Holiday Inn Warwick Farm by IHG — Hotel in Sydney

The Holiday Inn Warwick Farm was our home for 7 months, from June 2016 to January 2017, as a result of a house fire and as such puts us in the unique position of seeing the staff performing their duties over an extended period of time. Their conduct, when dealing with guests and other members of the public was always professional, friendly, and efficient.

The first time we walked into the Holiday Inn, our family was in shock. We were covered in soot and smelled like the smoke which had partially engulfed our home that same afternoon. The first person we spoke to at reception was Luke. He was highly efficient in arranging our accommodation for that very important first night. When the soot in my throat got too much and I started some extreme coughing, he quickly got me a drink of water - one of our first indications of the type of service we would receive at the hotel.

The reception staff always greeted guests with a warm smile and sound in their voices. Any query or request my family put to them was always actioned and rectified quickly by them and by the appropriate personnel. Check in and out for individuals or groups also appeared efficient with questions readily answered in a courteous and friendly manner.

The same can also be said of the waitstaff who worked like a well oiled machine even during their busiest periods.

Having the choice of breakfast indoors or sitting on the edge of a “rainforest” was wonderful. The rainforest area was a beautiful and peaceful way to start the day as the morning sun filtered down through the canopy reflecting off the water and the fish. The breakfast was either from the buffet or off the menu. Each option had lovely choices and none of us ever left dissatisfied. The staff always smiled as they came to your table and were always seeing to the satisfaction of guests and replenishing buffet supplies when appropriate.

The dinner crowds in The Warwick, especially on Friday and Saturday nights and in the lead up to Christmas and New Year were always large. The bar and waitstaff were constantly aware of the patrons and the chefs, who were visible, worked consistently without losing their cool in what were some very pressure filled nights. The meals were always of a high standard, thoroughly enjoyable and filling in a relaxed environment. With very recent changes to the menu we will definitely be returning to try the new items listed. In addition, the fine dining experience in Nortons was also wonderful. The staff were very attentive and the meals were excellent. Following a meal experience like this with an after dinner drink in the Library Bar makes for a wonderful evening.

Special mention must be made of a group of people who are usually overlooked: the housekeeping and maintenance staff. These incredibly hardworking people are essential in keeping this hotel looking wonderful. The standard of room maintainence is high with attention to detail and going to bed every night was like falling into a cloud thanks to the beds and pillows. The quilts appear to be sent for cleaning on a regular basis which would explain their lovely clean smell. I was also genuinely surprised, whenever I had to look for a lost shoe or missing section of toy, to see how clean and dust free it was underneath the beds. The complimentary bottles of water left in each room were also a pleasant discovery. The floors and glass in the common and restaurant areas are constantly being cleaned to ensure the hotel literally sparkles for guests and patrons while the guest laundry is always wiped down and machines checked while the adjacent gym feels fresh and always ready for use.

The pool and outdoor area is very relaxing and my family enjoyed spending time in this area both in the Summer and Winter months. Minor/major maintenance problems are attended to quickly and even the carpark has people who ensure that the parking bays are kept clean and clear of man made and natural debris so that guests may park easily.

We would specifically like to thank the reception and breakfast staff as well as the ladies who most frequently cleaned our room. Your attentiveness and interest in our family helped make our stay so special.

Finally, thanks must go to the Manager, Dimitri Karam, for not only ensuring the high standard of staff employed at the hotel but also for making us feel so very welcome and at home...

When I booked for the accommodation, it was quite a frustrating experience as the reservations agent took multiple times to get my email address correct, I spelt my email address using phonetic alphabet multiple times and she still took a long time before she had it right. When I received the booking confirmation in my email, the price per night was incorrect and it is higher than was quoted to me over the phone. I rang them again to have this rectified.

I stayed in Holiday Inn Warwick Farm for 5 nights. On my second day of my stay, the bins were not emptied and housekeeping did not replace the used cups and spoons, but the beds were made.

On the second night of my stay, there was power outage and Holiday Inn Warwick Farm does not have a backup generator. We were in the dark for a couple of hours, that we end up going out somewhere in town until the power is back. This place is not recommended especially if you have an event or a conference as they do not have any backup power.

When I checked in, I paid $100 deposit. On the 2nd night of stay, they charged me another $100 and when I asked the reception why $100 was taken out from my account and she said that there is a glitch in their system. She said that she has released the money and should receive it in 2-3 days. Its been 5 days and I still haven't received the money that they mistakenly taken. It's their mistake, then why take a long time before they refund the money?

On the third night of my stay, there is no spare toilet paper. No one is answering the phone at the reception desk. I went down to the reception to ask for toilet paper. I took 2 rolls with me from reception to the room. Then after I had a shower, there was no bathmat. The bathmat was not replaced. I rang reception desk again and it took a long time to get hold of someone in the reception. Housekeeping service would never answer the phone.

The bed was pretty firm and uncomfortable. The sheets are like sand paper and I started having a reaction on my skin to whatever was on the sheet. My feet was feeling very itchy. My brother's bed is not flat and had bulky sections on the bed.

I went into the restaurant, they told us that we can sit wherever we want. We have to get up and go to the counter to order our food and give the table number where we were sitting. When we came back to our table, they put in a reservation sign on the table where we were sitting. When I approached a staff, I told them that we were sitting in that table and ordered our food using that table number. She asked, if we can move tables and they will just deliver the food we ordered into the table we move to. I refused to move and I told her that I prefer to stay on the table that we selected.

So my overall experience from reservation, staying at the hotel and restaurant was not a very good experience. I do not recommend staying at this hotel. The price we paid per night is...

Overall, the hotel experience was a 7.5/10 and it was great value for what we paid for. We would definitely stay here again although some refurbishments are definitely overdue. We didn’t use the other facilities such as the restaurant and pool at time due to the weather (it was outdoors) so there isn’t much to comment on there. No major complaints, the room and bathroom was clean and there were plenty of amenities provided so we’re satisfied with our experience at Holiday Inn. The $100 bond was also refunded within around a week as well. Some main comments we had are listed below.

Our room was clean and relatively spacious with plenty of amenities provided in the bathroom but somehow housekeeping forgot to replace our tissue box in the bathroom for the few days we stayed. We tried contacting housekeeping through the phone provided in the room, however, they never picked up.

Lobby, exterior and main facilities such as the restaurant look updated and are easy to access and there is an arcade connected to the restaurant for kids to play in.

Free parking with no reservations required, however, keep in mind it is out in the open with no shade or underground parking. Other option for parking if the main car park fills up is at the back of the building but it seems like that is mostly used for staff and it is relatively quiet with not much security.

Reception service was great, however, when we arrived at the time around 2-3pm which was the starting hours for check-in, there was only 1 receptionist attending to travellers/clients which made the process slower. I was surprised that no map was provided either for the hotel layout to find the various facilities but we were able to find our room relatively easily with the help of housekeeping.

Lifts are overdue for fixing and refurbishment. Main lobby lift is fine, just somewhat small so only a handful of people can use it at a time. The room provided for us was located on the upper floors at the very end of the hallway where there is another lift. However, that lift is even smaller than the main one and the buttons look broken, making it seem unsafe to use (this is also located at the quieter end of the hotel) which does look a bit sketchy at night if you choose to use that lift as there was a bit less light in that area so we decided to walk and use the main lift even if the smaller one was closer for convenience.

No microwave is provided in the room so food can’t be heated up, although this would be useful for travellers with strict dietary requirements that cannot easily eat at the restaurant. The chair provided in the room was also somewhat dirty and old with broken wheels so it couldn’t...