5 star hotel it is NOT - The Royce's advertising is deceptive
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 6/27/08
On its website, The Royce proclaims itself to be "one of Melbourne’s finest designer five star boutique hotels". It is not. It is far from it. A 5-star hotel does not have cheap shoddy towels with numbers written on them in black pen. A 5-star hotel does not have rooms that smell like a Best Western. A 5 star hotel has a gym that only consists of 1 treadmill, 1 stepper and 1 exercise bike. A 5 star hotel has amenities that are not cheap and nasty.
The Royce is cheap and nasty.
I was attracted to it by its enticing-looking lobby that looks quirky and eclectic, and yes, from the outside it looks great. Then you get to the stinky, shoddy rooms. Further pain was caused by the fact that they proclaim to have wireless internet... and they do I guess, if you're willing to pay $20 an hour for it. Yes, $10 per half hour. In Australia. For wireless internet access.
When I saw how bad the place was, I checked online and read the reviews, and they're all appalling. I wish I had read them first. I hope my review now helps other people considering staying at the Royce.
5 star hotel it is not. There are much, much, much better hotels in Melbourne. Don't be misled by their advertising as I was!