Property Vine - Kensington at Central

"I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the service we received during our recent trip from Cairns to Brisbane. As three individuals over the age of 65, we had meticulously planned our journey and made advance reservations for accommodations in Townsville, Mackay, and Gladstone. Regrettably, our experience at your establishment in Townsville, Direct Hotels – Kensington at Central, left us profoundly disappointed. On the first day of our trip, July 13th, while en route from Cairns to Townsville, I checked my emails during a coffee break in Ingham, approximately an hour away from our intended destination. To my dismay, I discovered an email notifying me of the cancellation of our booking at Direct Hotels – Kensington at Central, citing maintenance issues. In a state of urgency, I immediately contacted the hotel, only to be informed that the cancellation was indeed due to maintenance problems. By this time, it was already 1 pm, and despite our efforts to find alternative accommodations in Townsville or even Ayr using our phones, we were unsuccessful. As a last resort, I reached out to my daughter in Brisbane, who managed to secure a shared Airbnb accommodation for us. While this arrangement was far from ideal, we had no other choice but to accept it under the circumstances. It was incredibly frustrating to have our accommodation canceled at the last minute, leaving us scrambling to find suitable lodgings. What added to our disappointment was the lack of transparency regarding the nature of the maintenance issue. Had we been informed in advance, we could have made necessary adjustments to our plans. For instance, if the issue pertained to the air conditioning system, we would have been more than willing to cope with the cool climate without it. It is evident that the maintenance problem was not of such significance to warrant a complete cancellation of our reservation. Considering the inconvenience and distress caused by this incident, I feel compelled to express my disappointment and convey my intention never to stay at your hotel in the future. As seasoned travelers, we understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise, but it is how a business handles such situations that truly matters. In this regard, your establishment fell short of our expectations. I kindly request that you take this matter seriously and address it appropriately. An explanation regarding the last-minute cancellation and a sincere apology for the inconvenience caused would be greatly appreciated."

"Great location, would be perfect if you were going to watch a cowboys game Close to good food, apartment was spacious and well laid out."

"I have stayed here a few times and honestly have never had a problem. I enjoy staying here as the location is good, the costing is affordable, and the rooms are clean and comfortable. I usually stay in an apartment, as I come here during work travels, and appreciate that the apartments have washing machines and dryers. The hotel takes a $150 holding fee on card. If you’re the kind of person living pay to pay, I know the pain this can cause, so be mindful of it. The parking lot can be a little tricky to manoeuvre at times, but overall good. I’ve never had a problem getting a spot. Staff are friendly, check in is mostly easy (but done from another building) so if you’re not familiar with the set up it can be a bit confusing on your first go. There’s a shower cap on my smoke detector during this stay, but assuming that was a guest and not the hotel staff, but that was a fun little happy snap to take. Overall, I really enjoy it here and stay here whenever I can."

"Room was beautifully clean, it was a hot day and the aircon was already turned on for us so we walked into a nice cool unit. The kitchenette was very well stocked with the essential equipment for a short or longer term stay All staff that we had anything to do with were very helpful and courteous A great place to stay, reasonably priced and will definitely stay there again when I need to go to Townsville."

"Falsely advertised as a four star hotel. This is definitely not, the carpets are stained, holes in the walls etc.. I tried rectifying the problem by asking reception about alternative rooms, whilst they were nice about the situation, they could not provide an alternative and said most of the rooms are in this state of repair. Maybe if I was booking a 3 star or lower hotel I would have thought this might be acceptable. But it is far from what is advertised. I ended up in switching hotels, which was the best decision I made. Would not recommend at all."