by security staff they would pass on complaint to motel staff. Noise escalated. Phoned again around 1pm, when noisy motorbike rider arrived to join them. Was told they were informed these people were just checking in. Security advised the would have motel staff call me. Didn't happen. I finally went up myself at 2.15 to ask them to have some consideration and be quiet ( I am a 64 year old, female disability pensioner). After some posturing, they said they were going out anyway. Eventually they left, but came back around 3.45, just as I was finally falling asleep. They stopped outside my windows to mock me and swear some more. Quite frightening. Managed about 1 hour's sleep before I was woken by people leaving. When I explained all this to reception staff and demanded a refund I was told the manager said to refund $50 (out of $115 paid), and really there was nothing they could do about such behaviour as they had drug addicts and homeless people often checking in at all hours! When I asked to speak to the manager, I was refused. I eventually settled for $75 because I felt sorry for receptionist. It's very obviously all about the dollar. They must have had numerous complaints and could care less. In retrospect I should have called the police, but was concerned about payback....

I would love to give you guys a higher score. The apartment was great, the fact that you allowed our dog to stay was excellent. You were friendly at the booth when you greeted us and gave us good information. The car park is unlit which I think attracts unwanted visitors… Unfortunately during our stay a “gang attack” broke out during the second night and we heard screaming and shouting and banging for 3 hours over midnight… we were then woken and asked for information from the police at 2am at our door, and the whole incident ended up on the news :( I have never been so scared and we were so so glad they didn’t break into our room or damage our car that night as we had travelled all the way from NSW to get there. Honestly I probably won’t be staying here again, or in Lilydale for...