Haven Glebe

On the first night of my four-night stay at Haven Glebe I had fallen asleep in a chair and woke up at 2am to find a HUGE COCKROACH on my water bottle. If I hadn't been awake or had the lights on that thing could have crawled on me!!! When I asked for help at the front desk, they said I could move to a different room and I had to lug all my things (at 2am, by myself). This new room had multiple flies buzzing around so I had to sleep with the sheets over my head. I slept for 2 hours that night. The rest of the stay was fine, I guess, and the neighbourhood is cute, but I dreaded coming back to the hotel every night and I was anxious the whole time. I was even anxious for a time after I got home, because what if a cockroach had hitched a hike or laid eggs in my luggage? I was offered no compensation other than a voucher for a complimentary breakfast and an "upgrade" to a room at a higher floor. I declined, because I had no desire to eat food prepared at a place that has cockroaches and I didn't want to lug my stuff to yet another room with no guarantee that it would be cleaner. I emailed the hotel and Expedia after the fact and the hotel was reluctant to do anything further. I had to pester Expedia multiple times before they finally got the hotel to agree to reimburse me for one night of my stay. It wasn't an unreasonable ask, as I was not given what I contracted for - i.e. a clean and safe place to stay - but it was like pulling teeth to get them to do the right thing. Cockroaches and non-compensation for cockroaches is definitely not the norm, especially at a 4-star hotel. When I chatted with staff at another, NORMAL hotel in New Zealand, they told me even the non-managerial staff had blanket authority to refund people for a portion of their stay even if it was just a noise issue, let alone vermin. By the way, I smashed the cockroach even though it scared me, just so it wouldn't bother other people. But you know what they say... if there's one cockroach visible there are probably many cockroaches behind the walls. I'm very sorry for the disgusting visual, but I wanted to prove I'm not making this up.

Absolutely loved the stay, loved the neighbourhood and the convenience of the hotels location. Positioned in a quiet neighbourhood with lots of shops and cafe around, walking distance to bus stops and light rail at your doorstep. Our chosen room - Haven Cube comes with a huge cornered window overlooking the Sydney city skyline. With L’Occitane shampoo range and daily housekeeping replenishment. Delicious Arthur Pizza next to the entrance of the hotel lobby and multiple coffee shops just across the street. What is there not to love.

The staff are so welcoming and generous! The room is just right... Clean; well stocked; lovely balcony; great street. Pretty darned happy! Did I mention the staff?!

Neat rooms but with a weird mouldy smell . Poor customer care at the reception. Had to ask over 3 days for a “welcome drink” as promised via Expedia status. Each time the receptionist declined saying, “I need to talk to my manager” and never got back to us. Location is so so. Close to town but still a little too far to walk. Positive side is that street parking is very easy to find and available. Housekeeping is good but never vacuumed room over 5 days. At the price point, would probably stay another place next time. Also breakfast buffet was abysmal. Monotonous and poor quality, served cold at the cafe next door.