Pullman Brisbane King George Square

Sadly the tradition of Australian hotels overinflating their self-appointed rating continues with the Brisbane Pullman. The Pullman describes itself as a 5-star hotel - it is 4 at best based upon the extremely poor level of service it offers.

I received the obligatory phone call the day before asking what time we would be checking in and was told the suite would be ready. We arrived almost an hour after that time courtesy of our flight being late. Despite being an hour late the room was still not ready and we had to go and find somewhere to sit and wait. We then had to wait another 30 minutes for the bags to be delivered to the room.

We were on the somewhat grandiosely named executive floor yet there are no executive facilities anywhere in sight. Previously there had been an executive lounge which was perfect for small informal meetings. This closed during COVID and has not been reopened. Once again COVID is used as an excuse to cut back on services but keep charging the same prices.

We opted for dinner in the restaurant on the first night and ordered the grossly overpriced steak. What we got for $65 was a thin minute steak, watery puree, and a sprinkle of overcooked vegetables. Do yourself a favour and go across the road to the PigNWhistle and get twice the meal for two-thirds the price.

Deciding to forgo the restaurant on the second night we decided on room service. This seemingly simple task of ordering room service took almost an hour as we did not have access to the room service menu via QR coding (a lazy idea and inappropriate for older guests) We tried ringing room service - no answer, we tried ringing the restaurant - no answer we even rang the concierge desk and got no answer. We had to resort to using the hotel's chat facility to contact anyone.

The staff seem to have this uncanny knack of disappearing when you need something done.

This would not have been an issue if one of the many requests we made for a room service menu to be delivered to the room had occurred. It is pointless for staff to be polite and pleasant if no one follows through.

Interestingly there is a sharp dichotomy between the general hotel staff and the staff assigned to functions. We have had numerous functions at this hotel and the staff are prompt, efficient, and professional. They have a completely different attitude to the rest of the hotel staff. It is like dealing with a separate business.

Part of the problem is most undoubtedly the shared facilities with the Mercure - you cannot have two distinctly different hotel experiences side by side and expect there not to be a drift down in standards towards the poorer cousin.

I got here with my family because our flight was cancelled and there was no other flights. This was the worst experience ever!
Firstly we had water drip from the ceiling, and it leaked all into my suitcases meaning all my clothes got soaked. Maintenance came and they couldn’t fix it so we had to repackage all of our suitcases and go to a different room. This was inconvenient and annoying.
The breakfast buffet is over priced.
There is only 1 choice of eggs which were under cooked and made my whole family sick!
Any time we wanted to have a shower it was a foggy mess and you couldn’t see a thing - no fans, nothing!
The service here is horrible.
We asked them if they knew where the city loop bus was. They should know where this is as it is such close proximity to the hotel. Basic information like this should be known by reception staff. The reception staff were generally rude and inconsiderate when dealing with us.
This hotel is in close proximity to the town hall. Every morning starting around 6am the large clock bells rang every 30 minutes. Good luck sleeping past this.
Lastly, I woke up and me and my family had red bumps from bed bugs and mites covered all over our thighs, legs, and body. I have attached photos. This is totally unacceptable for any guest to experience.
Do not stay here!

On arrival our room had not been cleaned. The sheets had not been changed. Most of the staff we spoke to couldn’t speak or understand English. The hotel overall was dirty. The food and breakfast was good as was the staff at front desk. The valet service was excellent just to cap it off our toilet would not flush.extremely dissatisfied considering the money we paid Good location