Hotell Kvarntorget

“An uneven experience”

I was only in Uppsala for the weekend, just on business, and my company had booked Hotel Kvarntorget for me so I didn't know what to expect. I was lucky in that they had booked me into the hotel, and not the hostel, as it isn not clear from their website that half the hotel is a hotel and the othe… more

I was only in Uppsala for the weekend, just on business, and my company had booked Hotel Kvarntorget for me so I didn't know what to expect. I was lucky in that they had booked me into the hotel, and not the hostel, as it isn not clear from their website that half the hotel is a hotel and the other half is a hostel. The first thing to note is that, unlike some of the other reviewers, I had no issues with the cleanliness of the room. Everything was clean, fresh and the lobby/breakfast was area was absolutely gorgeous. Like other reviewers, however, I noticed the absolute lack of staff. There is only someone at the front desk during check-in. The rest of the time, there is no available. Luckily I had no issues during my stay, but I don't know what I would have done if I had as there was never anyone available. As other reviews have noted, this means that there's no explanation about how the hotel works (eg. there's a keycode to open the doors after hours, but this is never explained, at checkout you leave your key in a plant pot on the desk.) The room itself was pretty nice, and the bathroom was clean and spacious. The shower is on a timer, which I found quite frustrating. It only runs for about 30 seconds before turning off, meaning that during the shower you repeatedly have to keep pressing the on button to make sure it doesn't shut off. My main complaint was that my room was quiet cold (around 15 degrees celsius) and I had no way of turning up the heat as there's no in-room unit. In terms of amenities, the experience was uneven. The hotel serves breakfast in the morning, but otherwise there is no option of food, as there's no lunch or dinner service. This isn't necessarily an issue, but without any front desk staff to help guide you, it can be difficult to find somewhere to eat nearby. In the room itself, for example, soap is provided in the bathroom but not shampoo or conditioner. Depending on the type of room you booked, towels might be an extra charge as not all rooms have towels included. The website advertises that there is a kettle in the room, which is true, but there are no mugs or cups or anything to use with them. It's simply a kettle. Unless you bring supplies with you, the kettle is of no use. As the kitchen is only open during breakfast, you have no ability to get supplies from them either. Finally, as I was staying a weekend, it was quite loud. The open concept lobby looks beautiful, and is a lovely place to eat breakfast and hangout out, but conversation carries. My room overlooked the lobby, so I could hear every conversation, word for word, especially on Friday & Saturday night when there were a few groups drinking and shouting. As there's no staff to ask them to quiet down, the party raged on both nights until about midnight - not terribly late by any means, but it was disruptive. Overall, the room was clean and the location was pretty good. The breakfast was nice and the staff I did meet were friendly and helpful. But overall, I'd say, the devil's in the details and there was little consideration or thought put into guest experience.

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