Stamford Plaza Adelaide

I had looked forward to my stay at the Stamford Plaza Adealide based on the detail provided by the hotel's website. I had booked a Executive/Club room and was staying for 3 nights over a weekend for work.

The website described the hotel as 5 star - this was misleading as the hotel does not have a 5 star rating, even the driver from the hotel's airport transfer confirmed it was not 5 star. The 'recent renovation' dates back quite a number of years - in most cases to the time it was taken over by Stamford from another well known brand.

While the hotel was generally in good condition, a number of problems occured during my stay which quickly took the shine off things. Many of the trimmings associated with a premium club room were not present, and the room sizes were very small.

On the Saturday there was no hot water available (for over half the day) - the hotel did not provide any explanation of this, an estimate of restoration time, or an apology, other than acknowledging that the problem occurred when I enquired. As I had to work that day - taking a completely cold shower was not at all pleasant.

On the Sunday the Club Lounge flooded (with sewage according to the concierge) and was closed.

Expect long queues at check in and check out as the front desk is generally understaffed.

On the good side of things: the hotel is well situated, the staff in the club lounge were very nice and had a good range of wines and complimentary Aveda toiletries are available in Club rooms. The hotel's club floor airport transfer is particulalry good value given their high quality service compared to Adelaide's otherwise disgusting taxis.

I had to be in Adelaide for 3 nights on business, and after checking the various rooms on the Hotel's website, I directly booked an executive floor room at a price of AUD$225 per night for 3 nights. I could have booked a King Bed for a lesser price of $195, or a Queen Bed for the much lesser price of about $135-$165. I requested early check-in. I also expected dedicated quick and discrete check-in. I also expected a superior room worthy of being on the Executive floor.

On arrival, I was in a long queue for the check-in. When finally I was attended to at the desk, the staff confirmed that even executive / suite floor check-ins are the same! Although there were rooms available, the hotel had not arranged for cleaning, and I had to wait, and told to please come back about 2 hours later. I was assured that my luggage would be taken up to the room.

2 hours later I came to my room on the executive floor. It was a tiny queen bedroom with an even tinier bathroom facing the cooling towers and a carpark!! And my bags were no where to be found. What is more the room was dark and had no writing desk business people expect of a superior hotel/room.

I complained bitterly about the shabby treatment and the room. I was told that a room on the executive floor was nothing more than a queen or king bed room (as the case maybe) with lounge facilities and they were not prepared to downgrade me to a king or queen bed room to save money. I was offered an "upgrade" at an extra $15 per night to a King bed with a nice view of the park and which was slightly larger than the queen bed room. It too lacked a working writing desk and was poorly appointed. There was no apology for the failure to bring up the bags.

The lounge facilities was absolutely terrible. One had to ask for the snacks, and the service was slow. I guested a couple of my business colleagues, and they smirked at the lack of food and services one expects from a club lounge.

The roof top pool and gym is tiny and pathetic.

I felt cheated and abused by the yawning gap between what I got and what I expected, considering the price.

I would certainly not stay at the Stamford Adelaide as it is grossly overrated and overpriced ... poorly managed and maintained.

There does not seem to be even one redeeming feature of the hotel, except its superb location.

Having travelled and stayed in many business class hotels around the world, this was by far the worse. The hotels in 3rd world countries eg India, Indonesia etc are far superior.

I give the hotel and in particular the executive floor a 2 star rating.

We ended up at this hotel for one night after the Hotel Chancellor couldn't extend our stay an extra night but was able to get us a room at the same rate of A$149 (which was about A$40 less than the usual Stamford Plaza rate.) Since this was done at the very last minute, the room we were offered was for a handicapped person. It was an extremely large room with handicapped accessible bathroom and twin beds, TV, a sitting area with table and chairs, a microwave and refrigerator and the usual tea/coffee making facilities. Everything was modern and spotlessly clean.

The hotel has a roof top pool and adjacent, large, exercise room. There is a business center with internet access (for a fee which was much higher than the internet cafe two blocks away.) There was also a restaurant on the ground floor, which we didn't try. The location, right on North Terrace, is great, but Adelaide is so compact that you can stay virtually anywhere in town and be within walking distance of all the major attractions.

