Grand Midwest Tower Hotel Apartment

"Free Wi-fi" does not mean Free Wi-fi!

I pleasantly surprised on booking to see that free breakfast and internet was included in the pretty reasonable rate. However, when I went to check in, I was told that breakfast was not included. Because I had made the booking on the road, I’d not printed my confirmation email. They actually made me go to my laptop, save a PDF version of the confirmation on to a memory stick to give to them. Then they conceded that yes, it was included. THEN they informed me that "free wi-fi" actually meant one hour free per day. Normally I would not bother to argue, but I didn’t have much else on that day so I decided to make it my objective to get my promised free wi-fi. I argued with the hotel manager for a good 30 minutes about it - I’ve never come across someone so stubborn! I spoke to Expedia who were very helpful, but they were not able to get in touch with the hotel as they were conveniently not answering their phones. In the end, my wi-fi stayed mysteriously connected. Anyway, I really enjoyed my stay, it was a great room, clean, quiet and very good value (even WITHOUT the free stuff!) The customer service though in general was absolutely atrocious. (eg. they don’t supply water in the gym "because the guests drink it all!") Actually I would stay there again, (and probably will for the right rate), but if you are considering it, make sure you have everything printed in black and white! Oh, and don’t bother emailing them as, needless to say, they don’t check emails.

Not for guests with babies

While the facilities were chic and modern, as seen on the web, the hotel wasn’t managed well. The staff were cordial but the fact that there was a limited no. of baby cots is a management issue. The 1st 4 of our 7-day stay, my 6-month old baby had to sleep on the floor because they didnt have enough baby cots. We followed up everyday, sometimes twice a day, but we werent given the crib until my husband and I really got mad. We asked to elevate this to management, but as it turned out, those who can make the decision to buy a new crib were on leave and no staff at that time was authorized to make a purchase request. The restaurant had ONE high chair. Plus, the breakfast included was not so good. For all of our 1-week stay, no new food was offered in the buffet so every morning, you’ll have the exact same selection, making you wonder if the beef bacon or bread were from the day before. The room we got had a full-sized bed and a single. This despite booking for a couple with a baby. My husband is 6-foot-2 tall; he could barely fit in the full-size bed so we had to sleep in separate beds, while our baby slept on a makeshift bed of comforter and blankets on the floor. Taxi drivers didnt know of this hotel. They know its location: Media City, but they hadnt heard of the hotel. Lastly, my baby got a fever during our stay, perhaps for sleeping on the floor? This hotel left a bad taste in my mouth.

Even though you requested a baby cot during booking, don’t expect that you will be given one. When you check in and they say they don’t have one available as of yet, ask to speak with a manager right away and request for a specific time when you will get the baby cot. They could easily buy one if they have to so don’t let them get away with it.