lyf on Elizabeth Melbourne — Hotel in Melbourne

Ok, so you might not be able to find the entrance to this place as there's major construction going on, which was a surprise to us as we weren't told this upon booking. The main entrance doesn't exist, no signage on where to enter but we walking around a bit til we found the entrance, via the cafe.

After checking in we had to navigate a tight hallway full of construction workers, walking under low hanging power cables to find the lift, now this is a special lift, it takes about 15mins for the lift to arrive on the correct level, for some reason when the button is pushed it goes to the top level and stays there for about 15mins before coming to the correct level so unless you want to take what could be the dirtiest stairwell in Melbourne down to the ground floor, this is also "shared" by the construction company and is full of concrete dust, I suggest pushing the button for the lift then having a shower and getting ready while you wait, might be there by the time your ready. They do have 2 lifts but the other lift being used for construction purposes so it's unavailable for guests of the hotel.

They do have a baggage check, bags left in the open in cafe area.

In what is suppose to be a fun little joke the staff has signs up saying if the construction is too loud please find ear plugs in the lobby (which is the cafe) and they actually have ear plugs to take, funny but I wasn't laughing.

As for the room it's a decent size room, bed was meant to be a queen sized but only was a double, at this point I wasn't surprised. Good views with windows that open letting some fresh air into the room but also allows smokers to have a quick smoke with there head out the window, you'll notice the smell in the hall ways. Something I've never encountered before was the lack of a main light in the room, there's 3 dim lamps and another dimmer wall mounted light on the far side of the room, making reading difficult at night, even with all 4 lights on.

Didn't come to Melbourne to sit in the room and watch TV but I like to watch to relax before bed, of the channels that actually worked none were able to hold good reception for longer then 15mins but as the TV is so tiny it is kinda fitting that it didn't work very well.

On a plus side the location is fairly central and check out time of 11 was nice, there's also some good places to eat within short distance and the markets are right around the corner.

Staff were friendly and pleasant to deal with.

With the cons heavily outweighing the pros I couldn't recommend staying here, nor will I be staying here again in the future, I'm assuming it will be nicer after the construction is finished but I can only review on the time...

Overall I was impressed with this hotel and the price point for the quality compared to other hotels in the CBD. It's a great location next door to Queen Victoria Market, many restaurants and is walkable to the river. The rooms are comfy and clean. The staff are friendly and helpful. They did, however, authorize a large hold on my account without notifying me beforehand and I still have not had the money released even after leaving. Thankfully this didn't ruin my vacation as I had access to other money but for a traveler on a budget, withholding around $500 USD could have been a disaster. The longer this goes on, the more I think on my experience at Jasper, and read reviews with similar issues, the more curious it becomes. This is an ongoing systemic issue for them, not the oops we can't explain what happened excuse they gave me. Also, their stories changed multiple times during my stay and the solution they promised never materialized. Also, why would they authorize such a large amount and extend the date well past the conclusion of my stay? I stopped at a hotel in Honolulu and the first thing the clerk said was we will authorize a $50 charge to your room which will be immediately returned when you leave if you consent. This should be the industry standard for professionalism. Addendum -- after not seeing a reversal as promised, I wrote to their email address; their response was we have reversed the hold but need your credit card number and expiration date to issue a refund. I'll just wait for the natural hold to expire as confirmed by my bank and then never visit this hotel again. You just can't go cavalierly handling people's money without their consent in this manner even if it is ultimately reversed. I've effectively given you a two week interest free loan. The money was finally reversed 4 days after my departure. How about...

The good thing about this hotel is the location. Its right next to QV market and tram stop.

Here is my take on everything else:

The Room - dusty carpet.. unclean. Itchy bedding, the bed is comfortable but sheets are itchy. I thought it's bedbugs and did a check but thankfully it's not. Just not sanitised properly I guess. Not enough storage space and Vanity space. Dusty. Cobwebs. No double lock on the doors. Didn't feel safe for 5 nights.

Complimentary water bottle- was given 2 bottles on the first day of arrival, the rest of the 4 days, none. I called to ask them. It seems it's a hotel policy. Thinking again about the price I paid per night SGD283.

Room service - substandard. Room was only cleaned after our 3rd day of stay. Carpet not vacumed. Bathroom not cleaned properly. Not very sanitary. The toilet leaks water all day. Requested a towel change on the 3rd day but they left the old towels in the same place I left it. Was not even removed. I had totuck in the sheets myself. The water on the sink was not wiped. It was still wet.

Front desk - unsmiling robotic staff. They appear unmotivated and lacklustre.

Jasper hotel. U need a face-lift. I'm not trying to be rude. But the hotel is very run down and your staff need training. They need to take pride in their work. It's hospitality, be hospitable. Front desk not a smile on their faces. I think you should relook at your work model.

My take is at SGD283 a night, I expect a better standard. I singapore that is a lower end of a 4 star standard. And this is more of a 2 star standard. For the price it feels like a con (especially since they had a no cancellation policy on...