I'll never come back!!
Back in the autumn 2023 I stayed 2 nights at Hotel Skeppsbron. It turned out to be an okay experience, where both service and comfort went well with the price of the room that we stayed in (on the basement floor). A cheap hotel with limited comfort - but charming in its own way and very central. Also that had very limited, but still. friendly service.
Back in the autumn I chose to book 3 nights at the hotel from the 14. - 17. of october 2024 - and the experience was completely different. This time I booked a room for my daughter and me on the ground floor. I did this partly to get a room with windows to reduce the feeling of claustrophobia, and partly to get enough floor space to be able do my daily yoga exercises on a mat I brought with me. The size of the room was therefore of decisive importance for the choice of room at the hotel.
We checked into the hotel half an hour before the receptionist went home for the day, and paid for all three nights in advance on the receptionist's request. She was very polite and welcoming and promised us that we could look forward to the hotel's biggest and best room. But as we opened the door, we met a room that had not yet been prepared for new guests. There were leftovers on the table, the bed was unmade and with used linen, and there was a used condom in the bin. When we brought this to the attention of the receptionist, she was clearly embarrassed and expressed great regret. After this she offered us that she could tidy up the room while we waited outside. Instead, I asked her to investigate whether we could have another room made available. She found one, but this room was claustrophobically small and had very little floor space. Therefore, it was not a good solution for us, and we decided to find something to eat while the receptionist cleaned up the first room.
When we came back from the restaurant the receptionist had gone home. She had made the bed with new bedsheets and emptied the bin, but we had no idea how good the cleaning was, as there was still water and dirt on the bathroom floor. In addition, the experience of being confronted with a previous guest's sexlife still stuck with us and we had a hard time relaxing and feeling comfortable at the hotel. There was no longer any staff at the hotel, to help out with the situation. As we had been traveling all day and were both exhausted from this unfortunate experience we decided to spend the night here in spite of this feeling of it beeing deeply transgressive, and, first thing in the morning, find a new hotel. This way we could put the experience behind us and enjoy the rest of the few days we had to spend in the city. The next day I therefore spoke to the new receptionist, who was initially welcoming, friendly and understanding. But when he became aware that we had already paid for all three nights, he expressed that he could not pay us the full amount back. He would therefore return later when he had spoken with Hotels.com to clarify the refund options. I tried to find an opportunity to complain through Hotels.com myself, but I couldn’t find any answers other than that I had to take contact with the hotel directly to find a good solution on this matter. No help with complaining to Hetols.com what so ever.
The receptionist ended up only refunding our first night, which I find very unsatisfying and unfair. I am aware that a situation like this is not standard in a hotel, and that a mistake has occurred. But I miss the understanding from the hotel that this accident had a big impact on our stay, and I definitely expected a bigger compensation. After coming back home, I wrote them several times, telling them the the above course of action and even told them, that I was willing to refrain from reporting this experience on the various online platforms if, in return, I would be met with my request for a full refund for all three nights. This was of course because my daughter and I had significantly more expenses associated with finding a new place to spend the following nights. The never responded.
All in all, I find the hotel's ground floor rooms to be dingy, poorly furnished and with dirty windows so you don't want to draw the curtains. The beds are nice enough to sleep in, but most of all you get the feeling of having checked into a cheap highway hotel in an old American movie. Just depressing. I'll never go back!