阿爾卡飯店

The rooftop is amazing! There were some issues with the lights in the room, but no big deal.

First things first, this is not a five star hotel. How any hotel can obtain a five star category without even having a restaurant beats me, but the shortfalls went way beyond that. Arriving at the hotel from the main road it’s easy to miss, since its tucked down a tiny little driveway surrounded by other high rise buildings. There’s a large number of steps to climb to reach reception, but there is a lift to the side which I didn’t initially spot. The welcome at reception was superb. In fact throughout the stay the staff members there were brilliant, being professional yet friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them to help with or offer advice on. There’s a large amount of seating in the lobby area and a couple of lifts (one more rickety than the other!) serving each of the seven floors. My room was on the fifth floor and was an Economy Double with queen bed. It was a fairly good size with plenty of space but, for a supposed five star property, that’s where the positives seemed to end. The four windows overlooked the city but there were no curtains, instead having blinds fitted which even when closed let so much light in - forget ever getting the room dark. The queen bed was two singles pushed together, and with the thin single duvets and firm pillows it didn’t offer the most comfortable of sleeps. The air-conditioning was perhaps the loudest I’ve ever encountered and was only really effective on one side of the room. There was an electric socket at both sides of the bed, and the lighting was controlled by a small remote instead of switches. The wardrobe was a decent enough size but the TV didn’t really match the size of the room and required using two remotes due to the set-top box. There was a mini bar with small range of reasonably priced drinks. On first glance the bathroom might impress - a large corner bath! Until you realise that there’s no shower curtain installed, so using as a shower is impossible without turning the room into a ‘wet-room’, which to be clear it isn’t. The towels were small and rather harsh, the hairdryer practically useless, dim lighting and only the basic toiletries provided. The bathroom door also had glass panels with no form of blind fitted - fine if you’re staying on your own but might be worth bearing in mind otherwise! A couple of chocolates were on the bed when I first arrived, a nice little touch, but that’s as far as it goes for refreshments! There’s no kettle, coffee machine or bottled water. No option of room service or snacks, and even house keeping doesn’t happen unless specifically requested. I’m assuming the latter is a remnant of Covid, but seems a little excessive these days when other hotels manage. One of the reasons I was so excited to stay here was the roof top bar. On the seventh floor it is indeed a fantastic spot, with brilliant views over all the city and nice seating in both the sun and shade as you’d wish. What a shame so much more could be made of the space and instead it lost a