Oaks on Lonsdale

The oaks is listed as a 4 star hotel. There was nothing 4 star about this place. From walking into the lobby that is outdated and tired looking, to walking to the lift that is out of action from March to October 2023 for an upgrade, how long does it really take to upgrade a lift?

The room we had was a 2 bedroom apartment. There was not a wall in the apartment that was not in serious need of paint and filler from the dents and marks on the walls. The kitchen was supposed to be a full functioning kitchen but there was not even a toaster. The rangehood looked like it had a decade of grease on it. The microwave was clean however no microwave dishes to be able to cook in it. There was no dish cloth provided so you could not wash up.

The bedrooms both had seriously stained carpet and mould on the bottom of the curtains as well as cigarette burns in them in what is supposed to be a non-smoking hotel. Not all lights functioned and those that did are outdated halogen bulbs that were dull and a very yellow light. It was listed as fully air-conditioned however only the main room was, not the bedrooms.

The provided door keys sometimes worked and sometimes didn't.

The only positive was that it is a 2 minute walk to the princess theatre, regent theatre, her Majesties theatre and the tram line.

I would share photos however I was so disgusted by this place I didn't take any inside. We have stayed at many oaks and they have always been good.

Ok,

The Good: room was a great size - the location was good.

The Bad: Cleanliness was poor, bedroom TV (smallest ever seen) had no audio, toilet was broken - continually filling & running, Dishwasher was filthy (mouldy). Kitchen floor was sticky. One lift was out of service - fairly big delays at busy times…

Overall- below average

It's OK here with the best feature it's great location near plenty of eateries and the theatre district. It's not far from shopping either and there is an IGA next door for supplies. There is no room service. The rooms are adequate in terms of size and facilities, but more than a little tired. The bathrooms need a makeover. Carlton Gardens is also close by and that's well worth a walk around as are the nearby neighbourhoods on the other side of the gardens.

While the location is fantastic, the disappointment for me was the lack of utensils available for cooking your own meals. If you are bringing your own items for cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner be advised to bring your own cooking utensils, spatula etc....
I found the coffee cups to have been chipped, this potential could be a health hazard.
Conveniently located next door is an IGA Express and a 7eleven just down the block. Rooms a spacious enough for those travelling with a portacot. Apart from that, the rooms a spacious and basic but they do serve their purpose.

Let me start with our arrival. This is no available set down point. The bus lane runs past the entrance to the hotel. We were greeted by friendly staff and given the key to our room. The room was a city view apartment on the 23rd floor. It was freezing cold and I wandered why we had been given an electric heater when we had a large airconditioner. After a quick grocery shop we returned to our room and turned the airconditioner on. Nothing happened. Rang reception and they asked if we would mind swapping rooms. Why did they give us this room if they already knew the airconditioner didn't work? Swapped rooms. Tried signing into WIFI, because we had swapped rooms we had to sign in as a visitor. Fixed. Turned on the TV. Didn't work. After checking everything we discovered the plug was partially out of the back of the TV. Fixed. Turned on the oven. Didn't work. Went to have a shower. One very tired old bathroom with a bath/shower combo. Too tall for me I had to hang onto the rail especially climbing out. Cracks in the basin, toilet seat off centre and the whole room was in need of an update about 10 years ago. The room was very overpriced and on returning home the price for the same 3 days of the week was about $300 cheaper??? In one week. We stayed at the Oaks Darwin 12 months ago, 5 star plus but Lonsdale St was very disappointing and we will not be staying there again.