I normally stay across the road at The Hyatt Regency when I stay in Adelaide, but opted to stay at the cheaper Stamford Plaza this time around. I stayed only 1 night and received a good internet deal of $80.

The rooms are modern and have had a recent refurbish. The bathroom was very pokey though and there was not much room.

The pool area left alot to be desired. It was very small and messy. There were many leaves in the pool and it looked as if no-one had cleaned the area up in weeks with chairs and towels strewn all over the place.

The bed was on the hard side and there was not a top sheet which means on the night of a 40 degree day you had to sleep with the quilt on or nothing at all.

Check in and out was very prompt and efficient.

The staff were very friendly and helpful and I would consider staying there again if I were able to get such a good rate, though if it were for longer than a few nights I would prefer to stay at The Hyatt as they have better facilities.

Our stay at the Stamford Plaza Adelaide was very disappointing. We found the room to be quite small. We were told the rooms had been recentlyrefurbished but still had the old desk and cupboards which made the room seem old fashioned. The bathroom too was small with the shower being over the bath, again old fashioned.We had our dinner in room,and it was one of the worst meals we have ever had.....cold, soggy and lacking in any flavour. Two weeks later after returning home we received a bill for the mini bar which we had never used!

Some good points for the Stamford is that the staff were very helpful and friendly and the location of the Hotel is great,being right in town.

However we still will not stay there again.

Stamford Plaza Adelaide has to seriously lift their game. The hotel staff were unhelpful, the facilities left a great deal to be desired, the prices were too high for the standard of service. 5 star??? more like 2.

Stayed 5 days and made to feel that should be grateful they chose to give a reservation.

Had to move rooms due to airconditioner problems.

Were unable (without multiple calls to get the concierge) to get prompt assistance with luggage/aircon etc {Still waiting for my moring paper from the 4th day??}

On a couple of occasions only one lift (of 3) working??

The front of house staff were stand offish and offered no appoligies when the hotel made mistakes/had issues.

One member of the concierge even lied to about valet parking, and then made a joke about it when pushed for truth.

The standard at the Stamford was not much better than a motor inn. It was a rotten way to be treated on our 5 star honeymoon. Wouldn't go back to a Stamford property if that is their "way".

I stayed at the Stamford for three nights with one of their discount packages. The hotel was fine whilst paying those lower rates, I certainly wouldn't pay the usual price. The rooms vary quite a bit. When we checked in a woman was complaining that her superior city view room had a view of aircon ducts. Luckily for us the 'couples' rooms, that is sharing one bed as opposed to two beds are on the higher floors which have a view. Make sure you ask for a view of north terrace, not the other side which isn't as impressive. Our friends did that and got a room at the top floor with great views. The superior rooms are ok but small and the bathroom was very small and the bath not deep enough to bathe in. The piped corridor music became a bit irritating during the day but they turn it off at night. My only other complaint was the front desk staff ignored us for at least five minutes when we arrived not even acknowledging us. The location is excellent for Rundle Mall but my advice is for around AU$100 a night you can get an excellent modern new apartment a little further down the road or other places in the city. So why stay in a shoebox?

We stayed here for four nights in March '05. When we arrived they had lost our reservation - fortunately I had their acknowledgement. On two of the nights our sleep was badly disturbed - there were parties on our floor and we had to get the security people to deal with the noise at 2am on the Saturday night. The decor is very tired, and the bar is pretty awful. However, it has a great location and the staff are friendly.

My first trip to Adelaide had us staying at this hotel.

Pros: cleanliness, helpfulness of staff, location pretty convenient, large rooms and nice bathrooms, safe area

Cons: walls could have been thicker (heard a lot going on next door) so ask for a quieter room; paid Sydney prices for Adelaide room

Excellent hotel. I spent one week at the Stamford during Nov 2004 and was very pleased with the hotel and its service. The location is outstanding - only a short walk to the Rundle Mall shopping area as well as the Botanical Gardens. The staff were very friendly and helpful at all times and the rooms were of a very high standard. All in all, a superb visit to the lovely city of Adelaide!