Here for business, walked into my room and literally walked into the bed. The room is tiny! Lighting in the room is very dim therefore making it hard to see well. I travel a lot, I would be disappointed if I had booked this room on personal travel with my partner. Won’t stay here again.
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ibis Styles
We had been up since 3 am flown to Melbourne from Sydney then drove from Melbourne to Canberra so it was a very long day. We arrived at our hotel about 7 pm . We had booked one of there best rooms. After a quick dinner we retired to our room and found the shower wasn’t containing the water and the whole bathroom floor was wet and even starting to run under the door. After requesting more towels to mop up we realised it wasn’t us but the shower floor and screen not containing the water. The drain was fine. Then we tried to get the air conditioner to warm the room so we could finally sleep and it wasn’t working. By now it was 10.30 and exhausted. The towels we were supposed to come straight away and took at least 20 minutes. How long to get the air conditioner working? Don’t book room 119.
Booked 2 apartments this week and despite a few small issues which were swiftly address by one of their managers Amy Moylan, overall a very enjoyable stay.
Look forward to staying there again when next in Canberra as the location and facilities was great.
All staff were well mannered and welcoming.
Thanks
Having stayed at other Ovolos I was hoping this would be one of the better ones but I was to be disappointed. Having followed signs and caught the lift to the 1st floor I was then confused to find that the signs for the hotel led me to a bar and restaurant. Only after a while did I spot the reception desk over the far side which means you have to haul your bags through the bar/dining area to check-in...with no signs to point you that way.
Having got a room keycard I had to find my way along a dark corridor to the room...which was equally ill-lit. There was even more fun when I went to locate the light switches which are black on a black background in a dimly lit room. So, once again the Ovolo policy of style over practicality wins again.
The room itself was a good size and the bathroom was very good...unlike other Ovolos (Brisbane with its bad design and Melbourne with its tiny sink). However despair was about to strike again when I checked the in-house restaurant menu. It showed in the menu key that "VG" meant vegan...but what was available for "VG" people ? Side orders of veg and chips. Every effort spared in making that menu inclusive...
I think I've now given up on the Ovolo brand. I love their Alibi restaurant in Sydney but the hotels really don't make the guest comfortable in the ways they should despite all the "everything's free" and "we're different" marketing.
Ovolo has tried to set themselves apart by a focus on the design of their hotel space. This works really well with the hotel being a vibrant meeting place as well as providing interesting accommodation. Whilst a sceptic could rightly claim that this is achieved with little more than wooden plank cladding and piles of logs in the reception area it is effective. And the building construction is adventurous too. The rooms are equally appealing from a design perspective.
Two things to be aware of. Heating and cooling are intended to minimise the impact on the environment. There is no thermostat on the wall here. And operating the system requires manual intervention such as opening windows and doors! Fresh air in a hotel! Instructions are on the in-room iPad.
And secondly, there are two parts to the hotel - the first two floors with the themed rooms are the hotel, and the rest of the busing are the Ovolo apartments. If you are booking through a third party, make sure you know which you are booking. Ovolo's website does not make this clear and their freebies only apply to direct bookings. If you are tired of Business hotels, Ovolo Nishi is a welcome change.
Hey Ian123456789,
Thanks for your informative review on our property! It looks like you had a pretty great stay overall!
You're very right, the apartments that we have are set apart from the standard as they're eco-friendly by design, while our hotel rooms are also eco-friendly, this is achieved in a slightly different way and they do have a wall mounted adjustable thermostat if this is more to your preference and the wonderful Ovolo Freebies too!
I hope to see you back again soon,
Rachel
every detail in room was attended to - great bathroom, really comfortable bed, good sized room - would have been even better with a small table or another chair. really funky and earthy and sustainable, lovely touches including the 'loot bag'. Breakfast and dinner at the restaurant 'Monster' were very much enjoyed, staff at the restaurant, bar and reception were very attentive and friendly. very comfortable bar and sitting area. would definitely stay again
Hey VkMb,
Thanks for your great review!! I'm so excited to hear you had such a wonderful stay with us at Ovolo Nishi. I hope we get to welcome you back to our great property soon!
Cheers,
Rachel
