Mercure Sydney Bankstown — Hotel in Sydney

Where to start?! Let's start with having no designated hotel guest parking spaces/parking level. Which resulted in having to park at the very bottom of Bankstown Sports, and then getting locked in on that level, with zero mobile phone service and no 'call' button on the car park panel at either entry or exist. I then had to park the car, take the lifts back up to the club, run through the club to hotel reception, which the club staff were only concerned about whether I had signed in or not, to see someone/get assistance. We were late to our activity as a result of the shambles. Cleanliness, used plates and glasses sat in our room for two days before they were taken away. I resorted to leaving anything used outside the door after use, so they'd be taken away and replaced in a timely manner. No supplies in the rooms fridge... not even basics like water, or room service! The evening we got into Sydney from Perth, I had to visit 3 different establishments to get dinner and some drinks. I was unable to purchase a glass of wine or a piccolo to take back to my room, I was told I had to buy a bottle from the bottle shop, in which it had to be concealed walking through the club back to my room. My partner doesn't drink, the bottle shop didn't have none alcoholic beer available for purchase. I had to buy this from another venue in the club, to which they could only sell it to me open. The room was freezing. The heating provided little benefit. There were no extra blankets or pillows in the wardrobe. Constantly having to show the club staff that we had "signed" in/been issued temporary passes was extremely annoying and frustrating! In today's technological age, surely there is something where the club staff can get what they need seamlessly, and without inconveniencing hotel guests Your check out time information is no where in the room or on your website, or in the email information received to confirm my booking. We were 5 minutes past what I assume was check out time, before we received a phone call from reception giving us the hurry along after all of the above incidents! Talk about...

Had difficulty finding the hotel. Google Map says I have reached my destination, however we could not see where it is along the street. We only see Bankstown Sports Club but not Mercure. We drove around and back couple of times. Then we saw the small signage that says Mercure but still had difficulty looking for a possible entrance to the building parking. Not a good experience for first timers around the area. Another issue we had was when we went up using the lift, there were no clear guidance as to where we should go in order to reach the hotel lobby to be able to check in. The lift could have a note to direct hotel guests to the hotel lobby. We ended up passing through the Bankstown Sports Club. We were given direction by the lady staff which was very confusing we ended up getting lost inside the building. Had to ask for help from another staff who was at the spot where we had to stop coz we did not know anymore where to go. There could have been a printed Floorplan that they can hand to hotel guests to easily guide them to the direction of the hotel reception. I suppose many hotel guests have this same frustrating experience which will make them think twice if they will go back there or even recommend the hotel to their friends. I hope this can be resolved by the hotel management.

Going to the room on the 8th floor, we used the lift and was impressed that we had a view of the outside coz the lift was all mirror and transparent glass. What I did not like though is that the glass is dirty and needs a good cleaning. It looks as if it was not cleaned for years.

The room was not bad. It is comfy. The toilet was clean.

No complimentary drinks, even a single bottled water, unlike in other hotels. I am an Accor member, but the receptionist said I had to be a gold or something member in order to get complimentary drinks. She advised me to just keep using my Accor membership so I can reach gold. That was funny. Of course I should, right?

I asked the checkout time and the receptionist said 11am. So I asked if we can checkout at 12pm instead. She said yes coz I am an Accor member....

The hotel itself is fine. Rooms are comfortable and clean and good enough for a night or two. What let's this whole experience down was the location of the hotel, especially if you arrive by car - it is an absolute nightmare being located inside Bankstown sports club which is all bars, restaurants and slot machines so the car park is shared with a million different people visiting this.

I arrived on a Saturday evening from the airport and entered the car park and ended up driving round the ridiculously orientated signage for nearly an hour trying to find a space. After an hour I found a space then another nightmare scenario - trying to find where the hotel was. There is absolutely ZERO signage for the Mercure hotel anywhere in that car park. I ended up using the lifts which brought me to the entrance of the sports club, even asking a security guard didn't help things - he said it was best to walk outside then follow the building all the way around to the back and the entrance to the hotel is there. With two large suitcases and various steps, this was a mission. Eventually finding the entrance, I then had another challenge to find the rooms which involves accessing the sports club and being pointing in various directions to use a specific set of lifts.

If you know the area and the sports club, then staying here is fine and you'll know your way around. If not - then there are lots of other hotels in the area that I would stay...