Hotel Palm - Astotel

My recommendation: if you are sensitive to mold, do not stay here! You will get sick. If you aren't sensitive to mold, and all you need is a place to sleep and shower, this is good enough, but if you plan to stay for a while and use your room for more than sleeping and showering, stay somewhere else.

My experience: I booked a 4 night stay in early February and had to work out of my room for two of those days. Check-in was easy, and the staff was polite. The first night I stayed, after I turned on the shower, a strong smell started to permeate, very much like wet laundry that had been left in the washer for too long, or stagnant laundry that hadn't dried completely. I noticed the curtain was darker at the bottom, and I can see how the setup would be difficult for the shower curtain to dry completely after each use.

The following morning, I woke up not feeling well. I explained the issue to the gentleman at the front desk and asked him to send staff to my room so I could show them. Unfortunately, the smell wasn't strong enough for the staff to smell, but I could still detect a faint smell, most likely because the shower was still wet from when I used it. I then asked the staff to replace the shower curtain and left for the day. When I returned and encountered the same gentleman at the front desk, I let him know about my request for the staff to change the curtain, as well as how stuffy it is in the room because of the smell from the shower. He reassured me that he had the staff thoroughly clean the bathroom, including the drain, and had them use some spray with fragrance to take care of the smell. He reassured me with the utmost confidence that what the staff had done would resolve the issue. I let him know that if I woke up in the morning feeling unwell again, that I would ask for a room change because the smell indicates humidity and mold, and I can see pockets of mold in the bathroom.

I still wasn't feeling great due to the mold and upon closer inspection, found that the conditions of the bathroom was ripe for mold because there were black mold spots on the bag the hair dryer was in. (See photos). I was exhausted more than usual, my eyes were reacting to allergens, I got tingly headaches, my body was swollen - basically my body telling me it's trying hard to stay healthy. I am relatively healthy, so it was alarming to me how quickly my body responded.

On the third day, I requested they change my room even though I only had one night left. It mattered because I needed to work from my room. Initially, I was told they were all booked. However, a couple of hours later, I was informed they could move me to a different room. The room they moved me into was no better, and they sprayed the room with air freshener, which did not help with the mold issue. My body was tingling even more, headache persisted, etc.

While I appreciate their efforts, I just could not wait to get out of there. I still wasn't feeling great the first night waking up somewhere else. I was still swollen, had a bit of a headache, and was just not feeling great overall. However, two nights after leaving, I was feeling a lot better.

Other than the mold issue, the rooms are very tiny, no where to put your luggage, the service was good, and the concept of their hotel system is nice (stop by the other Astotels to enjoy refreshments, use the toilets as you're exploring the city). I just won't stay again to avoid getting sick.