Short review
Value for money: 3.5/5 – Average
Services: 3/5 – Had minimum interactions with hotel staff; unstable internet connection
Bedroom: 3.5/5 – A box with a window and an unattractive view
Sleep quality: 3.5/5 – Comfortable bed, but I could hear the lift from the room
Bathroom: 3.5/5 – Clean and functional
Facilities and amenities: 3.5/5 – Has a small pool and a basketball ring
Pros
- Walking distance from the city centre
- Plenty of parking
Cons
- Unstable internet due to poor signal strength
Long review
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, which is located very near to the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Mercure Albury is placed pretty much within the city centre, providing easy access to shops and restaurants. My family and I have stayed here before and my previous review is available here. We arrived there by car and there were plenty of parking spaces throughout our 3-night stay.
The lobby is small, but nicely decorated. The reception desks were empty when we arrived, but there was a note directing visitors to ring a number when the desks are not manned. I did so and a hotel staff immediately came out from a room next door. Apparently, they were preparing for a Christmas celebration.
Check-in began with filling in a questionnaire related to COVID-19. The rest was quick as the hotel was ready for our arrival. Keys and pens were sprayed with sanitiser before being passed on to me, which was fine, but it was rather uncomfortably damp. I was also given several pages of paper, containing a welcome letter, a breakfast menu, and a room service menu.
In my previous review, I mentioned that the lift was jumpy. We still rode the same jumpy lift.
Our room is a standard king room, and the size of the room is 26 sqm. Besides the king bed, the room is also equipped with an armchair, a corporate desk, a TV, and complimentary tea and coffee. The interior of the room is pretty standard. It should be noted that even though the curtains covered the entire wall, the width of the window is actually not as wide as the wall. There’s nothing wrong with this as the window is still fairly large. The view from the window is unappealing though. I only could see a bit of the car park and some roofs. The room is also located in front of the lift, so we could hear the lift operating, especially at night.
The best way to describe the bathroom is functional. The shower is surrounded by 3 solid walls, which is rather unusual because typically a shower uses a glass panel to make the space feel more open.
We ordered a steak dish from the room service menu. It was delivered promptly, and the taste was also delicious.
When it comes to facilities outside the room, the hotel has a swimming pool, which is located next to the restaurant. It is quite small, but the space looks nice. There is a basketball ring in the car park too. I also noticed that before we left the hotel, there are some gym access cards placed in a box in the lobby area. Probably guests can access the gym which is within a short walking distance from the hotel. I did not confirm this with the hotel staff though. Unfortunately, this information is not available in the welcome letter nor in the hotel website.
Other services that I would like to touch are the wi-fi and room cleaning service. The wi-fi was disappointing because the signal strength in our room was weak. The speed was ok when I could connect, but the connection was unstable, probably because the room is located in one corner of the building. This should not justify the poor signal strength though. Room cleaning service was available but because of COVID-19, the room would only be cleaned when the sign to clean the room was placed on the front door in the morning. This condition was mentioned in the welcome letter.
Overall, it was only an ok experience. The unstable wi-fi was the most annoying part for me personally, while the location probably is the best thing about the hotel.
